Tag: Germany

Commission announces crackdown on mail monopolies

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

Speaking at a high-level conference on postal liberalisation on Tuesday (24 June), the EU’s commissioners for competition and the internal market warned countries with lingering postal monopolies to open up or face legal action.

“We will not hesitate to use all means at our disposal to make a competitive and sustainable postal market a reality,” said EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, warning governments not to introduce what he called “creative market barriers” under the pretext of safeguarding basic mail services for all.

Such measures will undoubtedly include infringement procedures against member states that are “backtracking” on their pledges to liberalise the postal market fully, said Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. “You know me, I will enforce competition rules in the postal sector […] Regulation is not enough,” she said, highlighting the fact that she had already sent a formal notice to Slovakia on 18 June regarding its plans to “re-monopolise certain sectors of its postal market”.

The strong statements come a surprisingly short time – just four months – after the EU pushed through legislation, which only commits member states to full liberalisation of their mail markets by 2011 at the earliest.

They appear as a testimony of Brussels’ commitment to full market opening amid growing apprehension at the national level as to the concrete effects of full liberalisation on employment and the provision of a quality service for all.

Although no names were cited, Germany appears to take the brunt of the Commission’s discontent, with its plans to introduce a minimum hourly wage of EUR for postmen operating on its territory in order to prevent social dumping.

The move has sparked a big dispute with the Netherlands, where Dutch Junior Economy Minister Frank Heemskerk retaliated by delaying his country’s own planned 1 January 2008 liberalisation until a “more level playing field” was established – a move also under fire from the Commission.

Both Germany and the Netherlands have received letters from the commissioner in which he voices such concerns. So have Finland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Poland – making them all potential targets for legal action. The complaints cover a wide range of practices – from Finland’s charges on new entrants that do not agree to provide nationwide services or Belgian plans to simply force all new operators to deliver across its whole territory to Austria allowing its national operator to install key access to private letter boxes in apartment hallways.

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European Parcels Market: Price Pressure Eclipses Growth through Internet Trade

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

After several years of strong sales growth for courier, express and parcel (CEP) services, in the coming years the figures in Europe are expected to slip back. Average annual growth in revenues in international CEP markets, for example, will decline from 8.6 percent today to 6.6 percent in 2010. The almost constant growth in transport volume resulting from steadily rising internet trade is being eclipsed by considerable price pressure. This is one of the conclusions from the latest study conducted by A.T. Kearney. Transport costs are being driven ever higher by the rising price of oil, and this could lead to a significant shift in the choice of means of transport in future. Although costs are rising, for highly time-critical goods such as express parcels there will be no alternative to air transport even in years to come. CEP providers need to tighten up their own market positioning and service provision profile and compensate for price pressure and increases in factor costs through strict cost management. The key challenges are the pressure to differentiate, the expansion of international networks, zonal pricing, closed supply chains and continuing consolidation.

Impacts of the high oil price on the global transport industry

For highly time-critical goods such as express parcels or spare parts, but also for high-value moisture-sensitive goods, there will still be no alternative to air transport in the future. Nevertheless, in the short and medium term opportunities to benefit from this within Europe will be available to service providers who build on a good road network, as in this case fuel costs are a considerably less weighty factor than in air transport.

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Deutsche Post World Net move closer to finalising future of Postbank

Posted by | Jun 25, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net announced that it has entered a more intensive phase of the exploratory process concerning the future of its Postbank subsidiary. The logistics company is currently evaluating options for an optimal competitive position to secure a successful future for Postbank.

To this end, discussions between Deutsche Post and potential partners are moving forward quickly and efficiently. No preliminary decision regarding the various potential options has yet been taken.

Against this background, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Post AG has accepted the request of Postbank Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Klein to temporarily step down from the Management Board of Deutsche Post with immediate effect. Klein’s position as CEO of Deutsche Postbank AG remains unaffected.

Wolfgang Klein and Deutsche Post Chief Executive Officer Frank Appel have mutually come to the conclusion that the decision to step down from his position for the duration of the current phase complies with good corporate governance. When appointed as CEO of Postbank on July 1st 2007, Klein was simultaneously appointed to the Management Board of the parent company.

The Management Board of Postbank actively supports this open-ended process to secure an optimal solution for the successful strategic development of the company in the future, in the interests of its shareholders, employees and customers.

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Hermes names new management and plans European growth

Posted by | Jun 23, 2008 | |

Hermes Logistics has named Hartmut Ilek as its new managing director in place of Hanjo Schneider who has been promoted to the executive board of parent company Otto Group and who will also continue building up a European B2C network.

With effect from 1 February 2009, Schneider will take over the responsibility for the Services division on the Otto Group executive board, while he also becomes responsible for building up a Hermes European group with effect from July 2008. Schneider joined the Hermes Logistics Group in November 2002 and has been managing director since January 2005.

Hermes claims a 22 pct share of the European B2C parcel market. Parcelnet, the largest B2C delivery company in the UK, aims for turnover of more than EUR 300 million in 2008 and plans to set up a ParcelShop network similar to the one in Germany.

In addition, Hermes’ German transport logistics division, managed by Frank Rausch, will become a separate company that will position itself as an international linehaul network provider operating to European standards. It will also start to transport goods not only by road but also on “ecologically preferable” transport modes.

Hartmut Ilek, who has successfully managed the German parcel business of Hermes Logistics for many years, will take over as managing director of Hermes Logistics in Germany. Frank Iden will take over the position as sales & marketing director. He has been managing director of PrimeMail, a joint venture between Hermes Logistics Group and Swiss Post International, which has evolved into a specialist for large-sized and heavy mailing products for B2B, public bodies and international postal companies.

The new managing director of PrimeMail will be Christian Bartelheimer (42), who has been active in the logistics branch for many years. “We will focus on the extension of our product portfolio to ensure continuous growth and to provide a steady and enduring service to our customers. Innovative and creative services will be implemented with our strategic partners,” Bartelheimer explained.

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CEP-Research becomes part of ITA Consulting

Posted by | Jun 23, 2008 | |

ITA Logistics, the operator of CEP-Research, has announced the formation of a new subsidiary under the name of ITA Consulting GmbH with effect from June 1, 2008. CEP-Research is now part of ITA Consulting.

ITA Consulting incorporates ITA’s management consulting, IT solutions and market intelligence (CEP-Research) business units. It has been set up as a commercial partnership and the management has been extended to include Peter Weber. The company base remains in Hamburg and all previous contact details, including for CEP-Research, stay the same.

The formation of ITA Consulting is due to the excellent development in recent years of the consulting business of ITA Logistics. A large number of projects in the areas of M&A, Business Intelligence and Supply Chain Management contributed to the success. With 30 employees, ITA Consulting advises globally operating industrial companies and logistics service providers on strategy & development, mergers & acquisitions, process optimisation, transport management systems, business intelligence as well as sourcing & procurement.

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