Tag: International

Lawmakers seek federal review of UPS-DHL proposal

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

Two U.S. senators have asked the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to review a proposal by UPS Inc. to carry some air packages for DHL. But UPS says the agencies don’t have authority over the vendor relationship.

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a letter dated Friday (1st of August) to Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, and William Kovacic, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, that the deal being worked out raises competition concerns.

“If consummated, DHL will become reliant for air transportation on one of its two major competitors,” the letter states. “This raises the question if DHL will still be able to effectively compete against UPS, since UPS will now have a large role in determining the cost and quality of DHL’s services.”

UPS spokesman Norman Black said that the arrangement the Atlanta-based company is working out with DHL is similar to one it has been operating under for several years with the United States Postal Service.

Black said UPS has not received any communications from the Justice Department or the FTC about the proposed deal. He said lawyers for UPS and DHL continue to work on finalizing a contract, which they expect to complete by the end of the year.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said the agency has seen media reports about the proposal, but she declined to comment further.

“Generally speaking, the antitrust division can look at matters that affect competition,” Talamona said.

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DPD Russia launches new express delivery service and opens new branch

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

DPD Russia has extended its service range with a new express delivery option “DPD 13:00” for time-definite shipments. In addition, the company continues to expand its regional network with the opening of a new depot in Orenburg, close to Kazakhstan.

DPD has introduced a new time-definite service within Russia for express parcels and heavy shipments to be delivered by 13:00 of a certain day defined by the customer. The delivery can be made from Moscow to major Russian cities including St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kazan, Kaluga, Krasnodar, Nishnij Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saratov and Jaroslavl. The company plans to extend its geographical coverage of the service.

On request, urgently required information on the delivery of shipments sent with the DPD 13:00, DPD Avia, DPD BIZPAK, DPD Classic and DPD Economy services can be sent via sms directly to the customer’s mobile phone for free.

The investment in the new 1,400 sqm facility located in the southern part of Orenburg exceeded RUB 1 million (EUR 27,500). The branch network of DPD in Russia covering the country’s major cities has now increased to 30 branches linked together by a common IT system and by a unique ground line haul network. In addition to the standard services, the new depot will develop and implement tailor-made parcel and freight delivery projects within the Volga and Ural regions, DPD Russia said.

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Good results for the EMS Cooperative

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

At its extraordinary General Assembly held during the UPU Congress, the EMS Cooperative announced on Monday 4th August a set of very positive results: volumes rose by 23 pct between 2004 and 2006; 88 pct of items were delivered on time; and the EMS Cooperative now boasts a membership of 149. The EMS Cooperative was created in 1998 to develop and strengthen the EMS service.

A succession of countries were awarded certificates in recognition of their efforts to meet the main EMS standards. To ensure high quality service, independent consultants analyze the performance of the various operators each year.

For 2007, 13 countries received gold, silver or bronze awards for the excellence of their EMS services (deliveries, tracking of items and customer service). Azerbaijan, Hong Kong (China), Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore took gold; the Czech Republic, Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States were awarded silver; and Australia, Brazil and Canada received bronze awards.

Hungary, Russia and Spain also received awards for exceptional customer service.

EMS is a high quality, competitive, affordable international express postal service for sending documents and goods the world over. In most countries EMS is the only operator offering universal access to international express services for private customers and small and medium enterprises.

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City Link improves service amid weaker market demand

Posted by | Aug 1, 2008 | |

City Link is on the road to recovery with improved customer service but faces the challenge of weakening demand in the British express and parcels market, according to its parent group.

City Link, whose operating profits dropped 44 pct last year and then turned into a Q1, 2008 loss due to poor integration of Target Express and management errors, has embarked on a seven-point recovery plan focused on better customer service, more centralised operating control and a network review.

In a recent trading update, parent Rentokil Initial said that implementation of the recovery plan had had a positive impact on City Link’s service performance. “Customer relationships have improved, attrition has slowed and overall service levels have been restored to a very high level – now consistently above 98.5 pct,” it commented.

But it warned: “Despite the service improvement, the revenue trend has weakened as the quarter progressed. This was not due to customer losses but is indicative of weakening demand generally.” The company had indentified “substantial” cost saving opportunities which should produce improvements within 12 -18 months, but which would not improve 2008 results.

Rentokil chairman Alan Brown was cited as saying that City Link was likely to make a loss in the GBP 40 – 45 million range this year and would hopefully break even in 2009.

Rentokil saw its share price slump dramatically after issuing a fourth profit warning for this year, and highlighting serious problems in six of its seven diverse operating divisions.

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Schuetze new sales MD for TNT Express Germany

Posted by | Jul 31, 2008 | |

TNT Express Germany has appointed experienced Marketing and Sales Manager Dr Roland Schuetze as its Managing Director Sales, Marketing and Customer Service, with effect from 1 August. He comes from the Weidmueller group, one of the world’s leading providers of connecting elements for data, signals and energy, where he was responsible for global sales. Prior to this, Schuetze was senior vice-president sales and a member of the board of Lufthansa Cargo. In that position he was responsible for global key account management, global customer service and margin management.

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