Tag: International

FedEx launches Express Your Vote initiative for the upcoming 2008 Presidential election (U.S)

Posted by | Jul 9, 2008 | |

FedEx Express announced its support of Express Your Vote, an initiative of the Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to ensuring an estimated six million overseas Americans have the ability to effectively participate in the federal electoral process.

With FedEx supporting this initiative, Americans abroad in 89 countries will be able to access express delivery of their absentee ballots between September 15 – October 29 of the 2008 election year.

The innovative Express Your Vote program will provide American voters abroad the convenience of online shipping, track and trace capabilities, and proactive proof of delivery through the Overseas Vote Foundation Web site, which has been developed with the latest advanced automation solutions from FedEx.

Statistics from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s 2006 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act Report” indicated that the third most common reason for ballots being rejected and not counted was because the ballots were returned to local election offices after the deadline.

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DHL launches new version of shipping software designed for small businesses

Posted by | Jul 8, 2008 | |

EasyShip Connect 8.0 permits customers to access shipping functions to both U.S. and international destinations via an easy-to-use PC-based application.

EasyShip Connect is compatible with the Windows Vista operating system, expanding access to more PC users.

EasyShip Connect is a software-only shipping solution that communicates with DHL servers via the internet to perform all shipping functions, from printing waybills to tracking shipments and shipment management reporting. Designed for customers shipping up to 50 packages per day, EasyShip Connect automates the entire shipping process.

Expanding its shipping capabilities for exporters, EasyShip Connect can now accept a pre-filed ITN for compliance with U.S Department of Commerce Electronic Export Information (EEI) requirements. EEI filing is required for most international shipments valued over USD 2500.00, and for specific commodities and destinations.

Additionally, a designated “administrator” of EasyShip Connect within an office can set parameters for shipment processing, such as the ability to select specific service levels or value-added services, thereby providing greater control of expenses.

New DHL EasyShip Connect features also include:
– Multi-piece air shipping on a single waybill
– Dry ice shipping functionality
– Connectivity with USB scales for automated weighting
– Enhanced Domestic shipping services to Puerto Rico
– Improved export documentation tools
– Both one-way and two-way return label processing for distribution to customers
-Enhancements to increase speed and performance

EasyShip Connect 8.0 is DHL’s first software release available entirely in a downloadable format from DHL’s website and is compatible for users of Windows Vista, XP and Windows 2000.

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DHL keeps large pallets in order (UK)

Posted by | Jul 8, 2008 | |

DHL has installed a pallet measuring system from Mettler Toledo Cargoscan at its International Gateway in London Colney to improve efficiency.

The system is designed specifically for large pallets, helping to ensure they are accurately weighed, measured and scanned.

Angus MacDougall, manager at DHL’s International Gateway, said: “While measuring smaller parcels is standard practice in the transport and logistics industries, measuring large pallets is often very difficult using conventional technology, so their dimensions often have to be manually measured and recorded. This is obviously a time-consuming process and is not cost-effective.”

The CSN840 Pallet unit is able to handle around 200 pallets an hour and claims to work with almost any kind of pallet, including those with dark or glossy surfaces, processing each one in less than five seconds.

The operator has full control of the system and is able to see a graphical interface showing the measuring process in real time, as well as all historical data on-screen. The system also allows invoicing to be carried out more quickly.

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Integrator share prices slump as oil prices soar

Posted by | Jul 8, 2008 | |

Stock prices of top express companies including DHL parent Deutsche Post World Net, TNT, UPS and FedEx have fallen dramatically over the last six months, primarily due to rising oil prices and worsening economic conditions.

DPWN has experienced the most dramatic fall. Its June 30 share price of EUR 16.60 represented a 17.5 pct fall on the previous month and a 28.5pct slump compared to January 2, 2008.

TNT shares also fell sharply by 14.5pct to EUR 21.72 as of June 30 compared to one month earlier, and ended the first half of 2008 with an overall decrease of 22.2pct. Despite the completion of a EUR 500 million share buyback programme, its stock price was negatively impacted by the weaker economic environment, rising oil prices and a Q1 profit drop of 17.7pct.

UPS suffered a share price drop of 14.1pct to USD 61.47 as of June 30 compared to the previous month. The six-month drop in the share price was slightly lower at 12.5pct. In Q1, the slowing US economy and unprecedented increase in the cost of fuel along with additional charges for aircraft retirement and redundancies caused lower-than-expected US package volume and an accelerating contraction in the use of premium air products which resulted in a double-digit drop in profit.

FedEx is also suffering from the triple impact of soaring fuel prices, the weak US economy and financial charges causing its shares to fall by 14.5pct to USD 78.79 as of June 30 compared to May 30. It had the lowest half-year share price fall of the “Big Four” with 8.55pct.

Trying to compensate for higher fuel costs, the four integrators increased their air fuel surcharges dramatically to the 20pct – 30pct range last month as soaring oil prices drove up operating costs.

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UK parcels firm APC Overnight invests in hub extension

Posted by | Jul 7, 2008 | |

APC Overnight has invested over GBP 250,000 (EUR 316,000) in extending its facilities and purchasing additional high-tech equipment for its National Sortation Centre at Essington in the north of Birmingham.

Following a sustainable construction approach, the new hub developments boast a new 2,400 sqm mezzanine floor giving a 50 pct larger sorting area, with five specially designed lifts that transport parcel cages to the mezzanine in less than 40 seconds. APC says that the investment has boosted its capability and will offer significant improvements in customer service during peak times. In addition, a 1,400 sqm weatherproof canopy has been installed over the company’s unloading bays offering maximum protection for parcels and staff in all weather conditions.

With the additional resources, APC is able to streamline and accelerate its sorting processes by allocating distinct areas for each type of business. This includes a dedicated section called “M Sort area” for 10,000 parcels a night hub handles for local Midlands destinations. This streamlined method of specialised sortation also improves the capacity of the main sorting systems.

APC Overnight, with more than 125 local depots, transports and delivers more than one million parcels each month, and provides a better-than-99.8 pct on-time delivery record.

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