Tag: International

Itella first in Finland to test automated parcel terminal

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Itella is the first in Finland to test an automated parcel terminal, which offers a new way for consumers to pick up their parcels. The three-month pilot project will be launched in cooperation with Hobby Hall on 3 March in Itäkeskus, Helsinki.

The automated parcel terminal increases the number of ways in which consumers can receive parcels. In the future, consumers can choose to pick up a parcel from the post office, from an automated parcel terminal or even have it delivered to their home.

Typically, an automatic parcel terminal has 50-100 parcel lockers, the size of which can be altered. The customers receive an SMS informing them of a parcel that has arrived and with which the locker in the automated parcel terminal can be opened. The safety and usability of the terminal’s interface corresponds to that of an automatic teller machine.

The pilot project is realised together with Hobby Hall, the distance selling market leader in Finland, and its customers. Those selected to participate in the pilot study will receive an SMS message, which they can use to pick up a free parcel from Hobby Hall at the Itäkeskus terminal.

As part of the pilot project, Itella will perform an extensive survey of the service needs of consumers and distance selling companies and create a terminal service concept that meets the actual Finnish market demands. “After the pilot project is over, we will introduce an automated parcel terminal operations model suitable for the Finnish markets and announce our future plans,” says Aku Happo.

The English company Business Direct is in charge of the technical realisation of the automated parcel terminal.

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Axel Springer slumps to FY net loss of 288 mln eur on PIN writedown

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Axel Springer AG said it posted a full-year net loss of 288 mln eur, compared with a year-earlier profit of 291 mln, after the company wrote down the value of postal service unit PIN Group AG.

Axel Springer already said last year it expects to write down the value of PIN Group, in which it holds a majority stake, by up to 620 mln eur after talks with the other owners to finance the business failed.

Earnings before interest, tax and amortization, adjusted for one-time items, rose 12.5 pct year-on-year to 422 mln eur, Axel Springer said in a statement today.

Sales rose to 2.578 bln eur from 2.376 bln a year earlier, excluding revenues from PIN Group, which is reported under discontinued activities.

Axel Springer also said it will hike dividend payments to shareholders to a record level of 4.00 eur per share from 3.50 eur in 2006.

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Delivery transparency key to good online shopping experience (UK)

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Clear information on delivery charges and the ability to track the progress of items ordered are important factors in a good online shopping experience, a Royal Mail study has revealed.

Eight out of ten (84 per cent) of online shoppers expect clear delivery information before they place their order, while 81 per cent want the option to specify a delivery address for their goods and 77 per cent like to be kept updated on the progress of their order.

The study revealed that 19 in 20 online shoppers have abandoned a shopping basket with 37 per cent doing so regularly. More than four in ten people (42 per cent) ended their transaction before check-out because of the delivery charge.

And a good delivery experience comes only second to price in the overall shopping experience and is considered more important than shopping from established websites, well-known brands or having a large range of goods. 94 per cent of people are likely to shop again from an online retailer if they are happy with the delivery of their goods.

Val Walker, Head of Multi-Channel Retail at Royal Mail, said: “With 39 per cent of people now shopping online, and becoming increasingly comfortable with the process, delivery details and options are a primary influence on consumers’ choice of online retailer.

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Union rejects Royal Mail reform (UK)

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Unions are holding a consultative ballot after the closure of the company’s own consultation.

They say a strike ballot could follow if the Royal Mail does not improve the pension benefits on offer.

The firm plans to reduce the final salary scheme for new and current members and raise the retirement age.

“Overall the proposal will cost people over 34% in their pensions, one way or another,” said Paul Reuter, an official of the postal managers union Unite.

“If there is no improvement then we shall move to a strike ballot,” he said.

The main features of the company’s plan to cut its long-term pension costs are:

– a career average scheme to replace the current final salary version from 1 April 2008 for existing staff
– the standard retirement age to rise from 60 to 65 in 2010, though only for service after that date
– new recruits to be offered a separate “money purchase” scheme
– staff will continue to contribute 6 pct of salaries a year.

Under a career average scheme, a member’s eventual pension will be related to their salary in each year of their career, rather than to their salary in their final year of employment, thus guaranteeing that most staff will get a smaller pension.

Last autumn postal staff voted to end a series of strikes over their employer’s plans to bring in new working methods as well as the changes to the pension scheme.

However, those proposals required further legal consultation with the staff, which saw 165,000 employees being sent a 44-page booklet outlining the impact of the changes.

At the time the Royal Mail claimed it had “the union’s support for the company’s overall proposed pension reform,” although the unions said at the time that their position had been misrepresented.

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PIN Group announces first unit closures

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Insolvent German mail operator PIN Group announced the closure of a first unit in Germany and its subsidiary PIN West Mail, effective from March 1, 2008.

As much as 582 jobs are to be cut in two German cities, while the company has already cut some 680 jobs in different cities in Germany, said Bruno Kübler, financial administrator of the PIN Group holding company.

According to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland, PIN Group’s CEO is leading intense talks with investors over the sale of the whole group and the spokesman said there was still hope for a successful deal. A few days ago Kübler declared that the closure and insolvency of several PIN Group units did not rule out the possibility of a sale of the entire company later. The units could then be integrated and the laid-off employees could get their jobs back.

PIN Group employs around 9,000 at 91 sites across Germany. For the insolvency it has filed 37 of its units with a staff of 7,000. The insolvency payments at a dozen of the mentioned units will stop from the end of February 2008.

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