Tag: International

Japanese express service ties create strange bedfellows

Posted by | Jan 14, 2008 | |

The shifting express landscape in Japan is producing some unusual alliances. Concern about the international integrators encroaching on their turf has induced domestic rivals to form pacts with one another.

On December 18, All Nippon Airways, Kintetsu World Express and Nippon Express signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint venture company for international business-to-business express delivery service in Asia. Operations of the new company are slated to commence on April 1 of this year.

ANA will have a 34 percent stake in the new company and Nippon Express and Kintetsu will each take 28 percent, with the remaining 10 percent going to other forwarding companies.

The partners pointed to growth of international logistics and the need for integrated strategic distribution services as the main reasons for their alliance. They stressed the need in Asia for reliable logistics services that can support businesses with rapidly expanding production bases.

The new partnership seems to be a conflict of interest for ANA, which already formed a joint venture cargo airline with Japan Post that took to the air last year with a fleet of B767 freighters. However, the new carrier, which flies to a number of Asian destinations as well as to the US, has signalled that Japan Post’s volumes are not enough to fill the aircraft, so it has been looking for partners to generate more cargo. A planned partnership between Japan Post and TNT has failed to materialise.

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Deutsche Post World Net launches Mail 24/7 service

Posted by | Jan 13, 2008 | |

In Berlin, the first so-called Mail 24/7 was put into operation today. This service island combines self-service options in a modern and compact design. At Berlin Südkreuz station, an easy-to-reach location with high volumes of foot traffic, the largest of the three versions available has been set up. It consists of a cash dispensor, a printer for bank statements, a Packstation, a stamp machine and mail boxes.

A total of thirty service islands are currently installed in Berlin with a further fifteen in Bonn and fifteen in Dortmund. There are three versions of Mail 24/7: ranging from a basic solution with a parcels box, stamp machine and mail box to the premium model with all existing self-service machines. All models are characterised by their user-friendly applications and uniform design. To make the services easier to use around the clock, the units are also lit up at night time.

With what are soon to be more than 13,500 retail outlets throughout Germany, some 900 PACKSTATIONS and shortly 1,000 PARCEL BOXES, Deutsche Post World Net is miles ahead of the competition in terms of accessibility and comfort. With Mail 24/7 the largest logistics company in the world is once again expanding its range of services and so reinforcing its position as the only full-fledged universal services provider in Germany.

If the service is received positively by customers during the trial phase, Deutsche Post will also set up 24/7 service islands in other cities.

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FedEx to stay with contractors (US)

Posted by | Jan 13, 2008 | |

Top managers of FedEx Corp. said last week they have no plans for major changes in the company’s reliance on contract drivers for its ground delivery division.

“We’re continuing to operate with our independent contractors, so you have to go from that premise,” said Dave Rebholz, Chief Executive of FedEx Ground.

Rebholz joined FedEx Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith on a conference call with market analysts to underline the company’s confidence in defending the independent-contractor model against a challenge by the IRS

The IRS issued a preliminary decision last month challenging FedEx Ground’s use of contract drivers instead of making its drivers employees. The decision, which FedEx vows to fight, assessed tax penalties and interest of USD million. The IRS decision is the latest in a series of attacks, primarily through lawsuits, on FedEx Ground’s independent-driver business model.

But Smith said most FedEx Ground drivers like running their own businesses as private contractors. “There are millions of people in this country who have chosen to work for themselves,” Smith said. “I personally believe that’s what freedom is all about.”

While declining specifics on the company’s arguments, general counsel Chris Richards said FedEx will begin meeting in the spring with the IRS over its decision.

Following a legal challenge to the contractor model in California, FedEx is offering financial incentives to single-route drivers there to encourage them to give up their routes or take on multiple routes.

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UPS to open Shanghai cargo hub in November

Posted by | Jan 13, 2008 | |

United Parcel Service Inc. in November plans to touch down on a new 1 million-square-foot air cargo hub in Shanghai. It will be the first U.S. cargo carrier to open a hub in the burgeoning China market.

UPS remained tight-lipped on the cost of the facility at Pudong International Airport, but said it has invested about USD 600 million in China in the past five years.

The new hub, plans for which were announced last spring, is expected to employ more than 1,000 by 2010 and serve cities in China as well as the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia.

UPS now operates from leased space at the Shanghai airport, which it shares with other freight carriers. The hub, which will include office and warehouse space, will give UPS greater control over operations — allowing the carrier to employ its own workers and schedule flights as needed.

While UPS may be the first U.S. carrier to open an air hub in China, it won’t be the only one for long.

FedEx Corp. is building an air hub in Guangzhou, China, scheduled to be completed by December.

UPS declined to disclose how much of its revenue comes from China, but said its export volume from the country was up more than 25 percent in the first nine months of 2007 compared with the prior year.

UPS, which became the first wholly owned foreign express carrier in China, serves more than 330 Chinese cities representing 85 percent of the country’s international trade activity.

The company has grown its China workforce to more than 4,500 employees while developing logistics infrastructure that includes more than 60 distribution centers.

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DHL re-launches ‘university express’ service

Posted by | Jan 11, 2008 | |

DHL, has re launched its ‘university express’ service in Pakistan, designed especially for students applying for international admissions to universities and colleges around the world.

Yasin Amanullah, DHL’s National Marketing Manager, said, “With DHL’s university express, students can rest assured that their applications will be delivered safely and on time. When students are looking for timely delivery of their applications to meet university and college deadlines, all at an affordable price, university express stands out as the obvious solution”.

He said increasing competition for overseas university admissions has led more students to focus on ensuring their applications are sent and received on time. Students who will use the university express service by DHL, also enjoy over 30 percent discount on the special service.

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