Tag: Mail Services

Postcomm hold open meeting on postal strikes (UK)

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

On 14 May, Postcomm held an open meeting ‘After the Postal Strikes’ to hear evidence on Royal Mail’s application for suspension of the ‘c factor’ adjustment (restrictions on the level by which Royal Mail can raise prices if service quality is not met) and the bulk mail compensation scheme, following industrial action last year.

Postwatch presented a number of areas in the application which Postcomm should investigate further, including whether:

– the whole of quarter 3 (from 3 Sept to 2 Dec) should be included in the application.
– recovery periods, following industrial action, within the application are reasonable.
– claims for unofficial industrial action should be included.

Postcomm have invited further written evidence by any interested parties on the impact of industrial action and Royal Mail’s application to be submitted by the end of May.

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Bulgarian Posts set for massive restructuring

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

Bulgarian Posts will be restructured into a holding of six shareholding companies, which will draw on the public private partnership model, and will appoint a second executive director to represent the interests of attracted strategic investors, a copy of the corporate restructuring strategy, leaked to Dnevnik daily reads.

The company’s executive director Entseslav Harmandzhiev has already briefed the leaders of Bulgarian trade unions about the plans.

According to the strategy, restructuring would be implemented by October 1. It will result in the formation of the companies Finance Post, Bulpost/EMS, Post Trans and Trade, Bulgarian Philately, Hybrid Post and Post Tourist. All companies will attract strategic investors and will be forming public-private partnerships.

Bulpost / EMS will take over the courier postal services business, both inbound and outbound. Finance Post will be in charge of financial services (postal cash transfers and cash collection). Hybrid Post will offer utility payments. Post Trans and Trade will tackle logistics and commercial activities, whereas Bulgarian Philately – the business with envelopes and stamps.

The sixth company, Post Tourist, will operate the vacation sites owned by Bulgarian Posts. This type of activity is an attempt to diversify the range of Bulgarian Posts services. Currently, the holding owns seven holiday sites worth a combined 20 million leva. They are located in Golden Sands, SS Konstantin and Elena, in Bankya, Pancharevo, Ravda, off Batak dam and Apriltsi village.

None of the six shareholding companies will be dealing with the universal postal service, letter distribution. According to the Postal Services Act, Bulgarian Posts EAD is obliged to offer the universal postal service nationwide at low prices. According to Harmandzhiev, it would be operated by the parent company Bulgarian Posts.

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U.S. Postmaster General Embraces Change

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

Postmaster General John Potter told more than 3,000 people attending the National Postal Forum to look beyond the current economic downturn and continue to transition mail into the 21st Century.

Potter provided the Forum’s keynote address, discussing technology, environmental concerns and changes in federal law that gave the Postal Service greater pricing flexibility. The National Postal Forum is the mailing industry’s premiere trade show and event.

Consumer and business need for speedy and reliable service is growing. For mail to continue to be relevant, the industry must change to continue to provide business solutions.

Potter spoke about new technologies that are providing these solutions — Intelligent Mail Barcode and the Flat Sequencing System (FSS). FSS is new technology that will speed the sorting and delivery of large envelopes, catalogs and magazines, quadrupling productivity. FSS machines also will be able to read the Intelligent Mail Barcode, allowing mailers and the Postal Service to track mail throughout the sortation process, improving service and reducing costs to mailers and consumers.

He also encouraged mailers to respect consumer interest and concerns about the environment when creating and sending mail. Eco-friendly practices, programs and services are key to the future of the industry as more consumers chose to do business with companies that embrace green practices.

That future also includes dramatic changes created by the Postal Law of 2006. The law enables the Postal Service to more effectively compete in the shipping market, providing unprecedented pricing flexibility for package services.

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Israel Post Co. accuses Communications Minister of not implementing agreements

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

The Israel Post Company said last week that due to dispute with Ariel Atias, Communications Minister, it would lay off 150 employees immediately and cancel the planned hiring of 700 contract employees as regular employees.

In a statement issued by the company it accused the communications minister of not implementing agreements guaranteeing the company’s financial standing.

A spokesman for the company noted that a year ago an agreement was reached between the postal company and Ministries of Communications, Finance and the General Federation of Labor in Israel which was supposed to furnish the company with the necessary standing. Since the agreement was reached the Minister has apparently done little to implement it.

In the statement the company also threatened to cut executive salaries by 10 pct and reduce the marketing budget because the company lost little over NIS 90 million in 2007 (around USD 30 million), more than double the projected loss.

The company which is the largest logistic provider in Israel provides its customers with highly sophisticated mail sorting technology at three centers in Israel; computerized point-of-service stations at the branches; a computerized system for tracking postal items.

It has a large transportation fleet that reaches everywhere in the country daily and sophisticated control mechanisms for collection and distribution of mail.

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Customers ready to pay for first class post (UK)

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

Residential customers would rather pay a premium for next-day postal delivery than see standards fall, according to Postwatch.

In its latest evidence to the independent review of the impact of competition on the postal market, the consumer watchdog said users were opposed to any move away from the one-price-goes-anywhere service.

Under the terms of the universal service obligation, Royal Mail has to offer one delivery a day to every address in the UK, six days a week. The way this is paid for became a pressing issue this month when Royal Mail estimated the service made a loss of about GBP 100m last year.

Postwatch chair Millie Banerjee said today: “Postwatch is a keen supporter of a sustainable universal postal service which meets the needs of senders and receivers.

“We are acutely aware that declining mail volumes and the recent announcement by the Royal Mail that the UPS has become loss making gives customers real cause for concern about the future of the service they value.”

Included in Postwatch’s submission are the results of research carried out on its behalf among residential customers, small businesses and bulk mailers.

The research found that while the existing universal service obligation met users’ needs, many said some areas could be improved, including reliability and speed of delivery. Residential customers wanted deliveries six days a week while businesses were unconcerned whether they were made five or six days a week.

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