Tag: Mail Services

USPS Postmaster General eyes Web as competition

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

The passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 and the downturn of the economy have resulted in a year of transition for the US Postal Service, said Postmaster General Jack Potter in his keynote address today at the National Postal Forum in Anaheim, CA. As a result of the new law, the USPS has implemented new pricing regulations and is also working on new service standards, Potters said.

“We’re in competition with the Internet,” Potter said more than once during his speech. In order to better compete, more value needs to be added to the mail, he said. At the same time, it’s “imperative” to keep prices down, Potter said.

One way to add that value is by using the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB), which encodes routing and tracking information on mail, Potter said. Within the last year, the USPS has been seeking and responding to public feedback regarding the implementation of the IMB, he said. Overall, mailers understand the benefit of the barcode, which will save them money and decrease the amount of undeliverable as addressed mail, he added.

The upcoming deployment of Flats Sequencing System (FSS) machines will provide a faster and more efficient way to sort flat mail, which includes magazines and catalogs, Potters said. The new machines will save mailers money and help eliminate the “labor intensive” practice of manually sorting flat mail. The first FSS machine is already up and running in Dulles, Virginia, he said.

In light of pending do-not-mail legislation in states across the US, Potter also stressed the importance of addressing customers’ environmental concerns about the mail. There needs to be more discussion of the benefits of having something delivered versus driving around from store to store, he said. At the same time, mailers need to be smarter about what and how frequently they mail to their customers, he added. “Going green makes sense,” he said.

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Pitney Bowes New VariSort(TM) Mixed Mail Sorter Helps Mailers Achieve Greater Postal Discounts

Posted by | May 19, 2008 | |

Pitney Bowes Inc announced the introduction of the new Pitney Bowes VariSort(TM) Mixed Mail Sorter, a flexible sorting solution that helps mailers, mail consolidators and private posts automatically process all types of mail–even difficult-to-process materials–to maximize postal discounts.

The VariSort(TM) solution is the latest in the growing family of sorting solutions from Pitney Bowes. It automates the presorting of all types of mail pieces including clean or complex flats, hard-to-process materials including polywrap, bound printed matter, padded envelopes, small parcels and even irregular-shaped pieces. Automating more types of mail allows mailers to realize increased USPS(R) workshare discounts for presorting flats, while mail consolidators and private posts can offer expanded services to their customers.

The VariSort(TM) solution is designed to automate scanning, weighing, labeling and sorting of mixed mail pieces at speeds up to 8,000 pieces per hour to provide mailers with improved accuracy, increased productivity, greater integrity, and reduced labor costs, while they realize postal discounts.

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Deutsche Post supports the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn

Posted by | May 18, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net is actively supporting the UN environmental conference in Bonn, where the parties to the convention on biological diversity will meet from on May 19. A central element of Deutsche Post World Net’s engagement will be supporting the opening event on May 19, which will be attended by UN representatives, German Federal Environmental Minister Sigmar Gabriel and the Mayor of Bonn, Bärbel Dieckmann.

Deutsche Post World Net is actively supporting the success of the UN environment conference as part of its commitment to the city of Bonn, where ts headquarters is located and as direct part of its own climate protection program, GoGreen. As the first company in its industry to implement a measurable climate protection target, the Group aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent for every letter mailed, every container shipped and every square meter of space used by 2020.

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Sell-off of Royal Mail 'doomed'

Posted by | May 18, 2008 | |

A plan by regulator Postcomm to partly privatise Royal Mail will fail because of the company’s huge and growing pension deficit, according to a leading independent consultant.

John Ralfe said Royal Mail was technically insolvent with a GBP 3bn pension hole. ‘No trade or equity investor would even consider taking a stake unless Royal Mail could be shorn of its pensions,’ he said in a research note for RBC Capital Markets.

Ralfe said that even if the Government, Royal Mail’s owner, could be persuaded to run the pension scheme, it would be illegal because it would be a clear breach of the EU Treaty that bans anti-competitive state aid.

Postcomm’s suggestion that Britain should follow the lead of the Danish and Swedish postal services in allowing partial privatisation was not valid because neither had to cope with such huge pension liabilities.

The Postcomm plan has run into further opposition, with the Communication Workers Union, the main postal workers’ union, suggesting that the proposals overstepped the regulator’s remit.

And the Government would face opposition from its own MPs with close links to the CWU. Royal Mail announced last week that it made a GBP 279m loss in the year to March. And the company has two new and emerging problems.

First, mail volumes are starting to decline. And second, Royal Mail has been forced to open up its business post services to competition.

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Deutsche Post seeks tie-up in U.S. for Express

Posted by | May 18, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post AG. is seeking to solve problems at its loss-making Express business in the United States by forming a cooperation with a partner in that country, with Fedex Corp and the U.S. Postal Service as likely candidates, Euro am Sonntag reported, citing sources.

It said Deutsche Post has ruled out United Parcel Service Inc as a potential partner.

If Deutsche Post does not find an appropriate partner, it would let its DHL Express unit operate key hubs in the United States and then work with regional-based companies to deliver the parcels, the report said.

Deutsche Post chief executive Frank Appel told the AGM on May 6 that a complete exit from the U.S. market is not an option for the company.

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