Tag: North America

U.S. Postal Service ramps up R&D of new technologies

Posted by | Apr 25, 2007 | |

The U.S. Postal Service is meeting its performance challenges head-on with a USD 51 million contract with Serco Inc., Vienna, Va., for engineering support services, including support for research and development of new technologies. The contract also provides for technical, project management and IT services, as well as quality assurance consulting work and testing and evaluation of future mail-processing equipment.

According to Walter O’Tormey, vice president, Engineering, the contract represents the Postal Service’s efforts to continually enhance and develop technologies that improve operational efficiencies and customer service and drive down costs.

“Being at the cutting-edge in mail-processing technology has enabled the Postal Service to greatly improve productivity and customer service in the past, and it will continue to do so in the future,” said O’Tormey. “The acquisition of these technical support services will help us do just that.”

The two-year base contract has four two-year options, bringing the potential contract value to USD 260 million over 10 years.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of USD 73 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.

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USPS – countdown to new international mailing

Posted by | Apr 24, 2007 | |

USPS has simplified the eight main International Mail products into four: Global Express Guaranteed, Express Mail International, Priority Mail International and First-Class Mail International.

Another simplification for customers comes in packaging. Also effective May 14, mailers can use the same Priority Mail and Express Mail packaging whether they are shipping within the United States or to another country. And as always, the packaging supplies are available free of charge from USPS.

Other changes to make international mailing easy for customers are:
The same flat-rate packaging already popular for domestic shipping can now be used for international mailing.
Online tools now combine a mailer’s customs form and address label into one, easy-to-complete document.
Discounts are available for postage purchased online using Click-N-Ship at usps.com or through authorized PC postage vendors. Online customers also can request Free Package Pickup for most International Mail services.

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Personalized Mailboxes

Posted by | Apr 24, 2007 | |

Before interstates, blue highways and global overnight delivery, the Rural Federal Delivery brought correspondence and packages to rural mailboxes that were as individual as each resident. Now, as more and more mass-produced Cluster Box Units (CBUs) replace the quirky, personalized mailboxes of our back roads, some say we’re in danger of losing a beloved part of Americana. Others say rural Americans are, like the rest of the country, simply looking to upgrade their service, access and security.
In a world that thrives on cultural icons, mailboxes are peculiarly American expressions of identity. Just take a drive in any area of the country to view the care and creativity that go into designing a mailbox to complement the homeowner’s lifestyle. For example, fiberglass dolphins and manatees or wooden lighthouses are popular in shell-lined coastal areas. Whirligigs, anchors and nautical ropes are also big for ocean-side bungalows. Miniature McMansions with cedar shingles and slate roofs grace the paved drives of gated communities. And small, hollow yurts and geodesic domes stand as sentinels on the dirt roads of Rocky Mountain skiers and backcountry hippies.
Before interstates, blue highways and global overnight delivery, the Rural Federal Delivery brought correspondence and packages to rural mailboxes that were as individual as each resident. Now, as more and more mass-produced Cluster Box Units (CBUs) replace the quirky, personalized mailboxes of our back roads, some say we’re in danger of losing a beloved part of Americana. Others say rural Americans are, like the rest of the country, simply looking to upgrade their service, access and security.

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Canada Post announces new four-year agreement with postal workers

Posted by | Apr 24, 2007 | |

Canada Post is pleased to announce it has successfully negotiated a new four-year collective agreement with its largest bargaining agent, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). The new agreement will be in place until January 31, 2011.

There are approximately 50,000 employees represented by CUPW who are responsible for the collection, processing and delivery of mail in mostly urban centres across the country. A separate bargaining unit is responsible for delivery in rural Canada.

“This negotiated agreement exemplifies the strong commitment of Canada Post and its thousands of employees across the country to ensuring our customers and all Canadians continue to receive the highest possible level of service,” said Moya Greene, President and CEO.

Ms Greene also recognized the professional and business-like approach adopted by the negotiating teams throughout the bargaining process.

“This allowed the parties to focus on fairness and respect for employees while also recognizing the essential need to look after the interests of customers,” she said. “The new agreement signals the determination of Canada Post and our dedicated workforce to move forward together to take on the very real competitive challenges of the marketplace.”

The new agreement, replacing the one that expired January 31, 2007, provides a wide range of improvements in compensation and working conditions while helping the Corporation to better manage benefit costs for the future.

The Canada Post Group of Companies is a key enabler of the Canadian economy. We deliver more than 40 million messages, pieces of mail and parcels every business day. Our 72,000 employees and 6,600 post offices, as well as the 14 million physical addresses we serve, are each a key link in our network that connects Canadian businesses and consumers from coast to coast to coast.

The tentative agreement was reached February 8 and was ratified during voting by the union membership that concluded April 22, 2007.

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FedEx says landing rules cut its efficiency

Posted by | Apr 24, 2007 | |

New FAA landing rules imposed at Memphis International Airport last week reduce FedEx Express’ efficiency by more than 20 percent some days, quickly affecting its ability to deliver on its famous promise, the company says.

FedEx, surprised that the decision happened without warning, wrote a letter to Federal Aviation Administration administrator Marion Blakely last week, taking the agency to task for proceeding “without a formal review” and saying the impact “to our ‘absolutely, positively overnight’ service cannot be understated.”

The letter, signed by James Parker, senior vice president of air operations, says FedEx’s daytime landing efficiency will drop from 88 landings an hour to 68 landings when winds are out of the south.

The FAA starts its formal review at the airport today with agency officials from Washington, Atlanta and the Memphis air traffic control tower.

The goal, she said, is to see if the suspended procedure can be “mitigated” in a way that doesn’t affect safety “and has little impact on capacity.”

FedEx, which says it has never recorded a safety incident in the configuration, questions why the FAA would halt a long-used practice that the agency itself said was safe in 1999.

Since last week, controllers have been instructed to stagger landings on the runways when the wind is out of the south. The FAA said winds call for the landing configuration here 17 percent of the time.

National Weather Service records over 40 years show the wind blows out of the south in Memphis more than 42 percent of the year. In April, May, June and July, it is closer to 50 percent.

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