Tag: North America

Deutsche Post names new Head of ailing DHL U.S. unit

Posted by | May 6, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post AG replaced the head of the DHL Express unit’s unprofitable U.S. operations as the company tries to turn the business around.

Ken Allen, 52, previously Chief of DHL Express in eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is taking over from Hans Hickler, Chief Executive Officer Frank Appel said at the annual shareholders meeting in Cologne, Germany, today. Hickler will remain on DHL Express’s global management board, said Nicole Mommsen, a company spokeswoman.

Appel is faced with reorganizing DHL’s U.S. express- delivery unit and is under pressure to decide whether to dispose of the company’s majority holding in the Deutsche Postbank AG retail bank. Bonn-based Deutsche Post will present a plan for the U.S. business by the end of May, Appel reiterated today. The CEO also stuck to earnings targets for this year and 2009.

“U.S. express business remains unprofitable and thus not satisfactory,” Appel said. Deutsche Post is reviewing all options for the unit, though a pullout from the U.S. market is “not an option.”

Deutsche Post fell as much as 22 cents, or 1.1 percent, to 20.59 euros in German trading and was down 0.2 percent as of 11:50 a.m. in Frankfurt. The stock has declined 12 percent this year, valuing the company at 25.1 billion euros (USD 38.9 billion).

DHL is the fourth-largest shipper of packages in the U.S., with 5.9 percent of the market, according to data compiled by SJ Consulting Group Inc. UPS is the biggest with 52 percent, followed by FedEx’s 30 percent and the government-owned U.S. Postal Service with 12 percent.

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FedEx IT Executive Receives 2008 Ones to Watch Award from IDG’s CIO Magazine and CIO Executive Council

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

Sherry Aaholm, executive vice president of Information Technology, FedEx Services, is a recipient of the 2008 CIO Ones to Watch awards from IDG’s CIO magazine and CIO Executive Council. This prestigious honor is bestowed upon 20 rising stars in information technology (IT) who bring leadership, innovation and value to their organization and are primed to become future CIOs. Ms. Aaholm will accept her award at the CIO Ones to Watch awards ceremony held on May 19, 2008, at The Sheraton Boston in Boston, Massachusetts during CIO magazine’s Leadership Event.

“The Ones to Watch honorees are, variously, great technologists, project managers, information architects and risk managers. The one thing they all have in common is their ability to lead,” says Abbie Lundberg, CIO editor in chief.

All Ones to Watch honorees must be nominated or endorsed by a CIO. Nominations were submitted between September and November 2007 and reviewed by a judging panel of 30 leading CIOs.

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USPS launching competitive expedited mail prices

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

From May 12, prices for Express Mail, the US Postal Service’s premier overnight service, will be lower at the weights and in the delivery zones used by most customers. Also, the Postal Service will offer price incentives for both Express Mail and Priority Mail, its two- to three-day shipping service. Online users and commercial Priority Mail customers will see lower prices, while high-volume Express Mail shippers will get quarterly rebates and price reductions. These savings are now possible due to a recent change in federal law.

All Express Mail and Priority Mail customers can save money by going online to purchase postage, including customers using Click-N-Ship at usps.com. Express Mail customers will receive 3 percent off the published retail prices and Priority Mail customers will save an average 3.5 percent. Customized contract pricing will also soon be available for large commercial customers.

Also on May 12, guaranteed overnight delivery through Express Mail will be available to thousands of additional locations.

The Postal Service does not impose fuel surcharges, hidden surcharges or surcharges for residential delivery, Saturday delivery or address correction.

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Royal Mail goes digital (UK)

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

After trials on hand-held tracker/scanners carried out by 700 Royal Mail postal workers ended in March, Royal Mail is to expand the installation of the technology throughout its fleet of vehicles.

The scanner/trackers (PDAs) are already in use by other postal and parcel operators but Royal Mail has been testing different types to establish which work best in the field. So far, none have been a great success for postal workers operating on foot, but one has been selected for use in vehicles throughout the network. The name of the manufacturer will be announced shortly.

The scanners include an emergency 999 facility to provide added protection for users, the ability to scan signatures for delivery verification, as well as log collection points in real time via GPS.

The CWU, which was initially concerned that the introduction of the technology would enable Royal Mail to ‘spy’ on workers, has agreed that the new equipment would provide an important enhancement to services as well as added protection for operatives – providing a code of conduct is agreed between the CWU and Royal Mail.

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FedEx Truckload Brokerage moves into Canada

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

FedEx Truckload Brokerage, a subsidiary of FedEx Custom Critical, said today it has expanded its services into Canada.

A FedEx spokesperson told LM that since FedEx Truckload Brokerage launched last year, its customers “have been asking us to handle their Canadian shipments, so this was the natural next step for FedEx Truckload Brokerage.”

The biggest benefit of this Northern expansion for shippers, according to the spokesperson, is simply that they have a FedEx service for their truckload shipments to and from Canada.

FedEx Truckload Brokerage initially hit the market in a “soft launch” in January 2007, and it formally hit the market the following April. The service is focused on providing shippers with full-service truckload brokerage service offerings, ranging from regular, dry-van freight to oversized pieces that need flatbed trailers, according to FedEx Custom Critical. And it added that additional resources can be deployed for shipments that need temperature control functionality.

A little more than a year ago, the list of qualified carriers that meet FedEx’ requirements was comprised of more than 100 carriers. Today, the spokesman said, FedEx Truckload Brokerage works with 275 carriers, with approximately 10 percent of those carriers offering cross-border services between the U.S. and Canada.

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