Challenges and lessons learnt from the implementation of sequence sorting at Norway Post
Challenges and lessons learnt from the implementation of sequence sorting at Norway Post
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Publication of Postal Directive marks start date for real market opening
The publication marks the entry into force of the directive and sets the clock ticking for abolishing legal monopolies on postal services by 31 December 2010. The Directive is the result of a broad political consensus on the way forward for the regulatory framework of European postal services. The Commission will monitor and assist Member States pro-actively in implementing the Directive. In particular, it will pay close attention to potential entry barriers that would deprive users of the benefit of a dynamic and open market.
The mission of EU postal reform continues. Next steps will require close monitoring of the development of competition notably by national regulatory authorities whose role has now been strengthened further. Particular attention will be paid to quality and prices of universal postal service. The Commission services will assist Member States in the transposition of the Directive to ensure that postal reform remains true to its objective of high quality and innovative postal services.
The text published reflects the overall political agreement between the institutions and keeps the key elements of the Commission’s initial proposal and in particular: the accomplishment of the internal market of Community postal services via the abolition of the reserved area in all Member States; the confirmation of the scope and standard of universal service; reinforcement of consumers’ rights and upgrading of the role of national regulatory authorities; the offering of a list of measures Member States may take to safeguard and finance, if necessary, the universal service.
With the removal of reserved areas, users of postal services can expect the services available to them to develop and further improve. In this open environment, universal service providers will be motivated to become more reliable and efficient and to further increase their customer focus in the light of potential competition from new market entrants. In line with the goals of the Lisbon agenda, full market opening will also directly foster the creation of new jobs in new postal companies, and, indirectly, in the industries dependent on the postal sector.
Read MoreGreen growth for Norway Post in the Nordic region
Norway Post is making green the main colour for its Nordic postal and logistics operations. In Norway, the company will keep its well-known red colour.
Norway Post’s strategy is to be a leading player in the postal, logistics and IT sectors in the Nordic region. Customers are becoming increasingly Nordic and Norway Post offers solutions that meet Nordic needs. By investing more than NOK 5 billion in acquisitions over the past three years, Norway Post has gained a solid foothold in the Nordic market, mainly in Sweden. The acquired companies have increased the Group’s revenues by NOK 10 billion in three years and a corresponding expansion is planned for the years to come. Companies outside Norway accounted for 23 per cent of Norway Post’s income in 2007.
The expansion has also led to a large number of brands in Norway Post’s portfolio. Now the time has come to create more distinctiveness and make the Group’s activities in Norway and the Nordic region visible.
Norway Post is working on a new brand strategy that aims to make visible its wide range of Norwegian and Nordic products and services and equip the Group to face the major changes in the market. One of the conclusions from this work is that the Group is to choose green as the main colour for its Nordic postal and logistics operations.
By choosing the colour green, Norway Post is building further on the successful position and good visibility that its subsidiary Box has achieved in the Nordic region.
The appearance of Norway Post’s Nordic operations, including their brand and symbol, will not be known until the new brand is launched later in 2008. In Norway, the company will keep its well-known red colour.
Read MoreNorway Post’s and Itella’s information logistics services combined into a new joint venture in Norway
Norway Post and Itella are to establish a joint venture in Norway. After this transaction, Itella will own 51 percent and Norway Post 49 percent of Itella Information AS. Itella Information’s services in Norway, together with Norway Post’s services in the field of information logistics, will be combined into Itella Information AS. The company’s net sales will total approximately EUR 25 million (200 million NOK). The deal is conditional and requires the approval of the Competition Authorities.
The aim of the joint venture is to make Itella Information AS into the leading information logistics company in Norway. Itella Information provides services for the processing, management and delivery of information flows.
Norway Post’s current operations relating to information logistics will be transferred to the joint venture.
– This is part of the implementation of the Norway Post Group’s strategy, and is a proactive measure which will make the new joint venture a leading player in the industry in Norway, says Lars Tendal, Senior Vice President of the Post Division, Norway Post.
– This is the next step in the execution of Itella’s strategy in Northern Europe. In January, Itella bought the business operations of BusinessPoint S.A. in Poland. We believe that, through cooperation and common solutions, we will provide the strongest value proposal to our Norwegian customers, says Heikki Länsisyrjä, Senior Vice President, Itella Group.
Read MoreStrong Nordic growth for Norway Post in 2007
Norway Post increased its revenue by 15.7 per cent in 2007 to NOK 27.4 billion. The largest increase occurred in the Logistics and IT segments. Earnings before taxes were NOK 949 million, compared with NOK 1 200 million in 2006.
Good progress was made in 2007 in terms of income growth, improved quality and strengthened positions in Norway and the Nordic region. Turnover from businesses outside Norway increased by NOK 2.1 billion, or 50 per cent over 2006, and comprised 22.8 per cent of the Group’s revenue in 2007.
This strong growth shows that we are on the right path in terms of strengthening our position in Norway and the Nordic region. Customers are increasingly Nordic, and Norway Post has to offer solutions that meet Nordic demands, says Norway Post CEO Dag Mejdell.
The Group’s profitability declined in 2007 due to increased personnel and transport costs, additional resources to improve delivery quality, and costs related to the expansion of CityMail.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in 2007 were NOK 1 080 million, compared with NOK 1 313 million in 2006. EBIT before non-recurring items was NOK 826 million compared with NOK 1 283 the previous year. Norway Post’s EBIT margin in 2007 was 3.9 per cent, compared with 5.5 per cent in 2006. The Group has identified concrete initiatives to strengthen EBIT going forward, especially in the Post segment.
The extensive measures implemented last year to improve delivery quality for letters and packages have produced good results. 85.1 per cent of A-priority mail arrived overnight in 2007, compared with 82.4 per cent in 2006. The five other statutory license requirements were surpassed by a significant margin in 2007.
The quality improvement initiatives implemented in 2007 will give increasingly positive results in 2008.
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