Tag: Royal Mail

GLS Austria claims "Express-Parcel" is 100 pct on-time

Posted by | Oct 23, 2008 | |

GLS Austria said it has recorded a continuously growing demand for its “Express-Parcel” service introduced in February this year and is achieving 100 pct on-time delivery within the defined time-frame.

Nine months after the introduction of the service, the shipment volumes are steadily growing at double-digit rates, the company said in a statement. Next-day delivery by 17:00 is the standard option of the express service. Similar to basic parcel delivery, Express-Parcel can be combined with various additional services such as complementary insurance as well as time-definite and Saturday deliveries.

The special feature of the Austrian express product is its integration in the company’s parcel system.

According to GLS Austria, the 12:00 delivery is the most popular service option accounting for about 40 pct of all GLS express shipments nationwide.

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Firebox signs deal with Royal Mail Sameday (UK)

Posted by | Oct 22, 2008 | |

Online gadget retailer Firebox.com has signed a deal with Royal Mail’s Sameday service to offer customers within the M25 an extra delivery option in the run up to Christmas. The Sameday service offers those within the M25 delivery between 6pm and 9pm if they place an order before 2pm.
Firebox.com already offers a range of delivery options including Royal Mail’s Local Collect service, which allows customers to ask for an item to be taken directly to a Post Office branch if they know they will not be at home to receive it.

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Mandelson fuels Royal Mail speculation

Posted by | Oct 22, 2008 | |

A crucial review on the future of Royal Mail is set to be delayed, Lord Mandelson suggested on Tuesday (21st October), as he fuelled speculation that the loss-making postal operator would be privatised.
The Financial Times’ revelation earlier this week that the business secretary supported in principle the partial privatisation of Royal Mail caused a furore among unions and Labour MPs, who see public ownership of the company as a totemic manifesto commitment.
He refused to set any deadline for publishing a government-commissioned review of the postal services sector by Richard Hooper, the former telecoms regulator.
The Hooper review, which will set the context for government decisions on Royal Mail’s future, was expected to report to ministers earlier this month.
The business secretary admitted that the Hooper review’s initial findings earlier this year “paint a rather stark picture of the huge challenges facing Royal Mail”.
But he appeared sceptical in response to calls from Labour MPs to apply tougher pricing controls to Royal Mail’s rivals.
The two principal problems facing the state-owned operator – a reduction in the overall volumes of letters being sent and a huge pensions deficit – “are not down to regulation”, said Lord Mandelson.

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Direct mail industry supports Royal Mail privatisation plans (UK)

Posted by | Oct 22, 2008 | |

The UK direct mail industry has thrown its weight behind Lord Mandelson’s call for the partial privatisation of the Royal Mail, expecting it to be a positive move for the industry.
The call from the business secretary comes weeks before the government’s review of the postal service.

Gurdev Singh, Managing Director of direct mail printer Howitt, said: “Partial privatisation? I think it should be fully privatised. There needs to be drastic changes.”

He added: “At the moment, it seems that Royal Mail is fighting with one arm stuck behind its back and I agree that maintaining the status quo is imply not an option.”

Alex Walsh, Head of Postal Affairs at the DMA, echoed his thoughts saying the association “would like to see an efficient, profitable Royal Mail and it has been questioned before whether this can happen in its current structure”.

The postal regulator Postcomm earlier this year put its weight behind the partial privatisation of Royal Mail. It argued that access to private capital coupled with a stronger set of incentives were necessary to help it restructure and become more profitable.

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Lord Mandelson to face MPs' questions over economy and Royal Mail privatisation

Posted by | Oct 21, 2008 | |

The Business Secretary is expected to be asked about a newspaper interview in which he signalled support for the partial privatisation of Royal Mail, which drew condemnation from Labour colleagues and unions.
John McDonnell MP said: “This proposed privatisation of the Post Office by the newly anointed Business Secretary is madness. It would undermine an essential public service.
“In the current economic climate, throwing the Post Office to the wolves of the private sector will lead to further job losses and cuts in services on an unprecedented scale.”
Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: “Peter Mandelson has only just come back into Government, but he should be aware that there is a clear commitment from the Labour Government to keep Royal Mail in the public sector, restated earlier this year at the national policy forum in Warwick.
“At a time of economic instability the last thing the British public wants to hear is that privatisation is the solution to Royal Mail’s problems.”
Lord Mandelson is also under fire following the decision by his deparment to re-examine the costs and benefits of new regulations that would extend flexible working.
Although business groups welcomed the move unions, opposition politicians and family campaigners attacked the announcement.

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