Tag: Royal Mail

New body created after Energywatch and Postwatch merge (UK)

Posted by | Oct 1, 2008 | |

The formation of the new Consumer Focus organisation happens on 1st October – but some MPs remain to be convinced over its effectiveness.

Energywatch joined forces with two other campaigning groups to form a new, merged, watchdog today.

The gas and electricity consumers’ group, the National Consumer Council and Postwatch (which supervised the postal service) have now formed the new Consumer Focus organisation. It will function primarily as a voice for British people, lobbying the government for fairer treatment.

Around GBP 15 million a year in public money will go towards funding the organisation and the creation of a new ombudsman scheme – which is set to rule on customer complaints regarding both the energy and the postal sectors.

Business secretary John Hutton said: “These changes will help consumers get a better deal. One single body, rather than three, means a stronger voice holding business and government to account. It means a more joined up approach to tackling problems.”

He added: “Energy companies will have to take greater responsibility for handling complaints or face significant fines. And where complaints can’t be resolved voluntarily, new redress schemes give the system teeth.”

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Royal Mail offers ‘green’ discount (UK)

Posted by | Oct 1, 2008 | |

Royal Mail’s wholesale division is launching a new service that gives its customers a discounted price for direct mail campaigns that meet criteria designed to reduce their environmental impact.
To qualify for discounts of up to 0.7 pence per item on downstream access prices, businesses will have to meet a range of standards to reduce unnecessary direct mail production through improved use of data services, including suppression of addressees who do not wish to receive direct mail. The responsible sourcing of materials and action to encourage the recycling of the mail piece also form part of the scheme’s specification.
The new service is based on two levels of participation – entry level receives a price discount of 0.3 pence per item, while companies who meet the intermediate criteria receive an additional 0.4 pence per item reduction.
Royal Mail has also identified further criteria that it will consider implementing as a third phase, benefiting the most advanced direct mail users through further discounts. The full specification can be found on Royal Mail Wholesale’s website at royalmailwholesale.com

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Postal operators must focus on innovation

Posted by | Sep 30, 2008 | |

“Innovation is an essential element in planning and preparing for the future. Being innovative is the only way the postal sector can remain competitive,” said Edouard Dayan, Director General of the Universal Postal Union.

Over the past few years, Dayan said, postal operators worldwide have shown an ability to innovate, especially in creating services that facilitate e-commerce, an industry fuelling the growth of parcels and small packets.

He cited the development of e-services and payment services as two areas in which postal operators have made great strides in order to meet customers’ need for new ways of sending messages and making financial transactions as they increasingly use the Internet to conduct daily activities.

According to UPU statistics, more than 80 pct of postal operators in industrialized countries and 40 pct in developing countries offer innovative messaging services such as secure e-mail, hybrid mail and electronic changes of address.

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Vendors announced for Royal Mail mobile project

Posted by | Sep 30, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has announced the suppliers for its national mobile service project which will see 25,000 postal delivery workers equipped with handheld devices.
As reported by Computing in July, the introduction of the devices is part of a GBP 1.2bn IT-driven business transformation at Royal Mail designed to improve customer service by verifying the status of tracked letters or parcels.
The handheld devices are being supplied by Intermec, while CSC will develop and maintain the systems supporting the service. The CSC team also includes Blackbay, a provider of mobile workforce systems.
Royal Mail van drivers will be able to capture signatures at the point of delivery, eliminating the current paper-based processes.
Some 70,000 staff who delivers items by foot or bicycle will continue using a paper-based system to record signatures and delivery times, but the devices will roll out to all postal delivery workers in the future.
Trials for the handheld computers began late last year.

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Royal Mail hits TV screens with new campaign (UK)

Posted by | Sep 30, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is to change the focus of its marketing and communications from the consumer sector toward businesses, partly to remind big companies that it still exists, but, more significantly, to position the brand as the postal operator of choice for small and medium-sized firms.
This repositioning will begin this month with a ‘Partners for Growth’ campaign targeting the UK’s 4.3m SMEs. An above-the-line push, by ad agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, will comprise TV, press, direct and digital activity.
The drive will direct prospective customers to a 15-step online questionnaire that asks respondents about their business needs. Within two hours, those who have completed the survey will receive a personalised ‘growth pack’ containing information about how Royal Mail can help them. The idea is to publicise some of the brand’s lesser-known business services, including data provision and media consultancy.

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