Tag: Royal Mail

A postal sector focused on the future

Posted by | Aug 12, 2008 | |

International postal services are moving resolutely towards the future, declared Edouard Dayan, Director General of the Universal Postal Union, at the close of the 24th Universal Postal Congress, which ended its three weeks of discussions today.

“From Bucharest to Geneva, the whole tone has changed. Four years ago, an air of pessimism hung around the future of postal services” said Dayan. “Today, our agenda includes e-commerce, technological development, intelligent mail, facilitation of international trade and exchanges, electronic money transfers, sustainable development, international cooperation, postal infrastructure at the service of development policies, and development – rather than downsizing – of the universal service”. At the closing session of Congress, the Director General also described the many faces of a sector which is active on all fronts of the global economy, in the face of burgeoning new technologies and the growth of globalization and international trade.

Aside from the elections, Congress also examined 300 proposals and resolutions relating to the structure of the UPU, its mission and finances, and to international exchanges of letters, parcels and money transfers between postal operators the world over. In terms of operations, for example, minimum security standards and processes for postal operators will be drawn up, and Posts are invited to work more closely with customs authorities to identify counterfeit or pirated articles sent through the mail.

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Royal Mail USO needs funding says Lawson

Posted by | Aug 12, 2008 | |

Steve Lawson, editor for Hellmail the postal industry news site said it was ‘highly probable’ that Royal Mail would have to consider reducing the frequency of its deliveries or cutting back on some of its services if fuel costs continue to remain high and more business was lost to rivals.

“Royal Mail is providing a very expensive service whilst continuing to lose market share” he said.

“Raising stamp prices to meet increased costs isn’t something that Royal Mail is able to do at will either, and often there’s a real lag between pricing and operating costs which puts Royal Mail at a real disadvantage. Present stamp prices are fixed until 2010 but that doesn’t take into account the sharp increase in diesel prices.”

“Royal Mail wants to provide the best service it can, as indeed do postal workers themselves, but the business is under huge pressure from Postcomm to reduce its operating costs. The six day a week service is an expensive one to provide, as is the universal service which guarantees a minimum collection and delivery service even to areas that are incredibly costly to provide. Sending a postman into the back of beyond to deliver a 34p letter isn’t exactly profitable. Add declining mail volume as well as business lost to rivals, and it becomes fairly obvious that maintaining such a high level of service is an enormous task. I doubt its sustainable unless stamp pricing becomes more flexible. It seems highly probable that some key part of its service will go.”

“There needs to be a fixed funding for the USO if Royal Mail is to be able to compete on fair terms but no decision has been made on who should pay for it in the longer term. Postcomm has already said that it isn’t keen to share that cost between operators as that would effectively undo its own efforts to help stimulate competition. Postwatch too, suggested some contribution from all postal operators but to date, it remains unresolved and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Royal Mail reports an even bigger loss on the USO this year. Its not an issue we can ignore.”

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Consultative Committee set for a second term

Posted by | Aug 12, 2008 | |

Charles Prescott, Chairman of the Direct Marketing Association in the United States, has been re-elected as head of the UPU’s Consultative Committee. Murray Buchanan, International Development Director with Royal Mail, will assume the vice-chairmanship. This committee, which was created at the 2004 Bucharest Congress, is mandated to represent the interests of the postal sector in the wider sense, and to act as a framework for effective dialogue between postal sector partners.

The CC is made up of 19 non-governmental organizations representing customers, delivery service providers, organizations of workers, suppliers of goods and services to the postal sector, and similar organizations of individuals and companies with an interest in international postal services.

Knowing that they can breathe new life into the organization by representing the point of view of customers/suppliers, the members of the CC wish to play an increasingly important role in areas such as support for postal reform, the environment and sustainable development, the universal postal service and postal security.

They have contributed to the development of the new Nairobi Postal Strategy, and will play an active part in its implementation, along with governments, designated postal operators and the Restricted Unions.

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First class plan (UK)

Posted by | Aug 12, 2008 | |

Royal Mail wants to build a new bulk mail distribution centre as part of a GBP 51 million investment programme in the north west.

As a result of the plans Liverpool Mail Centre, in Copperas Hill, and Crewe Mail Centre would both be relocated to the current regional bulk distribution centre, which is based in Warrington.

The move comes after a six-month consultation period with the Communication Workers’ Unions and Unite and it will see mail centres in Stockport, Oldham and Bolton closed.

Steve Cameron, Royal Mail territory director, said: “It is essential that we have the most suitable postal network to enable us to compete effectively in the years ahead. We need to invest to defend our market share and to retain existing business and win new customers.

“That means reshaping our network in a way that increases efficiency, makes the best of our investment in technology and allows us to improve our service to customers. We are also determined to provide a more modern working environment for our people.”

The changes are part of a GBP 1.2 billion programme to bring new technology and sorting equipment and will not take place until 2009.

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Greece elected chair of the next Postal Operations Council

Posted by | Aug 8, 2008 | |

Greece will chair the next Postal Operations Council of the Universal Postal Union, in the person of Dr. Andreas Taprantzis, Chief Executive Office of the Greek postal operator, ELTA.

The 40 member countries newly elected to the Postal Operations Council held their first meeting to elect their chair, a position Great Britain, Greece and Switzerland were vying for.

Greece received 22 votes against 18 for Great Britain in the second round of voting.

In thanking the members for their support, Taprantzis added that Greece would devote itself and its resources for the benefit of the UPU and all its member countries.

The Postal Operations Council deals with technical and operational issues affecting the international postal sector. It promotes the introduction of new postal products and makes recommendations to member countries concerning standards for technological, operational or other processes. The Council’s programme of work aims above all at helping postal services to modernize and upgrade their postal products.

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