Tag: Royal Mail

Royal Mail delivers changes (UK)

Posted by | Apr 24, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has reskilled half its IT department and retooled its 10-year outsourcing deal with supplier CSC to get a stronger focus on software development.

Central to the postal service’s GBP 1.2bn change agenda is the rollout of a Siemens-supplied automatic mail sorting system scheduled to go live at its mail centres and delivery offices in September.

The platform is the backbone of Royal Mail’s service overhaul, which will be followed by a number of customer-focused initiatives such as minute-by-minute parcel and letter-tracking, and projects aimed at internal optimisation, such as telemetry and scheduling of staff, trucks and aircraft.

To support the demand prompted by the service overhaul and the legacy systems yet to be replaced, chief information officer Robin Dargue launched a business capability review which shed almost half the 300-strong permanent IT workforce but created about 100 new core IT roles.

Royal Mail is five years into its 10-year outsourcing contract with CSC, which was reviewed late last year in relation to “monies Royal Mail wanted to pay for extra services and some services that were no longer required”.

Earlier this year, Computing revealed Royal Mail was tendering for up to GBP 40m-worth of consultancy contracts to support its outsourcing deal with CSC. The move was triggered by “simpler consultancy framework agreements”, expected to reduce project timelines.

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Post office launches new Fiveyear Saver

Posted by | Apr 22, 2008 | |

The Post Office today announces the fifth issue of its Fiveyear Saver – a no risk, fixed-term deposit bond – which guarantees returns over a five year period with the benefit of further growth potential linked to the FTSE 100-Index.

The Fiveyear Saver offers a dual investment system, which is ideal for investors made cautious by the recent stock market jitters. As a result customers who take advantage of this great offer – which is open now and closes on 11 January 2008 – will see their money managed in two ways:

– Half of their deposit earns a very competitive 7.5 per cent gross/AER per annum for the five year fixed term period
– The other half benefits from a 50 per cent return on any increase in the FTSE-100 Index over the five year period. Customers’ original deposits are guaranteed should the FTSE-100 Index fall.

Post Office director of savings and investments Richard Norman said: “Although many investors are seeking to benefit from gains in the stock market, they also want a guarantee that they won’t lose their money. This is why we are pleased to announce the launch of a new five year savings bond – with an even better rate of interest.”

“Post Office Fiveyear Saver is a secure investment which gives a guaranteed return, while still offering the growth potential of the FTSE-100 Index. There is no risk of losing your original deposit and you can invest from just GBP 500.”

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Royal Mail Chairman moves to Canada role

Posted by | Apr 22, 2008 | |

Royal Mail Chairman Allan Leighton has been named President of Canada’s biggest supermarkets chain, the troubled Loblaw.

Leighton is already Deputy Chairman of Loblaw, which is locked in battle with US rival Wal-Mart for market share.

He replaces Mark Foote, who is leaving along with Chief Financial Officer William Wells.

Leighton was Chief Executive of Asda before being recruited by Loblaw in 2006.

He takes the reins at a difficult time for Loblaw, whose bottom line has suffered from the price war with Wal-Mart.

The company said the executive changes come at a ‘crucial juncture’ but added that they will bring ‘more focus and clarity in our leadership structure’.

The chain’s profit has been stagnant at best for more than two years.

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Postcomm to review final mile delivery plans (UK)

Posted by | Apr 21, 2008 | |

Postcomm is reviewing the barriers postal operators face in the final mile delivery, due to the decline of competition since the postal market fully opened up in 2006.
Postcomm will explore whether competition in delivery is necessary to provide benefits to customers and, if so, seek to identify the key barriers to entry for delivery competition.
The postal regulator is assessing the potential benefits to ensure a healthy universal service and to support a range of reliable, innovative and efficient postal services.
While competition through access agreements has developed quickly since Royal Mail negotiated the first agreement in 2004, competition in delivery has declined for the last two years.
Postcomm has already identified a number of possible barriers, such as Royal Mail’s VAT exempt status, behaviour and redirection of mail. The regulator will also be seeking views on new and emerging issues affecting the growth of competition in delivery, such as market uncertainty, zonal access requirements, customer purchasing behaviour and limitations of using alternative networks.
A proposal will be issued in August 2008.

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TNT tops Royal Mail on branding

Posted by | Apr 21, 2008 | |

TNT has been classed a Business Superbrand ahead of rival Royal Mail in a recent YouGov survey of the UK’s strongest B2B brands for 2008.

The survey was commissioned by Business Superbrands UK Ltd and canvassed the views of more than 1500 business professionals. Within the list of top 500 brands, TNT is ranked 118, 22 places ahead of Royal Mail, its leading competitor in the UK postal market.

The announcement comes as TNT Post, celebrates its fourth anniversary of becoming a downsteam access provider in the UK mail market. Since signing the agreement in April 2004, TNT Post has made great strides in its mailing proposition for UK businesses. In the last 12 months, TNT Post’s downstream access business has experienced more than a 60 per cent growth in its mailing volumes and the company now delivers an average of 160 million items a month. With its broad range of services, TNT Post enables both businesses large and small to benefit from the high quality and innovative services that competition has brought to the postal market.

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