Tag: Royal Mail

Royal Mail encourages e-retail best practice with delivery promise tool

Posted by | May 7, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has launched a new consultancy tool to help online retailers make sure they offer consumers the best possible experience and reduce shopping basket abandonment.

The internet based ‘Delivery Promise Tool’ can analyse any e-retail website, monitoring the quality and availability of delivery information such as cost, time, tracking, delivery options and contact details. It produces a detailed report which includes recommendations on how each website can improve its service.

Royal Mail created the tool after its Delivery Experience research revealed the importance that consumers place on having access to clear delivery information before placing an order online.

The research revealed that 19 in 20 online shoppers have abandoned a shopping basket, 37 per cent regularly, and that four in ten (42 per cent) did so because of the delivery charge.

The creation of the Delivery Promise Tool follows Royal Mail’s launch of two new services to improve the delivery experience for shoppers. Royal Mail Tracked enables retailers to provide their customers with a tracking number when the goods ordered are dispatched so that the shopper can track the progress of the delivery themselves. And the Safeplace service also gives shoppers the opportunity to specify a safe, alternative delivery point, such as a shed, porch or neighbour, should they not be at home to receive the item.

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Mail competition is 'no benefit' (UK)

Posted by | May 6, 2008 | |

The liberalisation of the UK postal service has produced “no significant benefits” for either households or small businesses, a report has said.

That is the initial finding of an independent review of the UK postal sector commissioned by the government.

It warned there was now a threat to the Royal Mail’s financial stability.

The independent panel warned that the “substantial threat” to the Royal Mail’s financial security threatened the universal service – the collection and delivery to all UK addresses.

Maintaining the universal service is at the heart of this review – ensuring collection from pillar boxes and post offices and delivery to all addresses

As a result, the independent panel – which will produce its full report in the summer – said the continuing “status quo is not tenable”.

While the initial report said homes and small firms had not gained from the increased competition, it said large companies had “seen clear benefits from liberalisation – choice, lower prices and more assurance about the quality of the mail service”.

It says these large firms have benefited from the big growth in competition in the bulk mail sector – postal firms that collect, sort and transport bulk mail before handing it over to the Royal Mail for the final delivery.

Yet at the same time, the report found that the Royal Mail still had “virtually no competition” in the delivery of addressed letters over the “final mile” to letterboxes.

The core problem for the Royal Mail is that while it has lost business in the lucrative bulk mail collection and sorting market, it still has to uphold the universal mail delivery service, which struggles to make a profit.

The Royal Mail and regulator Postcomm have both declined to comment on the initial report.

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Postcomm welcomes Government review of the postal services market (UK)

Posted by | May 6, 2008 | |

Postcomm welcomed the emerging views of the independent review panel on the UK postal services market.

Postcomm chairman, Nigel Stapleton said: “We will be considering the emerging views of the panel and will use them to inform our second submission.”

Postcomm’s first submission highlighted the positive impact for customers since the addressed letters market was opened fully to competition in January 2006. Since then:

– larger customers have enjoyed lower prices and increased innovation;
– residential mail users have experienced record levels of service quality from Royal Mail; and
– smaller businesses and public sector customers are now beginning to reap the benefits of choice.

Postcomm believes the future health of Royal Mail, the universal service, and the addressed letters market are inextricably linked. Decisions about fundamental reform must be taken swiftly if Royal Mail is to lead a healthier mail market and provide a strong universal service.

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Royal Mail goes digital (UK)

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

After trials on hand-held tracker/scanners carried out by 700 Royal Mail postal workers ended in March, Royal Mail is to expand the installation of the technology throughout its fleet of vehicles.

The scanner/trackers (PDAs) are already in use by other postal and parcel operators but Royal Mail has been testing different types to establish which work best in the field. So far, none have been a great success for postal workers operating on foot, but one has been selected for use in vehicles throughout the network. The name of the manufacturer will be announced shortly.

The scanners include an emergency 999 facility to provide added protection for users, the ability to scan signatures for delivery verification, as well as log collection points in real time via GPS.

The CWU, which was initially concerned that the introduction of the technology would enable Royal Mail to ‘spy’ on workers, has agreed that the new equipment would provide an important enhancement to services as well as added protection for operatives – providing a code of conduct is agreed between the CWU and Royal Mail.

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