Tag: Royal Mail

The International Organization for Standardization to work hand in hand with the UPU

Posted by | Jan 30, 2008 | |

Alan Bryden, Secretary General of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Edouard Dayan, Director General of the Universal Postal Union, concluded a cooperation agreement today aimed at strengthening the exchange of information for finalizing standards of mutual interest to the two organizations.

Closer cooperation in standardization work has become necessary in an increasingly specialized technological environment. Furthermore, liberalization and postal sector developments have led to the development of new standards to meet the needs of the sector and its customers for enhanced quality of service.

As postal operators diversify their activities, incorporate e-commerce into their parcel and logistics services and develop their financial services, they need to operate in a standardized environment.

As Edouard Dayan pointed out, “The UPU manages a three-dimensional network: physical, electronic and financial. We have already developed many standards for the processing of physical mail. We now need to focus on standards for electronic and financial services. The cooperation agreement with the ISO is intended to do just that.”

As a standards organization, the UPU has already developed nearly a hundred technical standards for the postal sector. The agreement will enable the UPU to better position itself on the world stage and help it to prepare and better disseminate postal standards, particularly for financial and electronic services, that are recognized internationally, not only by postal experts but also by standards experts in other activity sectors.

One feature of the agreement is the creation of a contact committee of six officials responsible for implementing the provisions of the agreement. Thus, the ISO and the UPU will each be able to incorporate in its own standards references to the other organization’s standards.

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Postcomm tries simple solution to market domination (UK)

Posted by | Jan 28, 2008 | |

While Postcomm’s measures to simplify its licensing procedures to make it easier for smaller businesses to enter the postal market might be encouraging, is it enough to increase competition in, what many still consider, a monopolised market? Or is Postcomm simply going through the motions?

The independent regulator has amended its licensing procedures to include a reduction in application fees and the removal of the licence requirement on all licensees to have contractual arrangements in place. The move is designed to encourage smaller businesses to enter the market (precisionmarketing.co.uk).

Post-Switch’s senior marketing analyst Jonathan DeCarteret says: “Royal Mail continues to deliver 99 per cent of all mail, so by simplifying licensing and removing the obstacles for smaller operators, it is trying to attract competition and promote self regulation. All of which offers small and medium businesses greater choice and lower rates.”

But OnePost managing director Graham Cooper claims simplifying the licensing procedure alone will not be enough. He states: “This loosening of the requirements for those wishing to obtain a licence is a direct move by Postcomm to assist in further development of the market. Although there have been many enquiries from small businesses about entering the postal market, the numbers of licence holders remain at less than 20.”

He believes the review of the Postal Sector announced by Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (DBERR) at the end of last year is vital to the future of the direct marketing industry and sets out to assess the impact of liberalisation in the UK postal market.

Whether the move will attract new players into the market, remains to be seen, but anything that injects money into direct marketing can only be positive.

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Swiss Post International strengthens its presence in Sweden

Posted by | Jan 24, 2008 | |

Swiss Post is continuing to pursue its international niche strategy. Its international unit, Swiss Post International (SPI), has acquired the Swedish letters processing company IMS Europe AB. It is thus expanding its presence in Scandinavia and will become a key provider in the Swedish postal market. IMS Europe AB, which has a staff of five, generated sales of around CHF 3.6 million in 2007.

The takeover of IMS Europe AB by Swiss Post International (SPI) took place with effect from 1 January 2008. IMS Europe AB is an independent letters processor based in Limhamm, near Malmö in southern Sweden. The company operates with the product groups marketing mail, business mail, business to consumer as well as press and packaging, and generated sales of around CHF 3.6 million in 2007 with five employees. With the takeover, SPI has gained a second foothold in Sweden in addition to its branch in Stockholm. SPI is thus strengthening its position in southern Scandinavia and is advancing to become a key provider in the Swedish postal market. It was agreed that the purchase price will not be disclosed.

With the acquisition, Swiss Post is continuing its strategy of generating growth in international niche markets, in line with the strategic objectives set by the Federal Council. In the meantime, Swiss Post already generates 20 percent of its sales abroad and in its cross-border business. Swiss Post International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swiss Post and currently employs 1,200 people in eleven European countries, four countries in Asia and the USA. For 2007 SPI is predicting sales of over 1.1 billion Swiss francs. SPI is now number five on the cross-border letters market after Deutsche Post, United States Postal Service, Great Britain’s Royal Mail and France’s La Poste.
1 US Dollar = 1.09657 Swiss Franc

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Royal Mail recruits ‘experts’ to boost postal campaigns (UK)

Posted by | Jan 24, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has ramped up its commitment to improving the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns by recruiting a panel of expert data partners.

The postal operator is setting up the supplier panel as part of its investment in data services. It will enable it to offer customers data solutions across a range of specialisms to ensure new and existing customers are effectively reached via the post.

Once the panel is complete, it will provide expert solutions covering acquisition, retention strategy, data processing, database work and online services for SMEs. Royal Mail has put in place a client services division and a team of data consultants to support the panel.

Dataforce is the first company to join the panel, following the issue of a tender to find five specialist data supply companies. The company is a UK leader in implementing, executing and managing multi-channel, integrated communication campaigns.

Royal Mail Head of Data Strategy Colin Bradshaw says: “The panel builds our credibility as a supplier of key services to the data industry. Going through the tender process means we are able to choose what we believe to be the best companies to meet the needs of our customers.

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