Tag: Royal Mail

GLS France launches Global Business-Parcel

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

Since the beginning of July GLS France offers the Global Business-Parcel. This new product allows shipment to 50 additional destinations, thus rising to 85 the number of countries delivered around the world. Delivery times vary from 4 to 10 days, according to the country.

This product allows GLS France customers to export their parcels to the main countries around the world, receiving national, European and global services from one hand. Among the new countries served are the USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, India, Taiwan, China, Japan, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Maghreb countries and French overseas departments and territories (DOM-TOM).

To accompany its customers in the specific management of their international shipments and accelerate deliveries, the clearance through customs is included in its offer.

With the Global Business-Parcel, the harmonized operational processes and the interconnected IT systems allow a high level of security to customers in their shipment throughout the world. The shipment tracking, according to GLS standards, offers regular information on parcel position.

Parcels are collected according to usual conditions: collection times are defined within a common agreement, in order to respect the activity and process of each customer.

This service has no minimum shipment volume. The only requirement is to open a Global Business-Parcel dedicated account with GLS approving the specific sales conditions. As a complement of the product and service range, this product will be proposed as a complementary offer to existing deliveries in France and/or in Europe.

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Rival postal operators eat into Royal Mail profit

Posted by | Aug 27, 2007 | |

When Royal Mail blamed its first operating loss in six years on increased competition, eyebrows were raised across the industry.

But new figures from Postcomm reveal that the 15 alternative licensed postal operators are clawing their way deeper into Royal Mail territory.

End-to-end delivery is still largely unfeasible for most of the newer service providers, with only 1 per cent of mail currently not handled by Royal Mail. However, according to Postcomm’s latest figures, access volumes have gone from 2.4 billion items at the end of the last financial year, to 4 billion between April and August. This now accounts for one in five items of business mail.

And with GBP 700m a year being earmarked for Royal Mail’s troubled pension scheme, and the fact that bulk business volumes are down 12 per cent, Royal Mail’s predicament starts to look pretty sticky.

But not all Royal Mail customers are willing to lend a sympathetic ear. Stephen Bentley, chief executive of response management and fulfilment house Granby Marketing Services, believes that Royal Mail’s troubles are due to a failure to keep costs under control. He is nervous the only way for Royal Mail to recover financially will be to increase prices.

“We’ve lost GBP 44 m this year on access mail that we’re handling on behalf of competitors,” says Budd. “The reality is that we are subsidising their businesses.”

But other parts of the business are looking up. In the first half of last year the regulatory report figures show that Royal Mail made a profit on first class mail, including franked mail.

Andy Fruin, external relations director at Postwatch, does not believe Royal Mail’s future is terminal. He concludes/ “Royal Mail has gone through a dramatic recovery before, and it will become a healthy company again.”

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Firms counting cost of UK postal walk-outs

Posted by | Aug 26, 2007 | |

Businesses are still counting the cost of postal strikes and say the action has the potential to lose them thousands of pounds. Royal Mail workers walked out in two 24-hour strikes followed by a campaign of staggered action, in which each division was allocated a different day to revolt in a bid to cause continuous disruption.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) were protesting at job losses which they say will come from modernization of the firm and have rejected a 2.5 per cent pay offer.

Royal Mail, which has been losing business to rivals since the postal market was opened to competition, says the changes are needed for it to stay competitive and vowed to keep delivering mail during the action.

Smaller businesses have felt the biggest impact from the strikes as orders and deliveries have been delayed.

Burslem-based Lorna Bailey Artware depends on Royal Mail to bring in responses to its mailshots.

“Potentially, it could cost us thousands of pounds. When mail shots go out they can turn over GBP 20,000. If it is late, it puts back the manufacturing and painting – all very problematic.

“It puts us in an awkward situation because we can use Parcelforce for larger parcels, but we don’t want to pass extra charges on to the customers.

Toy and book supplier Everything Dinosaur, based in Middlewich, relies heavily on the post for its mail order service.

Owner Mike Walley said the biggest concern was not knowing which division was on strike each day.

Mr Walley has introduced a new service using couriers in an attempt to overcome disruptions but said this is costing the company money.

He added: “We’re using couriers for some of the larger parcels, but it’s costing us money because we have offered it at a discounted rate.

The national strikes have now been called off and Royal Mail and the CWU are expected to reach an agreement by September 4. Royal Mail has pledged to get services back to normal as quickly as possible.

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Royal Mail staff raises millions in payroll donation scheme

Posted by | Aug 23, 2007 | |

Royal Mail employees raised a record-breaking GBP 2.6 million through payroll giving in the last financial year, up almost GBP 440,000 on the previous year.

Around 50,000 employees at the organization make monthly payroll donations – at a rate of GBP 295 an hour. More than 850 charities have benefited from the scheme at the Royal Mail, the main beneficiary being ‘Help the Hospices’, which has received almost GBP 250,000 through payroll giving in the last year.

As a result of the results, Royal Mail has set itself the target of raising GBP 5 million a year through payroll by 2013.

Kay Allen, head of social policy at Royal Mail Group said: “With almost 50,000 employees signed up to our scheme, eight per cent of the UK’s payroll givers work at Royal Mail. Each and every one of our ‘payroll posties’ should be congratulated on their efforts.”

A recent Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) study revealed that 21 per cent of people across the country give no money to charity at all.

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Competition is helping the mail industry adapt to a fast-changing communications

Posted by | Aug 23, 2007 | |

Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services, has called on Royal Mail to continue to raise its game and urged all operators to promote the strengths of mail versus other communications media, as it published the emerging themes from a far-reaching review of its regulatory strategy.

During the past year, Postcomm has asked for views on the future of postal services in the UK. The regulator will use these to help frame its regulatory strategy in the lead up to 2010 and beyond.

The principal theme of the review, on which Postcomm is now seeking feedback, is that mail operators must make the most of the opportunities presented by the changing mail market.

– Customers are benefiting from competition
– More innovation is needed in order to exploit the changing mail market
– Postcomm reaffirms its aim to move to less detailed regulation
– The universal service will be secured in a changing mail market

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