Tag: Royal Mail

Third Round Table of International Post-CIOs

Posted by | May 22, 2007 | |

IT-Managers of the Postal Organisations from Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria meet in Budapest

Since the first and second Post CIO Roundtable were very successful, the third international „Postal CIO Roundtable“ (PCR) will take place in Budapest on 24 May. The Post CIO Roundtable is an initiative launched by the Austrian post office (Österreichische Post AG), hosted by the Hungarian post office (Magyar Posta Zrt.) and is aimed at promoting information exchanges between the IT functions of postal organisations.

Although postal organisations are more than ever in competition with one another in largely liberalized markets, at this meeting of experts cooperation on the technical challenges is the focus. It is seen as a means of promoting the development of new postal IT solutions, leading to the marketing of member companies proprietary technologies. The Round Table is also viewed as a platform for establishing internationally applicable standard key performance indicators and initiating regular benchmarking processes.

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Northrop Grumman to provide postal automation systems for La Poste and Royal Mail

Posted by | May 22, 2007 | |

Northrop Grumman Corporation announced that its postal automation subsidiary Solystic has been awarded contracts with La Poste (France) and Royal Mail (UK) for the supply and installation of 40 TOP2000 high-performance sorting machines for oversize mail. Each of these state-of-the-art machines will be capable of automatically sorting 38,000 flat mail pieces an hour.

“Postal operators today face increasing volumes of oversize mail from catalogues to magazines and advertisements. The competition that will result from the liberalisation of the European postal market in 2009 will create a demand for greater levels of productivity, reliability and flexibility,” said Pierre-Andre Barriere, chairman and CEO of Solystic. “The TOP2000 machine offers a sorting device that fully meets the market’s requirements, based on tried-and-tested technology, reliability and performance. These contracts position the company as a leading supplier in the industry.”

The 20 TOP2000 machines ordered by Royal Mail are part of its Flats Automation Project (FAP) and will augment the 11 machines already in service. Each piece of equipment will consist of two entry lines and between 264 and 312 outputs and will include a self-diagnostic system. The first of the new machines is expected to be delivered by November 2007.

La Poste has also ordered 20 TOP2000 machines following the successful trial with a pilot system. The devices will be equipped with two entry lines and 480 outputs. The first six machines will come on line by late 2007. Installation of the 20 new TOP2000 machines represents an important step in La Poste’s “Cap Qualite Courrier” modernisation programme.

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Lockheed Martin to add services to Royal Mail program

Posted by | May 22, 2007 | |

Lockheed Martin UK announced Monday that it will provide additional address recognition services to Royal Mail as an extension of the current Address Interpretation program.

Under the extended contract, Lockheed will provide the address recognition services for 20 Flats Sorting Machines and also develop, deploy and support new FSM recognition solutions to enable the machines to interact with Royal Mail’s latest hardware and operating systems.

The technology serves to decipher printed or handwritten addresses and exemplifies Royal Mail’s ongoing modernization strategy.

Lockheed provides Integrated Recognition Platform technology to postal authorities worldwide.

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Insurers targeted by Post Office

Posted by | May 20, 2007 | |

The Post Office has drawn up ambitious plans to quadruple its share of the home and motor insurance market in the next five years.

It aims to take on giants such as Norwich Union and Direct Line to become a top five motor and household insurer.

A subsidiary of Royal Mail, the Post Office is already one of the fastest-growing insurers, having written 500,000 policies since it entered the market two years ago.

It currently insures one in 50 cars in Britain. However, the company is aiming to write 2m policies, equivalent to GBP 1 billion in premium payments, by 2012.

If successful, the Post Office’s market share would increase from about 2% to 8%, propelling it from 15th largest motor and home insurer into the top five.

The British motor and home insurance market is led by Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Direct Line and Churchill, with about 25% of the market and Norwich Union, with a share of about 19%.

The Post Office’s plans include a partnership deal until 2012 with Budget Group, a privately owned South African company, which produces branded insurance policies.

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Unions claim Royal Mail wants to scrap some collection days

Posted by | May 18, 2007 | |

Royal Mail wants to scrap all Sunday and Bank Holiday collections, York postal union leaders have claimed.

The Communication Workers Union says the proposal is part of a nationwide move to cut weekend working and reduce overtime payments.

The claims are made in a newsletter issued to York posties by the union’s North East Division. The document was passed to The Press yesterday, within hours of the paper reporting that postal staff across the country are to be balloted for possible strike action over pay.

The letter suggests Royal Mail aims to deliver only first class mail on Saturdays, with second class mail moving to Mondays.

“Royal Mail will introduce this by July 2. They are also in discussions with both Postcomm and Postwatch to cease all Sunday and Bank Holiday collections.”

The newsletter also claims that massive TV screens costing GBP 6,000 are being installed in every delivery office, mail centre and Post Office counter in the country.

It claims that, with 2,000 delivery offices, about 450 Post Office counters and 78 mail centres which have had more than one screen installed, the cost has come to about GBP 15 million.

The newsletter states: “And they say they can’t afford to give us a pay rise!”

It says Royal Mail chiefs will probably use the screens to plead with staff to vote no to industrial action, and the union is asking members to “turn your back” on the screens.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said that under its licence, it was obliged to deliver and collect six days a week.

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