Tag: South America

Mexico's postal blues remade in hot pink

Posted by | Sep 7, 2008 | |

Changes include a new logo, new uniforms and pink-and-lime-green painted post offices. Some will also sell cut-rate rice, beans and powdered milk alongside stamps. Coffee mugs and envelopes — something the post office didn’t sell before — will also be available, but only in hot pink and lime green.

The service’s new symbol — a white carrier pigeon holding a letter in its beak — hit the streets last Tuesday 9th September, a day after President Felipe Calderon unveiled the new look at a gala ceremony. The government hopes the new image and services will help the post office break even next year, after annual losses of up to USD 50 million.

But in a country where mail theft is widespread and letters often arrive weeks after they’re sent, the public is skeptical.

The new name, Correos de Mexico, or Mexican Mail, is actually a throwback to the days of the early 20th century, when the service was trusted and the government built a main post office meant to look like a Renaissance palace.

Alberto Izquierdo, a native of Madrid who was waiting in a long line to mail a letter at the main downtown post office, wasn’t impressed.

“I think they’re focusing a little too much on appearances and not substance,” he said.

Mexico’s postal service delivers only about seven pieces of mail per inhabitant per year; Americans get an average of 700.

The low volume reflects a lack of confidence. Federal officials acknowledge most businesses won’t send bills, statements or receipts through the mail, preferring pricey but safer private courier services, about 4,000 of which have sprung up here, according to industry estimates.

Read More

CipherLab selected by Brazilian Post and Telegraph Corporation

Posted by | Sep 1, 2008 | |

CipherLab, an Automated Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) for the retail, warehouse, healthcare, government and distribution markets, recently announced that its 9400 Industrial Mobile Computer will be deployed throughout the 3,000+ regional branches of the Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telegrafos (Brazilian Post and Telegraph Corporation, or ECT), the national postal service of Brazil. Compex Tecnologia, CipherLab’s official reseller in Brazil, won the contract to upgrade ECT’s logistics infrastructure to improve shipment accuracy and efficiency.

Operated by the Ministry of Communications, ECT is Brazil’s largest employer with approximately 110,000 employees. In Q4 2008, Compex Tecnologia will begin to deploy up to 4,000 units of the CipherLab 9400 across 28 regions within the ECT, helping it to more accurately process, sort and track the millions of pieces of daily mail delivered by its couriers.

The CipherLab 9400 supports Microsoft Windows CE 5.0, and is designed to simplify the tasks of those working in the retail, logistics, warehouse, transportation and field sales/services industries. It leads the industry in impact standards — an important consideration for the warehouse or field use environment.

Read More

FedEx Express celebrates artisan’s month (Puerto Rico)

Posted by | Aug 18, 2008 | |

FedEx Express, committed to the development of small and medium businesses in Puerto Rico, announced efforts to help local artisans to export their art globally.

Starting in July, in celebration of Artisan’s Month, FedEx will provide shipping discounts to certified artisans that join the FedEx PyMEx Membership Program. This is the first complete program offered by a transportation company to facilitate access to the global market for small and medium businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean. Among the main benefits provided by the program are: technology for their shipments, specialized consultancy in global trade and direct advice with no additional cost to members.

Artisans should access www.fedexpymex.com and register for the Program free of charge. The only thing need to participate is a FedEx account number.

FedEx Express Latin America and Caribbean Division services more than 50 countries and territories throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and employs more than 3,400 people committed to total customer satisfaction each business day.

Read More

UPS women lead the way in Latin America

Posted by | Aug 12, 2008 | |

The transportation industry isn’t often cited for cultivating the careers of female executives, but UPS is the exception.

Women now head up operations in UPS’s top markets in the Americas Region – Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. And the company also has launched an innovative career development program aimed at retaining and advancing female managers globally.

Gender disparity is a real business issue for Latin America. Studies show that women make up 44.7 percent of the workforce in Latin America. But according to Globe Summit, a Web-based business network that surveyed Latin Trade magazine’s top 100 Latin American companies in 2005, 64 percent of the 100 companies did not have women in upper management. Additionally, the study found that only five percent of listed board directorships were held by women in contrast to the 10 percent on the boards of FORTUNE Global 200 companies.

The Women’s Leadership Development (WLD) initiative provides UPS managers opportunities to develop leadership and work skills by learning from their peers, from external business organizations and from community service.

Read More

Chile, Spain and Uruguay launch new electronic money transfer service through postal network

Posted by | Jul 28, 2008 | |

Chile, Spain and Uruguay launched a new electronic money transfer service linking their countries, bringing Latin America into the fold of the Universal Postal Union’s international financial network.

People in all three countries will now be able to use the postal network to send and receive money to and from abroad. The service is currently offered in 110 post offices in Chile, in 2,300 in Spain and in 60 in Uruguay. The service is fast and secure; money transfers can be executed and delivered in 15 minutes.

The service relies on the International Financial System (IFS) application developed by the UPU’s Postal Technology Centre. IFS is the backbone of the UN specialized agency’s international financial network. The launch of the new service between Spain and Latin America is part of the UPU’s global efforts to modernize the obsolete paper postal money order and respond to some of the challenges posed by the phenomenon of international migration, including better access for migrant workers to secure remittance services through formal channels, such as the 660,000 or more post offices around the world.

According to World Bank data, more than 220 million migrant workers send over 300 billion dollars annually through formal channels. But officials believe that just as many remittances are being sent through informal channels, promoting money laundering and financing terrorist-related activities. Spain is home to 4.5 million immigrants, 1.6 million of them from Latin America. In 2006, these immigrants sent in excess of 6.25 billion euros to their families in their countries of origin, according to the Bank of Spain. By joining the UPU’s international financial network, Spain will be better able to meet the needs of this Latin American population, and there is now the potential for opening exchanges with countries in North Africa.

The new service is being launched following an agreement signed last December between Spain and the UPU.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

How ready do you feel for the de minimis changes coming in July?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!




View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest