Tag: Spain

Kiala enters Austrian B2C parcel market

Posted by | Oct 11, 2007 | |

The Belgian-based parcels operator Kiala has entered the Austrian B2C parcels market, intensifying competition for Austrian Post.

The company has built up a network of 290 parcel pick-up points in kiosks, shops, petrol stations and other retail outlets, and plans to add about 100 more by next spring, Kiala Austria managing director Michael Zakoucz told Austrian media.

Customers are informed by SMS, e-mail or phone that a parcel is ready for collection at a nearby “Kiala Point”. Transportation has been contracted out to Salzburg-based newspaper distribution company PGV Salzburg.

The operator’s first major customers in Austria are the mail order companies La Redoute and Klingel. Zakoucz said that Kiala is aiming to gain a market share of 13-15pct in 2008.

Kiala, which is currently active in Benelux and France and has a test operation in the UK, increased turnover by 21 pct to EUR 25 million in 2006 and handled some 10 million parcels. It claims a network of 4,700 Kiala Points in Europe.

The company, whose investors include funds linked to La Poste and TNT, has also recently appointed a country manager for Russia and a new manager for Spain.

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Emirates Post showcases IT solutions at Post-Expo in Barcelona

Posted by | Oct 9, 2007 | |

Emirates Post highlighted its indigenously developed POS (Point of Sale) system that automates postal, at Post-Expo 2007, the leading exhibition and conference dedicated to postal, courier and mailing industries, held in Barcelona, from October 2 to 4, 2007.

The Emirates Post’s POS system has been customized to deliver postal and non-postal services across the postal network in the United Arab Emirates. It enables counter agents to deliver multiple services, with a real-time link to new partners. This is part of the UAE’s drive towards e-Government.

The Emirates Post stand showcased IT solutions as well as stamps issued over the past few years, highlighting UAE culture and history. The stand was visited by several visitors and VIPs, including Mr. Edouard Dayan, Director General of UPU.

Mr. Abdulla Al Daboos, Director General of Emirates Post, said: ‘Post-Expo is a major platform that brings together postal business leaders and technical industry experts. The participants got an opportunity to showcase our postal technology and gain insights into new developments through interaction with post officials from all over the world.’

Mr. Mana Al Suwaidi, Marketing Director, Emirates Post, who took part in the various programs of the Expo, said: ‘It is crucial for Emirates Post to participate in such programs. Mr. Dayan hailed Emirates Post for successfully hosting the UPU Strategy Conference in Dubai in November 2006, and said the event paved the way for laying a strong foundation for the new Postal Strategy that will be unveiled at the UPU Nairobi Congress in 2008.’

Mr. Suwaidi took part in the World Postal Business Forum and technology workgroups that focused on the experiences of global postal operations in technological innovations, solutions and ideas.

At this year’s Post Expo more than 200 companies took part, and over 50 exhibitors showcased technology solutions and services essential for providing best services for package delivery.

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Correos to invest EUR 275 million in 2008

Posted by | Oct 9, 2007 | |

Correos will invest EUR 275.5 million in 2008. This represents an 11.2 pct increase since 2007. This investment is part of the Investment Plan launched in 2005 (with a total amount of EUR 1,000 millions available). The breakdown is as follows: – Infrastructure: EUR 151.4 million – Automatisation: EUR 21.8 million – Informatics technologies: EUR 65.1 million – Other investment: EUR 37.2 million. This involves human resources activities like training sessions as well as security and office equipment. José Damián Santiago, President of Correos, presented congress with the investment plan and also the prediction of incomes, expenses and profits in 2008. Correos are expecting a 5pct income raise; this represents around EUR 2,245.3 million. The company also expect to have expenses for around EUR 2,188.1 million. This will conclude in profits of around EUR 117.8. Correos‘s President also explained to congress that the company will diversify its investment portfolio and launch new services and products for immigrants. For the latter topic, the company announced it will participate in Integra, a specialized international fair for immigrant’s services, to be held in Madrid from 11th to 14th October

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CPL – Spanish CEP operators seek to add value in changing market

Posted by | Oct 5, 2007 | |

The Spanish courier and parcels market faces vital new challenges over the next few years as margins shrink, the integrators strengthen their market share and a raft of new employment legislation is introduced.

This was the clear message sent out by leading representatives of the Spanish industry when they spoke to delegates at yesterday’s final session of the Courier and Parcels Logistics Summit in Barcelona.

Growth in the courier segment had averaged about 14 pct between 1997 and 2001, but this had fallen to 8.8 pct between 2002 and 2006 in a market “very close to maturity”. Now operators had to increase added value to the client in the face of falling margins, adjusting their prices, improving quality and offering a wider range of services, Boronat explained.

Fernando Rodríguez Sousa, president of the Spanish Association of Couriers, Aecaf, said the country’s EUR 7 billion parcels market was heading for serious consolidation. “Although there are nearly 5,500 registered courier companies, 57 pct of the market is shared by 10 of them and consolidation will continue to increase,” Sousa said. “The challenge is to improve the management model in a more competitive market with pressure on margins.”

Four new laws coming into force over the next couple of years would have a deep impact on the industry, Sousa said. This involved new regulations governing self-employed workers, adoption of a working time directive, legislation concerning contracts in the transport sector and a new law affecting professional driving licences. This was forcing the industry to revise pick-up and delivery models, he said.

Carlos Rosa Maureta, international unit director with Correos, said postal networks across Europe and the world were growing fast. The E-Parcel Group (EPG), for distribution in the EU, increased the volume of items it carried in 2006 by 18 pct and has grown from nine European postal operators to 21 over the past decade. Similarly, the Kahala Postal Group (KPG), for delivery between the US, Asia and Europe, which Correos joined last year, now covered 31 pct of the world population.

Yves Delmas, CEO of leading parcels carrier Seur GeoPost said the French-Spanish venture was developing successfully in the changing market due to a series of factors. The company was gradually purchasing Seur franchises (it now has eight) across the country, but was keeping on staff and giving them a vested interest in the success of the new joint business. “And we have time,” said Delmas. “There is no calendar for the buying up of the franchises.” Seur-GeoPost was achieving double-digit profit growth through exclusive focus on parcels and flexibility. “We are an interfacer, not an integrator,” Delmas added.

Soledad Santiago, commercial vice-president for Iberia Cargo, said Madrid’s Barajas airport was proving Europe’s express gateway to Latin America. Iberia Cargo’s IBExpress service, used by other couriers, was constantly beating records and could now deliver packages and documents in well under 24 hours to most destinations in South and Central America due to the daily or greater frequency of flights between the two continents. “Direct connections also means minimizing the risks of excessive handling,” she pointed out.

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CPL – TNT, DPWN take up the environmental challenge

Posted by | Oct 5, 2007 | |

TNT and Deutsche Post World Net are responding to the environmental challenges facing the CEP sector with a wide range of similar operational measures but are taking a divergent strategic approach on the issue of “green” products, the CPL Summit in Barcelona this week heard.

Presenting TNT’s new “Planet Me” environmental program, Carin ten Hage, project director social responsibility, stressed the importance of a comprehensive program covering not only operations but also issues such as company cars, business travel and employees’ private lifestyles.

But TNT had deliberately decided not to introduce any “green” products in the style of DHL’s GoGreen services, ten Hage noted. “We don’t want to have a green product, we want to be a green product,” she commented. “If you use us, then you know you are using a company that does everything it can to reduce emissions.”

Winfried Häser, DPWN director of environmental strategy and policy, outlined the German group’s three-tier environmental management approach of measuring, reducing and finally replacing emissions through various carbon-neutral GoGreen products. However, the latter services, now available in selected markets, were still “niche” products at present, he said.

In an overview of the challenges facing the CEP industry on environmental issues as it continues to grow on a worldwide scale, CEP-Research chief editor Paul Needham warned that external pressure from stakeholders would grow in the years to come, with harder-hitting regulations to follow.

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