United Parcel Services Inc. (UPS) will move the headquarters for its logistics distribution division from Biel/Bienne, Switzerland to Brussels, Belgium, resulting in the transfer of 85 employees, Belgian daily L’Echo reported Monday.
The move follows the company’s decision to locate the company’s European headquarters in Brussels. The Swiss headquarters will close in May 2008.
Read MoreSpeaking yesterday at the World Trade Organization’s “Aid for Trade” conference in Geneva, the UPU Director General called attention to postal services’ role in stimulating international trade, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses. Edouard Dayan cited as an example the Brazilian Post’s successful “Exporta Fácil” (“Easy Exporting”) project, felt to be among the most innovative international trade initiatives. Using Exporta Fácil, available at over 8,000 post offices as well as on the Internet, small and medium-sized Brazilian businesses let the postal operator take care of their exports, handling the entire logistics side, as well as completing customs export formalities. “Using this service, 6,000 businesses that had never exported before were able to access external markets in 2006,” said Dayan. “This is a concrete indicator of the postal network’s impact on a developing country’s ability to engage in world trade.” With over 660,000 post offices in 191 countries, mostly located in outlying areas, the postal sector is the world’s biggest physical distribution network. By revitalizing the trade infrastructure, it can help small and medium-sized businesses take advantage of the globalization of trade. Dayan added that the postal sector, with its physical, electronic and financial capabilities, wished to develop partnerships to help provide greater openness to international trade. The UPU’s regional approach to development and initiatives such as the integrated postal development plans, developed to gain government commitment to the postal sector, are in line with the orientations felt necessary to help developing countries take advantage of worldwide trade.
Read MoreFedEx is the new official courier service provider for the world’s leading watch and jewellery show, BASELWORLD. From 3-10 April 2008, the express courier company will offer exhibitors and visitors an extensive all-round courier service right on site.
“With its extensive and flexible range of services, FedEx is our ideal courier services provider,” said Sylvie Ritter, Show Director of BASELWORLD, on the new long-term co-operation. FedEx will handle all document, catalogue and sample dispatch directly on site for exhibitors and visitors, from preparing the paperwork to packaging and import and export management.
With its reliable Express Service, FedEx offers next day delivery to the most important business centres in Europe and the USA, as well as a 2-3 day delivery service to Asia. Especially for BASELWORLD, the courier company will extend its range of services and also offer an express service within Switzerland. The FedEx service centers are manned daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Hall 6 “Hall of Universe” and in the Business Centre.
Read MoreJürg Honegger, Chief Financial Officer of the global freight forwarding and logistics group Panalpina, has taken the decision to resign for personal reasons. He will leave the Company during the course of next year to take up a new professional challenge. His successor will be announced in due course.
Read MoreUPU Director General Edouard Dayan and Deputy Director General Guozhong Huang, from France and China respectively, announced they would run for a second mandate from 2009–2012.
Both made the announcement during the 2007 Council of Administration session, which ended at UPU headquarters in Berne. No other candidates have so far come forward to vie for the top UPU management positions. The Director General and Deputy Director General positions are elected by member countries at the UPU Congress. The next UPU Congress will take place from 13 August to 3 September in Nairobi (Kenya).
Great Britain also announced it would run for the chairmanship of the Postal Operations Council (POC) from 2009–2012. The POC is the 40-member UPU body that deals with operational and technical issues regarding the postal sector.
In other news, Kenya approved the choice of Chile’s Mario Felmer Klenner as the Doyen of the 24th UPU Congress. Felmer Klenner is a former Director General of Chilean Post. As someone with extensive postal experience, the Congress Doyen has a ceremonial and diplomatic function and is charged with officially opening the Congress.
Qatar also extended an invitation to host the 25th UPU Congress in 2012. A final decision will be taken at the Nairobi Congress.
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