Tag: UK

Dutch minister sees no post liberalisation until fair competition in Germany and UK

Posted by | Jun 11, 2008 | |

Dutch Economic Affairs State Secretary Frank Heemskerk said Wednesday he won’t take the decision to liberalise the Dutch postal market until fair competition exists in the German and UK markets, and postal workers are given a satisfactory employment contract.

The statement came after Deutsche Post World Net AG. filed a complaint with the European Commission to protest against the renewed delay of the opening of the mail market in the Netherlands.

The Dutch government on Tuesday decided not to end the mail monopoly as planned on July 1 2008 but to extend it indefinitely.

Both the Dutch government and national carrier TNT NV are unhappy about the German government’s introduction of a sector-wide minimum wage of up to 9.80 euros, saying it prevents fair competition within the German market.

TNT says that, unlike its rivals, Deutsche Post enjoys an unfair advantage through a VAT exemption on 40 pct of its operations in Germany.

A Berlin court ruled in March that a German law imposing a minimum wage at all companies in the letter-carrier industry is illegal.

The German government appealed the decision, with a higher court expected to rule in September, a TNT spokesman said.

Heemskerk said he will update parliament on the situation by October 1

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NetDespatch makes express firms into e-traders

Posted by | Jun 11, 2008 | |

The British technology firm NetDespatch has announced Velocity eTrader, a new service for courier and distribution companies, based on its Velocity web shipping and tracking platform.

The new Velocity eTrader website will allow shippers to book any services online, without having an account, and pay for them by credit or debit card. After entering all details, customers receive a quote based on mileage or weight from the Velocity eTrader pricing engine. Online payment is made through PayPal.

To help run an eTrader business, there is also an administration area that provides reports of both successful and failed transactions. With the new website, the company aims at capturing new business from eBay traders, cottage industries and business start-ups.

“eTrader opens up important new business opportunities for our courier and distribution customers, as more and more goods are bought and sold online and the number of local Post Offices dwindles. With payment by credit card, a formal account does not need to be opened, helping to attract a broad range of new customers, some of whom will undoubtedly eventually open a credit account,” said Becky Clark, CEO of NetDespatch.

As part of the NetDespatch Velocity “on demand” applications platform, eTrader adds to the wide range of NetDespatch web services that courier and distribution companies can provide to their customers, depots and suppliers. These include intuitive web booking, systems integration, pre-labelling, address management, mileage and weight based pricing, manifests, event tracking, management reporting, POD management, mobile data and eCommerce solutions. The services are all provided in real-time and fully integrated with other systems such as sales order processing, warehouse management and e-shopping cards.

The main courier partners of NetDespatch are TNT, Amtrak, APC Overnight, Priority Express and Expressair International.

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Royal Mail seeks to axe senior marketing roles (UK)

Posted by | Jun 11, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is understood to be asking senior marketers to re-apply for their jobs as part of major review of its marketing team.

It is believed that the postal operator is reassessing its structure and is looking at senior roles, which will include brand marketing director Tom Hings and senior campaigns development manager Andrew Hammond.

One source says: “It is just the marketing department as far as I know, but it may include other areas aligned to that function, such as market research.”

While it is believed the review is starting at the top, many say it is likely to progress down to middle management.

Another source says it would be logical to conclude that any changes will be aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiencies as part of an attempt to streamline the organisation.

“There is nothing to say at this stage,” according to a Royal Mail spokesman, who refused to comment further.

The development comes just after Royal Mail reported an operating loss of GBP 279m for last year. It continues to battle with a negative perception of the brand over its poor delivery record.

The review is just weeks after marketing director Alex Batchelor announced he is leaving the postal
operator.

It also follows the promotion of Alex Smith from Group Strategy Director to Strategy and Commercial Director in March this year.

Industry experts say that the restructure effectively sidelined Batchelor who then had to report to Smith.

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The McCue Interview: Robin Dargue, Group CIO, Royal Mail

Posted by | Jun 11, 2008 | |

Robin Dargue has long been known as something of a high-flyer in CIO circles – and that’s not just about his hobby of flying planes (more of which later). After hitting the heady heights of CIO for drinks giant Diageo aged just 36, he has now taken on what most people would view as a daunting challenge at Royal Mail.

What attracted Dargue to the job? A GBP 2bn technology-based business transformation programme aimed at making the organisation leaner and able to compete better in the de-regulated postal market – essentially it’s about saving a somewhat unwieldy 360-year-old organisation against new competition.

Dargue says: “This is one of the largest transformations in the UK, if not Europe – a business transformation. It is in everybody’s interests that we do transform Royal Mail. Royal Mail Group is 360 years old and I think we have a duty to improve the business and get it in a great state to pass on to future generations and the concept that there wouldn’t be a Royal Mail Group I don’t think is acceptable.”

Dargue, just voted top CIO in the UK, has been in the CIO post six months and replaces the now retired David Burden – who has gone off to travel the world – but the structure of the role has changed slightly. Essentially Dargue has two CIO hats.

Firstly he is group CIO for the Royal Mail Group – which includes General Logistics Systems, Parcelforce, Post Office Ltd and Royal Mail Letters. With that hat he sits on the Royal Mail Group executive committee and the individual CIOs of the group businesses report into him.

Then, with his other hat he is also CIO for Royal Mail Letters – the biggest company in the group, accounting for around GBP 7bn of Royal Mail’s overall GBP 9bn revenue. As CIO of Royal Mail Letters he also sits on that individual business’ executive committee.

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