Tag: UK

Palletline launches new online service

Posted by | May 30, 2007 | |

Palletline has launched a new web-based service – the first of its kind in this sector – that enables online retailers and occasional users to book and pay for transportation of their goods to and from anywhere in the UK.
According to Palletline managing director Glyn Jones, the online service is in response to the ongoing growth of online retailing.

The service enables anyone with web access to arrange collections and deliveries nationwide at a highly competitive rate, and allows smaller customers to enjoy the same level of service as large companies that ship hundred of pallets each week via the Palletline network.

Palletline’s web-based track-and-trace system featuring on-line POD images will also be available to Palletline Online customers.

Founded in 1992, Palletline was the UK’s first national network dedicated to pallet distribution.

Operating from a main hub in Birmingham with regional hubs at Greenford, west London, and Preston, Palletline has more than 65 member companies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each year covering some fifteen million miles and making more than 8,500 deliveries a day on behalf of the network.

Read More

Support for postal strike growing in Britain as workers face ballot

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

Britain looks set for a national post strike this summer after independent polls showed that a clear majority of Royal Mail workers intend to vote in favour of action next month, The Times has learnt.

Postal workers are set to deliver a 65 per cent yes vote in favour of a national strike, according to independent polling commissioned by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the main postal union.

The percentage in favour of an all-out strike over pay, which could cripple services as early as next month, has increased from 54 per cent four weeks ago to 65 per cent last week, according to sources at the CWU.

A telephone survey of 2,000 postal workers by the Campaign Company also rates a video sent to postal employees by Allan Leighton, the chairman of Royal Mail, as the single most negative message from Royal Mail. In it he uses the word “bulls**t”.

CWU sources are believed to be increasingly confident of a convincing vote in favour of strike action over the pay dispute amid an intense campaign by both sides. Last week the union advertised in seven national newspapers to put its case over pay and services to the public and to postal workers.

Royal Mail responded with its own campaign the following day. It has also used Mr Leighton’s direct appeal to workplaces as well as letters from him and Adam Crozier, its chief executive, to employees. It is 11 years since Royal Mail suffered a national strike.

Read More

Royal Mail produce best-ever annual performance

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has delivered to its customers the best-ever annual quality of service against target, it was announced today.

First Class mail comfortably exceeded the official target of 93.0 per cent in 2006-07 with 94.0 per cent of letters arriving the next day. Also, 98.9 per cent of Second Class mail was delivered within three days against a target of 98.5 per cent.

Overall, 11 of the 12 targets the business is set in its licence were achieved or surpassed in 2006/07.

The business mail services which performed above target level included Mailsort (for bulk mailers), Presstream (for publishers) and PPI (Postage Paid Impression) for mail posted in pre-paid envelopes. Standard Parcels also performed at its highest level on record with a 94.5 per cent against a target of 90.0 per cent.

Read More

Online sales to triple over next 5 years

Posted by | May 27, 2007 | |

Online sales in the UK will almost triple over the next five years, according to a study by Verdict Research. The company predicts that online spending will reach GBP 28.1bn by 2011 – equivalent to 8.9% of all retail spending. (Verdict’s figures exclude spending on services such as flights, tickets and insurance.)
Verdict believes that the online market in 2006 grew at its fastest rate since the busting of the dotcom bubble in 2001. A growth rate of 33.4% was recorded for the year resulting in a total of GBP 10.9bn being spent online. The analysts at Verdict see no reasons for an end to the online shopping boom.

Verdict cites the widespread use of low cost broadband services as a leading reason for the boom in online shopping. Of the 3,000 consumers surveyed for its report, two thirds of the online shopper population (which now numbers 18 million), said they have broadband access and shop online more frequently because of it.

By 2011 the typical spend of an online shopper will grow to GBP 1,056 per year (up from GBP 606 in 2006), with the clothing and footwear, DIY and gardening and food and grocery sectors achieving the fastest growth. This growth in spending will be driven by consumers shopping online more often, rather than as a result of further expansion of the online shopping population which Verdict Research expects to grow much more slowly over the forecast period.

Verdict Research also highlights retailer investment as proving pivotal in growing the market. Over the past 12 months a host of physical retailers including the Arcadia brand sites, Dunelm, IKEA, Oasis, Superdrug, Waterstone’s and Wickes have launched new transactional websites. In addition many existing retailers have greatly scaled up their offers including Asda, B&Q, M&S, Tesco and Woolworths.

However, a number of retailers are either still not convinced of the value of operating online, or have made a strategic decision not to move to e-commerce.

Verdict Research highlights three types of retailer who seem set to stay out of the race to build online sales: food retailers where the infrastructure cost associated with an online launch and the strength of competition act as deterrents, value retailers (such as Matalan, Primark and Peacocks) whose business model depends on driving high sales densities from their stores and many smaller specialists whose limited scale makes it challenging to finance major online infrastructure. “For these retailers the case for major investment in transactional websites is far from proven,” says Nick Gladding, author of the report.

Despite the scale of the online opportunity, Verdict Research urges retailers to take care not to jeopardise the trust of their customers. As shoppers spend increasing sums online they need greater assurance that their financial details are safe, particularly in light of the growing number of ‘phishing’ scams, where customers have in error divulged personal financial information to third parties.

The introduction of chip and PIN online should help to allay security concerns but Verdict research advises smaller retailers that lack the expertise to develop their own in-house payment and security systems to consider outsourcing this process to ensure consumer uptake.

More information on the GBP 1,850 UK e-Retail 2007 report is available on the Verdict website.

Read More

‘Thanks a million’ – Post Office Financial Services welcomes millionth customer

Posted by | May 27, 2007 | |

Post Office Financial Services – a joint venture with Bank of Ireland – today confirmed its position as the fastest growing financial services provider in the UK as it welcomed its millionth customer, just over three years since launch.

Post Office Managing Director, Alan Cook said: “Post Office Financial Services entered the market with the aim of challenging what other financial services providers were offering, across all products: from car insurance to savings accounts and credit cards. Gaining one million customers in approximately 1,000 days confirms that we were right – people want easy to understand, good value products.”

The outstanding growth of Post Office Financial Services:

• Post Office sells one in 50 of all car insurance policies in the UK
• One in every 25 credit cards issued last year was from Post Office
• GBP 2 billion has been invested in the Post Office’s savings products
• One in every 200 homes in the UK is insured with the Post Office

This success builds on the Post Office’s position as the largest independent provider of travel insurance in the UK.

Post Office Financial Services was launched as a joint venture with Bank of Ireland in March 2004.

Alan Cook continued, “This is a real achievement for the business against the backdrop of the challenges we are facing. The Post Office’s entry into financial services is vital to the bigger picture of providing products and services that will help create a sustainable Post Office network.”

All of Post Office’s financial products are available by telephone and online. Information is available at all 14,000 UK Post Office branches – more than all of the UK banks and building societies put together.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

Have you noticed a decrease of non-EU inbound parcel volumes since the implementation of the new €3 charge?

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