Tag: UK

TNT set to put orange-clad postmen on streets

Posted by | Feb 27, 2007 | |

TNT is ready to roll out a door-to-door letter delivery system in cities across the UK, bringing staff in an orange uniform shoulder to shoulder with postmen and women dressed in the familiar blue and red.

TNT of the Netherlands said it would take a final decision over the next couple of months when it had gained final data from its trials in Glasgow and Manchester but was now “hopeful” that it would proceed with its plans for the biggest ever challenge to Royal Mail’s position.

Reporting an 11.3% increase in worldwide operating profits and earnings before tax and interest of EUR355m (GBP238m), TNT chief executive Peter Bakker said Britain was a key market showing healthy growth and the company was now distributing more than 1bn pieces of mail a year here. Royal Mail customers to have switched to TNT include BT, which recently signed a contract worth up to GBP90m.

Items handled by TNT – apart from those involved in the trials – are collected before being handed over to the Royal Mail for the “last mile” delivery. But that will change when TNT starts offering a complete next-day service in many locations.

TNT wants to roll out its door-to-door operation to large cities in Britain but is unlikely to offer next-day delivery to more remote rural areas, critics argue. But the Dutch company said yesterday that private companies were also working at a disadvantage, particularly from having to add VAT to services, unlike Royal Mail. The European commission is looking at this issue in Britain, Germany and Sweden.

Read More

'Big Brother' clocks in at the Royal Mail

Posted by | Feb 25, 2007 | |

The Royal Mail, which earlier this month revealed an 86 per cent plunge in profits, is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds installing television screens in every delivery and sorting office in the country.

Management will use the screens to convey information and updates on the company’s performance to staff, including speeches by chief executive Adam Crozier and chairman Allan Leighton – prompting wags inside the state-controlled postal group to dub it “Allan Leighton Direct” and to compare it to George Orwell’s Big Brother.

A Royal Mail spokesman declined to comment on the cost of the new communication system, but insiders believe it will set the business back considerably. The TVs are understood to be 42-inch Fujitsu screens, which retail for around GBP2,000 each.

The Royal Mail will be able to negotiate a discount but it is still buying a considerable amount: at least one will be installed in every site, including 1,400 delivery offices, the 470 post offices the group manages directly, administration centres and other depots.

The move comes at a time when the Royal Mail is being forced to tighten its belt as it confronts a gaping pension black hole and struggles to adapt to increased competition. Earlier this month, the group confirmed that interim operating profits had come in at GBP22m, against GBP159m a year earlier. Much of the decline was blamed on costs associated with the pension deficit, which rose by GBP1bn to GBP6.6bn. But the Royal Mail has also lost a number of corporate clients, including Carphone Warehouse, BT and Centrica.

Read More

Nightfreight invests for future growth

Posted by | Feb 23, 2007 | |

Leading specialist delivery business Nightfreight, has announced the next stage of its multi million pound investment programme in customer service and operational developments designed to continue to radically improve the business and prepare it for further development.

This year Nightfreight is investing in excess of GBP 2million in a comprehensive rollout of track and trace technology to all sites, building on the infrastructure that was put in place last summer. The company is updating its fleet and taking delivery of more than 200 new vehicles in the next 12 months, including a range of 7.5 tonne, 18 tonne and artics. Satellite navigation systems will be fitted to all vehicles.

Nightfreight is also undertaking a relocation programme across a number of its sites to increase its capacity and improve on existing standards. Its site at Swanscombe has relocated to a new depot in Dartford whilst its site at Welwyn Garden City has relocated to Hoddesdon. Both new facilities are significantly larger and boast improved dock space with state of the art facilities for the vehicles. In addition there is a planned move from the company’s site in Middlewich to a new site in Crewe. Other relocations are planned for later in the year.

Steve Allen, CEO, Nightfreight Group, said:” Our ongoing investment in this business includes new vehicles, new sites, new technology and new working practices which are all designed to enhance the customer experience. This investment is all part of our transition to becoming a logistics and solutions business. It enables us to offer our customers new and innovative integrated services that will meet their changing requirements. Our home delivery solution is a good example of this because by utilising the backbone of our network we can offer retailers a wide range of service propositions, which in turn enables them to meet the delivery and price requirements of their customers. We believe this is one of our key growth area for us.”

Read More

Brussels investigates claims of unfair subsidies to Royal Mail

Posted by | Feb 23, 2007 | |

The European Commission began an in-depth investigation yesterday into Pounds 2.6 billion of government funding received by the Royal Mail over the past six years.

The inquiry was triggered by complaints from some of Royal Mail’s competitors, including TNT and the Deutsche Post-owned DHL. They claimed that the government finance amounted to illegal subsidies and gave Britain’s main supplier of postal services an unfair competitive advantage in the recently liberalised sector.

The Commission is focusing on three individual loans to Royal Mail: Pounds 500 million (2001), Pounds 1 billion (2003) and Pounds 300 million (2007). It is also examining the conditions of the Pounds 850 million that has been placed in an escrow account to reduce the contributions the company will have to make to address the deficit in its pension fund.

Both Royal Mail and the Government insisted yesterday that the financial arrangements were perfectly legal and could not be considered unfair state subsidies.

If the Commission agrees that the loans have been made on commercial terms and satisfy market investor conditions, it will close the investigation. It pointed out yesterday that the inquiry could help Royal Mail if it removed any suspicions about the status of the loans.

The main complaint was lodged last October by the Mail Competition Forum, an association of seven licensed competitors to Royal Mail. The group, which includes TNT Post, approached the Commission to protest at the measures put in place to tackle the company’s pension fund deficit.

Read More

CSR programme aims to bring TNT Post's UK operations in line with global ambitions

Posted by | Feb 22, 2007 | |

TNT Post has launched a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme to bring its UK service in line with its global operations.

The mail service, which operates in 62 countries and employs more than 128,000 people, said it hoped to improve its social and environmental impact on the communities in which it operates.

The programme includes a new mobile phone initiative to enable staff to donate to the United Nations World Food Programme by text, a carbon omission reduction scheme and a new workplace safety standard.

Simon Dolph, head of marketing and communication at TNT, said: “Developing a CSR programme for our UK business is an important step forward for TNT Post. Having built up an established reputation as leading challenger to Royal Mail in the postal market, we are keen to build on our parent’s track record in CSR and instil these values in our UK operations.”

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