Tag: USA

Bush expected to sign postal reform bill tomorrow

Posted by | Dec 19, 2006 | |

President Bush is expected to sign the postal reform bill tomorrow.
Marketers can now look forward to smaller postage rate increases from the U.S. Postal Service in the coming years.
Unlike past years when some mail categories saw 25%-30% rate hikes, the new law links postage rate increases to the Consumer Price Index.
Because of this, marketers might want to plan for smaller postage increases in the 4%-5% range every year, similar to FedEx and UPS.
It’s expected that the higher rates will take effect May 6, 2007.
Postal officials will be able to set new postage rates much faster once the law is in place. The law transfers responsibility of pension benefits earned by postal employees when they were in the military to the U.S. Treasury Department. This will free up USD27 billion that the Postal Service would have had to fund. After 10 years, the Postal Regulatory Commission will be allowed to modify the price cap or adopt an alternative rate system if deemed necessary.
The PRC gains the power to subpoena Postal Service records to ensure that the agency is in compliance with the law and that the interests of the mailing public are being protected.

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FedEx acquires UK Express Company ANC

Posted by | Dec 19, 2006 | |

Strategic Purchase Offers Customers Broader, More Seamless Range of Services.

FedEx Corporation today announced it has acquired ANC Holdings Limited, a United Kingdom domestic express transportation company for GBP120 million. This transaction will allow FedEx Express, an operating unit of FedEx Corp., to directly serve the entire UK domestic market, providing a broader range of shipping options and enhanced service under the trusted FedEx brand.
ANC offers a comprehensive range of distribution and logistics services with an established pick-up and delivery network across the UK. Founded in 1981, ANC has annual revenues of more than GBP145 million and is known for its strong customer-service philosophy, its advanced, reliable delivery network and commitment to its employees. ANC currently operates with a network of approximately 4,500 people and a fleet of 2,200 vehicles from 80 locations.
“The addition of ANC significantly expands our service portfolio in the important UK market and underscores our continuing commitment to grow the FedEx international business,” said Michael L. Ducker, president, International, FedEx Express. “This strategic investment enhances FedEx in the global express industry and will deliver additional value to our customers, employees and shareowners.”

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John Beystehner to Retire as UPS’s Chief Operating Officer

Posted by | Dec 18, 2006 | |

UPS today announced the retirement of John J. Beystehner, the company’s chief operating officer, president of UPS Airlines and a member of the UPS Board of Directors.
The company also announced the election of Chief Financial Officer Scott Davis to the additional position of vice chairman, effective immediately. Davis currently is responsible for all activities related to accounting, auditing, finance, financial planning, taxes and treasury. He was elected to the UPS Board of Directors in February.
Beystehner, UPS’s chief operating officer since 2004 and one of three active employees on the company’s Board of Directors, will step down from both positions on Jan. 2, 2007. A successor to Beystehner as COO will be named at a later date.
Davis, 55, joined the company in 1986 when UPS acquired II Morrow, an Oregon technology firm that Davis served as CFO and then CEO. Beginning in 1991, Davis held positions of increasing responsibility as accounting manager and treasury manager. In 2000 he was named vice president of finance and then joined the UPS Management Committee when he assumed his current position in 2001.

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Lockheed Martin delivers last automated package processing system to the US Postal service

Posted by | Dec 18, 2006 | |

Lockheed Martin has completed the deployment of 74 Automated Package Processing Systems (APPS) to the U.S. Postal Service under a more than USD300 million contract awarded in 2002.

APPS provides the Postal Service with a fully integrated, end-to-end system capable of automatically sorting high volumes of First-Class packaged mail, Priority Mail envelopes and parcels, and bundled mail, such as magazines or catalogs, with greater efficiency and higher accuracy. The system is capable of processing more than 9,500 packages an hour while automatically reading machine printed or handwritten addresses.

“Our system offers a modular and scalable solution, and is customizable for each site’s needs, which maximizes the return on investment for the program,” said Brian Tanton, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies.

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IBM unveils new RFID software

Posted by | Dec 18, 2006 | |

IBM has announced new technology that more easily allows organisations securely share and analyse real-time data generated by radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.

The new WebSphere RFID Information Center technology is based on a recently completed EPCglobal RFID standard called EPCIS, which provides a standard way to securely communicate the data created by sensors and RFID tags.

Using the IBM platform, the data can also be integrated with existing business information and shared with trading partners.

The IBM WebSphere RFID Information Center platform has already been successfully deployed by Unilever, the e-customs project ITAIDE in Europe, and pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen.

Shay Reid, AmerisourceBergen vice-president for integrated solutions, said, “AmerisourceBergen sees tremendous potential in the IBM WebSphere RFID Information Center, which will be a key component to meeting track and trace regulatory requirements in California.”

Reid said the platform would become the data backbone in a pilot programme that will enable AmerisourceBergen to improve its service by quickly authenticating products and transactions through direct data exchange with pharmaceutical manufacturers.”

RFID Information Center receives data from RFID middleware, which aggregates, filters and interprets data directly from the readers.

RFID Information Center then stores, manages and enables sharing of all or portions of the data with various business applications across the enterprise, and with trading partners.

More information on the platform is available here: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/masterdata/rfid/

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