Postal Universal Service Obligation (USO) International Comparison
Postal Universal Service Obligation (USO) International Comparison
Read MoreTag: Worldwide
Qatar to host Universal Postal Congress in 2012
Qatar will host the 25th Universal Postal Congress (CPU) in 2012. This was decided by a vote held here yesterday (7th August) on the sidelines of the 24th Universal Postal Congress.
More than 180 participating countries voted for Qatar for efforts being made by its delegation headed by Ali Mohammed Al Ali, Chairman and General Manager of the General Postal Corporation (Q-Post).
Qatar also for the first time joined membership of the CPU Board by election as part of the Asia and Oceania grouping.
The CPU board consists of 41 elected countries as per various regional groupings.
Following the announcement of Qatar winning the bid for hosting the coming congress, Al Ali expressed overwhelming pleasure over this achievement, saying that the Qatar bidding file was a satisfactory one and meets all conditions set by the CPU to host such a universal gathering most important of which are stability, security availability of infrastructure and services including health, transportation and housing, etc.
Quality of service management: eight operators certified
Eight postal operators were awarded a certification diploma by the Universal Postal Union.
The certification programme, which comprises the rankings A, B and C (gold, silver and bronze), measures how well Posts apply quality management processes.
The countries receiving certification were Botswana (C), Mauritius (A), Malawi (A), Namibia (B), Saudi Arabia (A), South Africa (C), Swaziland (C) and Ukraine (A). Giandev Moteea, Director General of Mauritius Post Ltd., said it was an honour to receive such an award after investing in new technologies and human resources development. During the award ceremony, Moteea said, “It is now important to maintain this certification by continuing to improve quality of service and keeping our customers satisfied, and thereby sustain growth throughout the sector.”
The UPU recognizes countries’ efforts in quality of service management, a priority area for the development of mail exchanges worldwide.
The certification process involves a comprehensive assessment of the organization, operations, customer information and after-sales service relating to ordinary international mail. Quality is not measured on the basis of absolute values such as speed and regularity.
Applicant countries first need to answer several UPU questionnaires. Experts then carry out an on-site assessment. A total of 17 postal operators have been certified since 2003.
Read MoreWorld air cargo volumes slump in June
World air cargo traffic suffered a downturn in June due to the worsening international economic climate, according to the latest figures from international aviation organisations. The figures follow recent comments by global express operators about weak demand in June.
The figures continue the general downward trend seen over the first half of 2008. The key factors include lower domestic volumes in the USA, lower US imports due to the country’s weak economy, and a partial modal shift from air to sea transport as customers seek to reduce overall logistics costs.
According to the Airports Council International (ACI), representing the majority of the world’s airports, total air freight volumes dropped by 3.2% to 4.6 million tonnes in June 2008 compared to the previous year. Domestic freight slumped by 10.9% while international volumes grew just 0.4%. Half-year volumes were up by just 2.2% at 28.6 million tonnes, with domestic cargo down 2.8% and international volumes up by a more healthy 4.7%, it said.
In regional terms, North America saw a 10.9% volume drop in June, including a 14% fall in domestic volumes and a 3.2% decline in international freight. This left overall volumes down 3.6% over the first six months of 2008. Europe had a 1.3% drop in air cargo volumes in June, including a 1.7% fall in international volumes. Half-year volumes were up 2.9%.
Asia Pacific, the world’s largest air cargo market, saw growth slow to just 1% in June, with international cargo growth at 2.5%. The region had 6.6% overall growth in the first half-year. Smaller markets such as Middle East and Latin America also saw low growth in June.
Separately, IATA, representing the world’s commercial airlines, said that international cargo traffic contracted by 0.8% in June. This was the first monthly decline since May 2005 and followed several months of falling manufacturing sector confidence indicators.
Asia Pacific airlines led the freight contraction with a -4.8% year-on-year decline for June traffic, IATA pointed out. European carriers saw freight demand growth fall to 0.7% in June from 1.4% in May. North American carriers also saw freight demand growth slow to 4.0% in June from 4.6% in May.
Middle Eastern carriers delivered the strongest performance with 12.1% growth (up slightly from the 10.7% recorded in May). Latin American airlines recorded the largest contraction (12.7%) as the region’s cargo sector continues to re-structure its capacity.
Read MoreInterest in RFID rising, says channel
According to a new worldwide survey of data resellers, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology contracts on are on the rise. Increased reliability, reduced cost and complexity are all considered factors in the maturing market for what has, until recently been considered an emerging technology, according to the report by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
“RFID offers adopters of the technology a number of benefits, from improvements in manufacturing, inventory and distribution processes, to reduced costs for product theft, spoilage or obsolescence,” explains Matthew Poyiadgi, VP EMEA for CompTIA.
The survey of 155 channel companies found that 46 per cent of their customers have implemented one or more RFID solutions, either as pilot projects or production deployments. This is an increase from a 2007 survey, when IT companies reported 34 per cent of their customers had initiated RFID projects.
The most popular RFID deployments now used by customers are asset tracking, cited by 32 per cent of IT companies surveyed; personal identification (28 per cent); supply chain (25 per cent); retail marketing (15 per cent); and closed-loop manufacturing (nine per cent), according to the CompTIA survey.
Customers come from a cross section of industries, including services, government, finance, healthcare, retail, communications, and manufacturing.
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