POSTAL NEWS
No 74 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
CUPW Fighting For Good Jobs and Better Services. September 11, 2018.
An Post’s last-mile delivery services made available to Asendia customers. September 10, 2018.
New internal USPS system to measure urban, rural service performance. September 10, 2018.
SEKO Logistics Bolsters Global Cross-Border E- commerce. September 7, 2018.
Extraordinary Congress ends on cooperation high note as eyes turn to 2020 Côte d’Ivoire Congress. September 7, 2018.
CUPW Fighting For Good Jobs and Better Services
September 11, 2018
Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) — both the Urban Postal Operations unit and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) unit — have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.
Strike votes were held across the country between August 7 and September 9, and provisional numbers show 93.8 percent of urban workers and 95.9 percent of rural workers support their bargaining committee and are ready to take action if necessary. Final audited results may vary slightly. CUPW will be in a legal strike position as of September 26 if the parties cannot reach an agreement.
“Over the last decade, the working conditions of all our members has deteriorated, leaving many overburdened, with little time for their home life,” says Mike Palecek, National President, CUPW. “This ends now. Our members have spoken — this is the time to address serious workplace problems.”
It’s also time to look at renewing the post office with expanded services that include postal banking, grocery delivery and greening the postal fleet and the post office. “Postal workers are also bargaining for the future – future employees and everyone who relies on the postal service,” says Palecek. “Expanded public services at the post office will help our communities thrive, which is why we have put new services for all at the front and centre of our negotiations.”
This round of bargaining has been both difficult and complex. Negotiators have had to address new issues arising from the changing nature of postal work, including the continued explosion of parcel volumes, which has placed huge burdens on members. There are also outstanding issues from previous bargaining rounds as well as equality for RSMCs.
The RSMC pay equity process that is nearing completion addresses their wages and benefits, but to be truly equally treated at work, RSMCs need pay for all hours they work, guaranteed minimum hours and job security, among other issues.
On September 7, after months of negotiations, Canada Post presented global offers to the union, the first time the Corporation has offered any position on the issues, and these offers “simply weren’t good enough,” says Palecek.
“Our negotiators will continue to work with Canada Post to develop a fair agreement for all our workers, and we will not settle for less,” says Palecek. “Our membership has given us a clear mandate to take job action if Canada Post doesn’t come to the bargaining table ready to make some changes to give our workers fair working conditions and expanded services benefitting everyone.”
Source : https://www.cupw.ca/en
An Post’s last-mile delivery services made available to Asendia customers
September 10, 2018
Retail customers belonging to international parcel delivery facilitator Asendia – a joint venture between La Poste and Swiss Post – now have access to last-mile delivery services in Ireland, following an agreement signed with An Post – Ireland’s national postal operator.
Marc Pontet, CEO of Asendia, said, “We continually look to develop our cross-border parcel services to markets where e-commerce is thriving and Ireland is one such market. We chose to partner with An Post because their services offer a long list of unrivalled benefits such as Saturday and evening delivery, safe places, PUDO, and three delivery attempts. These are the features that online shoppers are looking for.
“But what’s more, An Post was voted the most trusted brand in Ireland, which is high praise in a country that brands like Google, PayPal and Pfizer have made their home.”
Lloyd Webber, sales and marketing director at Asendia UK, added, “The Irish consumer loves to shop online and has a thirst for buying from overseas stores. UK retailers in particular should be excited about this opportunity to access an excellent service at a great price, because the UK is the number one shopping destination by far for the Irish.”
These figures regarding the Irish market feature in Asendia’s most recent eBook How to crack the Irish E-commerce market. Key findings include:
Value of Ireland’s e-commerce market reached €6.7bn (US$7.8bn) in 2017;
Cross-border spending expected to reach €5.2bn (US$6bn), representing 77% of the total market;
63% of Irish cross-border shoppers buy from the UK;
China and the USA are the next most popular shopping destinations.
Gilles Ferrandez, commercial director, An Post, said, “An Post is evolving to meet the demands of e-commerce. We want to make it easier for companies and consumers to sell, buy, receive and return goods, wherever and whenever they choose. By partnering with Asendia we are able to expand solutions in the UK, across continental Europe, the USA and Asia; this is a really exciting opportunity for us to grow our reach, with an international partner that has a strong reputation.”
The parcel delivery service to Ireland is now available to UK retailers and is also accessible via the Metapack shipping platform.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/last-mile
New internal USPS system to measure urban, rural service performance
September 10, 2018
USPS will soon have a better method to measure service performance, but it will require employees to think differently about the terms “urban” and “rural.”
When you hear these terms now, you probably associate them with delivery route definitions. Urban refers to city routes, while rural refers to rural routes.
In the delivery world, this will still be true.
But the terms have different meanings when you work with Internal Service Performance Measurement (SPM), the system that will become the organization’s official method to measure service performance in October.
Internal SPM relies on the U.S. Census Bureau’s definitions of urban and rural areas.
The Census Bureau has two urban designations: urbanized areas (UAs), which consist of areas with 50,000 or more residents, and urban clusters (UCs), which have 2,500-50,000 people.
Rural areas, according to the Census Bureau, encompass all regions not included in an urban area.
Informed Visibility (IV) service measurement and diagnostic tools provide a breakdown of urban and rural information, allowing field users to monitor, identify and remedy potential pinch points and drive service improvements.
“These new urban and rural designations allow the Postal Service to provide additional visibility and opportunities to improve service to all parts of the country — keeping us in line with our obligation to provide universal service to all of America,” said Enterprise Analytics Vice President Isaac Cronkhite.
Source : http://postalnews.com/blog/2018/09
SEKO Logistics Bolsters Global Cross-Border E- commerce
September 7, 2018
SEKO Logistics has acquired a majority shareholding in its strategic partner Omni- Channel Logistics to solidify and grow its eCommerce and technology solutions for retailers, pure-play etailers, marketplaces and platforms.
The two companies have enjoyed a highly successful and growing partnership since Managing Director Kai Lincoln and his partners launched Omni-Channel Logistics in Australia in early 2014.
SEKO Logistics created a new integrated eCommerce and logistics division in 2013 with SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics to fast track traditional brick-and-mortar retailers into the global eCommerce market. The four key elements of the SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics offer are Global fulfillment, Global delivery management, Global returns solutions, and eCommerce development and design.
The SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics team under Kai has focused on cross-border eCommerce and global eCommerce returns solutions and has since grown its annual revenues by giving major brands and SMEs fast and easy access to primary eCommerce markets in Hong Kong, the US, UK and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Their leading eCommerce expertise has also been fully integrated into SEKO’s global network, facilitating SEKO’s fastest-growing division globally under Kai’s team. By the end of 2017, more than half of SEKO’s global airfreight tonnage consisted of retail goods, with the majority coming from cross-border eCommerce parcels and global parcel returns.
Kai Lincoln, who will continue to lead SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics for cross-border eCommerce and global eCommerce returns, said:
“As a start-up business in 2014, we recognized the importance of having a reputable global brand behind us. SEKO gave us that credibility and the two-way partnership we have enjoyed since has enabled us to become a global eCommerce force with an amazing team of individuals and a technology platform designed and built for scalable cross- border, marketplace and returns solutions.”
Justin Irvine, Commercial Director Asia Pacific for the rapidly-growing division, added: “We have a great partner in SEKO and this acquisition will be instrumental in assisting SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics’ continued growth in key eCommerce markets around the world.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98121/news
Extraordinary Congress ends on cooperation high note as eyes turn to 2020 Côte d’Ivoire Congress
September 7, 2018
Agreement reached on UPU reform; contributions for SIDS; the Integrated Product Plan as related to proposals from the POC and CA, with the exception of mandatory tracking; and a compromise agreement on the Integrated Remuneration Plan; but overall question of postal remuneration left until 2020 Congress
The Universal Postal Union’s Second Extraordinary Congress ended on a high note today by stressing cooperation and collaboration across the world’s postal sector.
UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein said, “We have enjoyed an extremely productive week here in the beautiful city of Addis Ababa with many important decisions adopted. I welcome the close cooperation that I have seen throughout the Congress, and the consensus building spirit that has been forged over these last five days.”
During the Congress, member countries agreed a raft of far-reaching proposals underscoring the importance of the original decision made in Istanbul in 2016 to hold only the Second Extraordinary Congress in UPU’s 144-year history.
On UPU reform, countries agreed improvements enhancing UPU’s efficiency, as well as its role and relevance. Agreement on changes to election procedures at UPU’s operational body—the Postal Operations Council (POC)—will simplify the election process, and provide improved regional representation.
Concerning UPU contributions, member countries agreed on a landmark decision to reduce the contributions provided by Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
These countries are some of the most disadvantaged of all UPU member countries and have faced struggles to pay UPU contributions. Reform of the overall contribution system was carried over to the 2020 Congress. Agreement on the pension fund will also allow UPU to move to a more sustainable future.
Member countries adopted all proposals that came through the POC and Council of Administration (CA) on the Integrated Product Plan (IPP), which is designed to develop a fully integrated portfolio of physical postal products (letter post, parcel post and express mail service—EMS).
The sole exception was mandatory tracking. Congress, instead, decided to adopt an implementation roadmap for the IPP, and instructed the POC to keep pace with changes in the marketplace by modernizing services, including developing proposals on the tracked service for the 2020 Congress.
The Extraordinary Congress achieved a major success by approving, by consensus, a compromise proposal on the Integrated Remuneration Plan (IRP)—the IRP aims to modernize, rationalize and integrate the postal remuneration systems of member countries.
On the topic of remuneration, which has been the subject of much discussion and debate in recent months, there was an agreement to use the IRP as a roadmap for a sound proposal on an Integrated Remuneration System to be presented at the 2020 Congress.
Reflecting on the conference, Mr. Hussein said, “Working together in the spirit of cooperation, [member countries] have helped to make this Congress a success, as well as a powerful voice for a truly inspirational industry.”
After the closing ceremony, the UPU Director General and the Minister of Digital Economy and Post for Côte d’Ivoire, Claude Isaac Dé, inked a joint declaration on the organization of the 27th Universal Postal Congress to be held in the country in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Dé had thanked member countries for their cooperation describing the international postal sector as “a big family.”
UPU’s 2018 Ministerial Strategy Conference wrapped earlier in the day with participants noting that the conference had provided a major opportunity to consider the best policies, investments, regulations, and partnerships to ensure that Posts can reach their full potential.
“We have spent the past few days discussing our challenges. But we also have an opportunity to chart the UPU’s roadmap, ” said UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz in closing remarks at the conference.
With a global network of over 600,000 post offices, 5.3 million staff and physical infrastructure covering 192 countries, the postal sector is a key contributor to national and international infrastructure and plays an important role in national development and in the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Universal Postal Union is a UN specialized agency with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne. Established in 1874, it is one of the world’s oldest international organizations and is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players.
Source : http://news.upu.int
POSTAL NEWS
No 75 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Strong Support Revealed For POSTNL And SANDD Merger. September 13, 2018.
Another Successful Private Sector Organizing Effort. September 12, 2018.
Ship Bob Raises $40 Million to Back E-Commerce Fulfillment Growth. September 11, 2018.
DPD deploys electric cargo bikes in German cities of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. September 10, 2018.
AUSTRIAN POST Plans Financial Services Partnership With Fintech Group AG Of Germany. September 10, 2018.
Strong Support Revealed For POSTNL And SANDD Merger
September 13, 2018
An imminent merger between PostNL and Sandd is now looking increasingly likely, with potential cost synergies of €50m-€60m. In combination with the recent annulment of the significant market power ruling, our Long View upside scenario with a fair value of €6.0 per share is within reach.
The State Secretary of Economic Affairs stressed that under Article 41 of Dutch competition law, a potential rejection of a merger by the ACM competition authorities can be bypassed. Yesterday’s discussion in the House of Representatives followed a letter from the State Secretary of Economic Affairs to the Dutch government on 15 June 2018, with recommendations for changes to the Postal Law 2009, based on the conclusions from the postal dialogue earlier this year. The key message was that consolidation of postal operators should be allowed and legislation supporting competition, including significant market power, should be reduced, in order to keep the USO economically viable in a declining market with increasing competition.
PostNL’s view is that Dutch postal regulation should be amended as soon as possible to facilitate inevitable consolidation of postal market players for an orderly & rational adjustment of the market to declining volumes. PostNL’s main competitor Sandd also welcomes consolidation in the market, after a relatively more offensive expansion strategy earlier. PostNL had already considered acquiring Sandd for €100m-€150m at the end of FY15 according to earlier reports in the Dutch financial press, potentially leading to cost savings of €50m-€60m from the integration of networks, but was concerned the takeover would not be allowed. Sandd is PostNL’s largest competitor, with a market share of 20%-25% of the Dutch postal market & pro-forma FY17 revenues of €195m. It is mainly focused on the non-time critical segment (delivering on Tuesday & Friday only), but after the recent acquisition of Van Straaten Post, it is also active in the 24-hour bulk market (partially relying on PostNL’s network).
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98169/features
Another Successful Private Sector Organizing Effort
September 12, 2018
Some non-unionized drivers from Pat Salmon Companies in El Paso, TX approached the Salmon Companies Dallas APWU represented drivers with concerns over their working conditions. The Dallas driver President, Sonny Castleman, quickly arranged for a meeting with the drivers to discuss the issues.
The El Paso drivers overwhelmingly decided that they needed union representation. The union collected 26 Form 1187’s from drivers, which was over 80% of the driver workforce at the terminal. "The company officials were approached and advised that we had about 80% of the workforce on board to become a unionized unit," stated Support Services Director Steve Brooks. At that time the company stated that they would not agree to accepting the documents and would require that the APWU solicit an NLRB vote.
The APWU then filed with the NLRB to have an election vote for the drivers in El Paso. The company advised us that they would stay out of the voting process and let it take its natural course, Brooks stated. The vote was to take place on September 6, 2018 and on September 5 the company handed out flyers to every El Paso driver stating that it would not be in the driver’s best interest to join the union, as they could not guarantee them wage and working condition improvements because it would have to be agreed upon in the collective bargaining process.
Despite the company’s efforts to taint the election process the vote was 26 to join and 6 against. We now have another private sector drivers group for which we will be negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.
Source : http://www.apwu.org/news/web-news-article
ShipBob Raises $40 Million to Back E-Commerce Fulfillment Growth
September 11, 2018
Logistics specialist says it will expand warehouse locations, technology capabilities to help online retailers match Amazon’s management of inventory, delivery.
E-commerce fulfillment startup ShipBob has raised $40 million in new funding to expand the warehousing and technology services it offers small- and medium-size brands to compete with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.67%
The Chicago-based company, which launched in 2014, operates five warehouses in major cities where it fulfills customer orders within one to two days for more than 2,000 internet retailers. The company says it has shipped more than 4 million packages for customers that include Interior Define, I Heart Keenwah, baKblade, and Creepy Co.
The Series C funding round was led by Menlo Ventures and includes existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Y Combinator. ShipBob has raised a total of $62 million but would not disclose its valuation.
ShipBob’s software helps the company manage the logistics for orders that come through its clients’ websites and third-party marketplaces, including the Amazon site. ShipBob tracks customer demand and can direct companies when and where to restock inventory so orders can be filled quickly using the cheapest shipping option.
“Our network is optimized to deliver a great customer experience,” co-founder Dhruv Saxena said. “These companies, which are only a year or two old in many cases, are able to provide a customer experience that…other major retailers struggle with,” he said.
ShipBob is operating in an increasingly crowded field offering logistics services to meet the demands of digital commerce.
FedEx Corp. stepped up its services targeting e-commerce for small and medium-size retailers with the launch this year of FedEx Fulfillment. And United Parcel Service Inc. last week launched its Ware2Go service, a digital platform that matches available warehouse and fulfillment services with businesses that want to ship orders fast.
Consumers are becoming “conditioned by the market” to expect the same level of service from all online retailers, said Cathy Roberson, a logistics industry analyst.
“ShipBob and others are there to help consumers get their goods faster, and at the same time they’re helping a lot of these small- and medium-sized players compete against the likes of Amazon,” Ms. Roberson said. By pooling fulfillment services across thousands of small retailers, she said, these services can reduce the cost of warehousing, technology and labor for individual retailers.
Since its $17.5 million Series B funding round last year, ShipBob has expanded from 60 employees to 400. Mr. Saxena said with the new investment he wants to add more engineers to enhance the company’s logistics technology and open warehouses beyond the sites it now operates in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles/shipbob-raises-40-million-to-back-e-commerce-fulfillment-growth
DPD deploys electric cargo bikes in German cities of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg
September 10, 2018
DPD Germany has expanded its green delivery fleet in the cities of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg with the addition of eight new electric transport bikes.
The e-bikes will complement DPD’s existing electric vans including the Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell, the Renault Master ZE, and two pre-series models of the Volkswagen (VW) e-Crafter, DPD’s next step will be to develop more centrally located parcel distribution facilities, referred to as micro-depots, which help support efficient inner-city delivery operations.
Thomas Ohnhaus, chief operating officer at DPD Germany, said, “Stuttgart is a representative example of challenges such as pollution from particulates, driving prohibitions and access restrictions in the inner city. The testing of alternative delivery concepts enables us to make sure that in future, too, we will be able to fulfil our role as a supplier of essential delivery services to residents and retailers in an optimal way.
“For this purpose, close cooperation between municipalities and parcel services is an even more essential prerequisite than it was in the past. A prime example of this is the search for suitable locations where we can establish the kind of inner-city micro depots that enable locally emissions-free parcel deliveries in the first place.”
At the micro-depots, the transport bikes can be loaded with parcels several times a day, and the batteries of the bikes are then charged after the delivery rounds have been completed.
Because of a lack of suitable premises DPD has so far not been able to set up a permanent micro-depot in the inner-city area of Stuttgart. As a result, a number of transport bikes are still waiting on the relevant parcel distribution center in Ludwigsburg to go into operation, which will serve the districts of Stuttgart-East, Bad-Cannstatt and Heslach.
In addition to the four transport bikes in Stuttgart, four more bikes will soon go into operation in Ludwigsburg (Oßweil and Eglosheim districts) as well as in the neighboring municipalities of Tamm and Asperg.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/delivery
AUSTRIAN POST Plans Financial Services Partnership With Fintech Group AG Of Germany
New financial services offering of Austrian Post in preparation
Founding of a 50/50 Joint Venture with Fintech Group AG
Austrian Post acquires 7% stake in Fintech Group AG
September 10, 2018
Austrian Post has been offering financial services for many years via its branch network consisting of 433 company-operated branch offices and 1,351 postal partners. Financial services should continue to be an integral part of Austrian Post’s service offering even after termination of the cooperation with the company’s previous banking partner BAWAG P.S.K. starting at the end of 2019.
Today’s meeting of the Supervisory Board of Austrian Post laid the foundations for creating future comprehensive financial services offering in the branch network in cooperation with FinTech Group AG of Germany. The objective is to offer attractive banking products tailored to the needs of private customers. For this purpose, Austrian
Post and FinTech Group AG will establish a 50/50 joint venture. FinTech Group Bank AG will contribute its Austrian branch which has been operating successfully for more than eight years including its approx. 30,000 customers to the joint venture, subject to the approval of the relevant supervisory authorities. After being granted a banking license, the joint venture company will offer banking services in Austria and will be provided with equity capital of more than EUR 200m. The joint venture company will source IT services from FinTech Group AG and leverage distribution services and infrastructure provided by Austrian Post.
To underline the sustainable orientation of this partnership Austrian Post will acquire a 7% stake in FinTech Group AG and get a seat on the FinTech Group Supervisory Board. FinTech Group will issue 1,225,761 new shares under exclusion of subscription rights in the total amount of around EUR 35m. These shares will be acquired by Austrian Post.
FinTech Group AG is a modern smart bank headquartered in Germany. On the one hand, FinTech Group AG offers innovative IT solutions and services for financial service providers, including its own core banking systems. On the other hand, its retail brand flatex has ranked among the market and innovation leaders for years on the German and Austrian B2C online brokerage market.
Source : https://www.post.at/en
No 74 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
CUPW Fighting For Good Jobs and Better Services. September 11, 2018.
An Post’s last-mile delivery services made available to Asendia customers. September 10, 2018.
New internal USPS system to measure urban, rural service performance. September 10, 2018.
SEKO Logistics Bolsters Global Cross-Border E- commerce. September 7, 2018.
Extraordinary Congress ends on cooperation high note as eyes turn to 2020 Côte d’Ivoire Congress. September 7, 2018.
CUPW Fighting For Good Jobs and Better Services
September 11, 2018
Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) — both the Urban Postal Operations unit and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) unit — have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.
Strike votes were held across the country between August 7 and September 9, and provisional numbers show 93.8 percent of urban workers and 95.9 percent of rural workers support their bargaining committee and are ready to take action if necessary. Final audited results may vary slightly. CUPW will be in a legal strike position as of September 26 if the parties cannot reach an agreement.
“Over the last decade, the working conditions of all our members has deteriorated, leaving many overburdened, with little time for their home life,” says Mike Palecek, National President, CUPW. “This ends now. Our members have spoken — this is the time to address serious workplace problems.”
It’s also time to look at renewing the post office with expanded services that include postal banking, grocery delivery and greening the postal fleet and the post office. “Postal workers are also bargaining for the future – future employees and everyone who relies on the postal service,” says Palecek. “Expanded public services at the post office will help our communities thrive, which is why we have put new services for all at the front and centre of our negotiations.”
This round of bargaining has been both difficult and complex. Negotiators have had to address new issues arising from the changing nature of postal work, including the continued explosion of parcel volumes, which has placed huge burdens on members. There are also outstanding issues from previous bargaining rounds as well as equality for RSMCs.
The RSMC pay equity process that is nearing completion addresses their wages and benefits, but to be truly equally treated at work, RSMCs need pay for all hours they work, guaranteed minimum hours and job security, among other issues.
On September 7, after months of negotiations, Canada Post presented global offers to the union, the first time the Corporation has offered any position on the issues, and these offers “simply weren’t good enough,” says Palecek.
“Our negotiators will continue to work with Canada Post to develop a fair agreement for all our workers, and we will not settle for less,” says Palecek. “Our membership has given us a clear mandate to take job action if Canada Post doesn’t come to the bargaining table ready to make some changes to give our workers fair working conditions and expanded services benefitting everyone.”
Source : https://www.cupw.ca/en
An Post’s last-mile delivery services made available to Asendia customers
September 10, 2018
Retail customers belonging to international parcel delivery facilitator Asendia – a joint venture between La Poste and Swiss Post – now have access to last-mile delivery services in Ireland, following an agreement signed with An Post – Ireland’s national postal operator.
Marc Pontet, CEO of Asendia, said, “We continually look to develop our cross-border parcel services to markets where e-commerce is thriving and Ireland is one such market. We chose to partner with An Post because their services offer a long list of unrivalled benefits such as Saturday and evening delivery, safe places, PUDO, and three delivery attempts. These are the features that online shoppers are looking for.
“But what’s more, An Post was voted the most trusted brand in Ireland, which is high praise in a country that brands like Google, PayPal and Pfizer have made their home.”
Lloyd Webber, sales and marketing director at Asendia UK, added, “The Irish consumer loves to shop online and has a thirst for buying from overseas stores. UK retailers in particular should be excited about this opportunity to access an excellent service at a great price, because the UK is the number one shopping destination by far for the Irish.”
These figures regarding the Irish market feature in Asendia’s most recent eBook How to crack the Irish E-commerce market. Key findings include:
Value of Ireland’s e-commerce market reached €6.7bn (US$7.8bn) in 2017;
Cross-border spending expected to reach €5.2bn (US$6bn), representing 77% of the total market;
63% of Irish cross-border shoppers buy from the UK;
China and the USA are the next most popular shopping destinations.
Gilles Ferrandez, commercial director, An Post, said, “An Post is evolving to meet the demands of e-commerce. We want to make it easier for companies and consumers to sell, buy, receive and return goods, wherever and whenever they choose. By partnering with Asendia we are able to expand solutions in the UK, across continental Europe, the USA and Asia; this is a really exciting opportunity for us to grow our reach, with an international partner that has a strong reputation.”
The parcel delivery service to Ireland is now available to UK retailers and is also accessible via the Metapack shipping platform.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/last-mile
New internal USPS system to measure urban, rural service performance
September 10, 2018
USPS will soon have a better method to measure service performance, but it will require employees to think differently about the terms “urban” and “rural.”
When you hear these terms now, you probably associate them with delivery route definitions. Urban refers to city routes, while rural refers to rural routes.
In the delivery world, this will still be true.
But the terms have different meanings when you work with Internal Service Performance Measurement (SPM), the system that will become the organization’s official method to measure service performance in October.
Internal SPM relies on the U.S. Census Bureau’s definitions of urban and rural areas.
The Census Bureau has two urban designations: urbanized areas (UAs), which consist of areas with 50,000 or more residents, and urban clusters (UCs), which have 2,500-50,000 people.
Rural areas, according to the Census Bureau, encompass all regions not included in an urban area.
Informed Visibility (IV) service measurement and diagnostic tools provide a breakdown of urban and rural information, allowing field users to monitor, identify and remedy potential pinch points and drive service improvements.
“These new urban and rural designations allow the Postal Service to provide additional visibility and opportunities to improve service to all parts of the country — keeping us in line with our obligation to provide universal service to all of America,” said Enterprise Analytics Vice President Isaac Cronkhite.
Source : http://postalnews.com/blog/2018/09
SEKO Logistics Bolsters Global Cross-Border E- commerce
September 7, 2018
SEKO Logistics has acquired a majority shareholding in its strategic partner Omni- Channel Logistics to solidify and grow its eCommerce and technology solutions for retailers, pure-play etailers, marketplaces and platforms.
The two companies have enjoyed a highly successful and growing partnership since Managing Director Kai Lincoln and his partners launched Omni-Channel Logistics in Australia in early 2014.
SEKO Logistics created a new integrated eCommerce and logistics division in 2013 with SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics to fast track traditional brick-and-mortar retailers into the global eCommerce market. The four key elements of the SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics offer are Global fulfillment, Global delivery management, Global returns solutions, and eCommerce development and design.
The SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics team under Kai has focused on cross-border eCommerce and global eCommerce returns solutions and has since grown its annual revenues by giving major brands and SMEs fast and easy access to primary eCommerce markets in Hong Kong, the US, UK and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Their leading eCommerce expertise has also been fully integrated into SEKO’s global network, facilitating SEKO’s fastest-growing division globally under Kai’s team. By the end of 2017, more than half of SEKO’s global airfreight tonnage consisted of retail goods, with the majority coming from cross-border eCommerce parcels and global parcel returns.
Kai Lincoln, who will continue to lead SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics for cross-border eCommerce and global eCommerce returns, said:
“As a start-up business in 2014, we recognized the importance of having a reputable global brand behind us. SEKO gave us that credibility and the two-way partnership we have enjoyed since has enabled us to become a global eCommerce force with an amazing team of individuals and a technology platform designed and built for scalable cross- border, marketplace and returns solutions.”
Justin Irvine, Commercial Director Asia Pacific for the rapidly-growing division, added: “We have a great partner in SEKO and this acquisition will be instrumental in assisting SEKO Omni-Channel Logistics’ continued growth in key eCommerce markets around the world.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98121/news
Extraordinary Congress ends on cooperation high note as eyes turn to 2020 Côte d’Ivoire Congress
September 7, 2018
Agreement reached on UPU reform; contributions for SIDS; the Integrated Product Plan as related to proposals from the POC and CA, with the exception of mandatory tracking; and a compromise agreement on the Integrated Remuneration Plan; but overall question of postal remuneration left until 2020 Congress
The Universal Postal Union’s Second Extraordinary Congress ended on a high note today by stressing cooperation and collaboration across the world’s postal sector.
UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein said, “We have enjoyed an extremely productive week here in the beautiful city of Addis Ababa with many important decisions adopted. I welcome the close cooperation that I have seen throughout the Congress, and the consensus building spirit that has been forged over these last five days.”
During the Congress, member countries agreed a raft of far-reaching proposals underscoring the importance of the original decision made in Istanbul in 2016 to hold only the Second Extraordinary Congress in UPU’s 144-year history.
On UPU reform, countries agreed improvements enhancing UPU’s efficiency, as well as its role and relevance. Agreement on changes to election procedures at UPU’s operational body—the Postal Operations Council (POC)—will simplify the election process, and provide improved regional representation.
Concerning UPU contributions, member countries agreed on a landmark decision to reduce the contributions provided by Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
These countries are some of the most disadvantaged of all UPU member countries and have faced struggles to pay UPU contributions. Reform of the overall contribution system was carried over to the 2020 Congress. Agreement on the pension fund will also allow UPU to move to a more sustainable future.
Member countries adopted all proposals that came through the POC and Council of Administration (CA) on the Integrated Product Plan (IPP), which is designed to develop a fully integrated portfolio of physical postal products (letter post, parcel post and express mail service—EMS).
The sole exception was mandatory tracking. Congress, instead, decided to adopt an implementation roadmap for the IPP, and instructed the POC to keep pace with changes in the marketplace by modernizing services, including developing proposals on the tracked service for the 2020 Congress.
The Extraordinary Congress achieved a major success by approving, by consensus, a compromise proposal on the Integrated Remuneration Plan (IRP)—the IRP aims to modernize, rationalize and integrate the postal remuneration systems of member countries.
On the topic of remuneration, which has been the subject of much discussion and debate in recent months, there was an agreement to use the IRP as a roadmap for a sound proposal on an Integrated Remuneration System to be presented at the 2020 Congress.
Reflecting on the conference, Mr. Hussein said, “Working together in the spirit of cooperation, [member countries] have helped to make this Congress a success, as well as a powerful voice for a truly inspirational industry.”
After the closing ceremony, the UPU Director General and the Minister of Digital Economy and Post for Côte d’Ivoire, Claude Isaac Dé, inked a joint declaration on the organization of the 27th Universal Postal Congress to be held in the country in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Dé had thanked member countries for their cooperation describing the international postal sector as “a big family.”
UPU’s 2018 Ministerial Strategy Conference wrapped earlier in the day with participants noting that the conference had provided a major opportunity to consider the best policies, investments, regulations, and partnerships to ensure that Posts can reach their full potential.
“We have spent the past few days discussing our challenges. But we also have an opportunity to chart the UPU’s roadmap, ” said UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz in closing remarks at the conference.
With a global network of over 600,000 post offices, 5.3 million staff and physical infrastructure covering 192 countries, the postal sector is a key contributor to national and international infrastructure and plays an important role in national development and in the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Universal Postal Union is a UN specialized agency with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne. Established in 1874, it is one of the world’s oldest international organizations and is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players.
Source : http://news.upu.int
POSTAL NEWS
No 75 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Strong Support Revealed For POSTNL And SANDD Merger. September 13, 2018.
Another Successful Private Sector Organizing Effort. September 12, 2018.
Ship Bob Raises $40 Million to Back E-Commerce Fulfillment Growth. September 11, 2018.
DPD deploys electric cargo bikes in German cities of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. September 10, 2018.
AUSTRIAN POST Plans Financial Services Partnership With Fintech Group AG Of Germany. September 10, 2018.
Strong Support Revealed For POSTNL And SANDD Merger
September 13, 2018
An imminent merger between PostNL and Sandd is now looking increasingly likely, with potential cost synergies of €50m-€60m. In combination with the recent annulment of the significant market power ruling, our Long View upside scenario with a fair value of €6.0 per share is within reach.
The State Secretary of Economic Affairs stressed that under Article 41 of Dutch competition law, a potential rejection of a merger by the ACM competition authorities can be bypassed. Yesterday’s discussion in the House of Representatives followed a letter from the State Secretary of Economic Affairs to the Dutch government on 15 June 2018, with recommendations for changes to the Postal Law 2009, based on the conclusions from the postal dialogue earlier this year. The key message was that consolidation of postal operators should be allowed and legislation supporting competition, including significant market power, should be reduced, in order to keep the USO economically viable in a declining market with increasing competition.
PostNL’s view is that Dutch postal regulation should be amended as soon as possible to facilitate inevitable consolidation of postal market players for an orderly & rational adjustment of the market to declining volumes. PostNL’s main competitor Sandd also welcomes consolidation in the market, after a relatively more offensive expansion strategy earlier. PostNL had already considered acquiring Sandd for €100m-€150m at the end of FY15 according to earlier reports in the Dutch financial press, potentially leading to cost savings of €50m-€60m from the integration of networks, but was concerned the takeover would not be allowed. Sandd is PostNL’s largest competitor, with a market share of 20%-25% of the Dutch postal market & pro-forma FY17 revenues of €195m. It is mainly focused on the non-time critical segment (delivering on Tuesday & Friday only), but after the recent acquisition of Van Straaten Post, it is also active in the 24-hour bulk market (partially relying on PostNL’s network).
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98169/features
Another Successful Private Sector Organizing Effort
September 12, 2018
Some non-unionized drivers from Pat Salmon Companies in El Paso, TX approached the Salmon Companies Dallas APWU represented drivers with concerns over their working conditions. The Dallas driver President, Sonny Castleman, quickly arranged for a meeting with the drivers to discuss the issues.
The El Paso drivers overwhelmingly decided that they needed union representation. The union collected 26 Form 1187’s from drivers, which was over 80% of the driver workforce at the terminal. "The company officials were approached and advised that we had about 80% of the workforce on board to become a unionized unit," stated Support Services Director Steve Brooks. At that time the company stated that they would not agree to accepting the documents and would require that the APWU solicit an NLRB vote.
The APWU then filed with the NLRB to have an election vote for the drivers in El Paso. The company advised us that they would stay out of the voting process and let it take its natural course, Brooks stated. The vote was to take place on September 6, 2018 and on September 5 the company handed out flyers to every El Paso driver stating that it would not be in the driver’s best interest to join the union, as they could not guarantee them wage and working condition improvements because it would have to be agreed upon in the collective bargaining process.
Despite the company’s efforts to taint the election process the vote was 26 to join and 6 against. We now have another private sector drivers group for which we will be negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.
Source : http://www.apwu.org/news/web-news-article
ShipBob Raises $40 Million to Back E-Commerce Fulfillment Growth
September 11, 2018
Logistics specialist says it will expand warehouse locations, technology capabilities to help online retailers match Amazon’s management of inventory, delivery.
E-commerce fulfillment startup ShipBob has raised $40 million in new funding to expand the warehousing and technology services it offers small- and medium-size brands to compete with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.67%
The Chicago-based company, which launched in 2014, operates five warehouses in major cities where it fulfills customer orders within one to two days for more than 2,000 internet retailers. The company says it has shipped more than 4 million packages for customers that include Interior Define, I Heart Keenwah, baKblade, and Creepy Co.
The Series C funding round was led by Menlo Ventures and includes existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Y Combinator. ShipBob has raised a total of $62 million but would not disclose its valuation.
ShipBob’s software helps the company manage the logistics for orders that come through its clients’ websites and third-party marketplaces, including the Amazon site. ShipBob tracks customer demand and can direct companies when and where to restock inventory so orders can be filled quickly using the cheapest shipping option.
“Our network is optimized to deliver a great customer experience,” co-founder Dhruv Saxena said. “These companies, which are only a year or two old in many cases, are able to provide a customer experience that…other major retailers struggle with,” he said.
ShipBob is operating in an increasingly crowded field offering logistics services to meet the demands of digital commerce.
FedEx Corp. stepped up its services targeting e-commerce for small and medium-size retailers with the launch this year of FedEx Fulfillment. And United Parcel Service Inc. last week launched its Ware2Go service, a digital platform that matches available warehouse and fulfillment services with businesses that want to ship orders fast.
Consumers are becoming “conditioned by the market” to expect the same level of service from all online retailers, said Cathy Roberson, a logistics industry analyst.
“ShipBob and others are there to help consumers get their goods faster, and at the same time they’re helping a lot of these small- and medium-sized players compete against the likes of Amazon,” Ms. Roberson said. By pooling fulfillment services across thousands of small retailers, she said, these services can reduce the cost of warehousing, technology and labor for individual retailers.
Since its $17.5 million Series B funding round last year, ShipBob has expanded from 60 employees to 400. Mr. Saxena said with the new investment he wants to add more engineers to enhance the company’s logistics technology and open warehouses beyond the sites it now operates in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles/shipbob-raises-40-million-to-back-e-commerce-fulfillment-growth
DPD deploys electric cargo bikes in German cities of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg
September 10, 2018
DPD Germany has expanded its green delivery fleet in the cities of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg with the addition of eight new electric transport bikes.
The e-bikes will complement DPD’s existing electric vans including the Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell, the Renault Master ZE, and two pre-series models of the Volkswagen (VW) e-Crafter, DPD’s next step will be to develop more centrally located parcel distribution facilities, referred to as micro-depots, which help support efficient inner-city delivery operations.
Thomas Ohnhaus, chief operating officer at DPD Germany, said, “Stuttgart is a representative example of challenges such as pollution from particulates, driving prohibitions and access restrictions in the inner city. The testing of alternative delivery concepts enables us to make sure that in future, too, we will be able to fulfil our role as a supplier of essential delivery services to residents and retailers in an optimal way.
“For this purpose, close cooperation between municipalities and parcel services is an even more essential prerequisite than it was in the past. A prime example of this is the search for suitable locations where we can establish the kind of inner-city micro depots that enable locally emissions-free parcel deliveries in the first place.”
At the micro-depots, the transport bikes can be loaded with parcels several times a day, and the batteries of the bikes are then charged after the delivery rounds have been completed.
Because of a lack of suitable premises DPD has so far not been able to set up a permanent micro-depot in the inner-city area of Stuttgart. As a result, a number of transport bikes are still waiting on the relevant parcel distribution center in Ludwigsburg to go into operation, which will serve the districts of Stuttgart-East, Bad-Cannstatt and Heslach.
In addition to the four transport bikes in Stuttgart, four more bikes will soon go into operation in Ludwigsburg (Oßweil and Eglosheim districts) as well as in the neighboring municipalities of Tamm and Asperg.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/delivery
AUSTRIAN POST Plans Financial Services Partnership With Fintech Group AG Of Germany
New financial services offering of Austrian Post in preparation
Founding of a 50/50 Joint Venture with Fintech Group AG
Austrian Post acquires 7% stake in Fintech Group AG
September 10, 2018
Austrian Post has been offering financial services for many years via its branch network consisting of 433 company-operated branch offices and 1,351 postal partners. Financial services should continue to be an integral part of Austrian Post’s service offering even after termination of the cooperation with the company’s previous banking partner BAWAG P.S.K. starting at the end of 2019.
Today’s meeting of the Supervisory Board of Austrian Post laid the foundations for creating future comprehensive financial services offering in the branch network in cooperation with FinTech Group AG of Germany. The objective is to offer attractive banking products tailored to the needs of private customers. For this purpose, Austrian
Post and FinTech Group AG will establish a 50/50 joint venture. FinTech Group Bank AG will contribute its Austrian branch which has been operating successfully for more than eight years including its approx. 30,000 customers to the joint venture, subject to the approval of the relevant supervisory authorities. After being granted a banking license, the joint venture company will offer banking services in Austria and will be provided with equity capital of more than EUR 200m. The joint venture company will source IT services from FinTech Group AG and leverage distribution services and infrastructure provided by Austrian Post.
To underline the sustainable orientation of this partnership Austrian Post will acquire a 7% stake in FinTech Group AG and get a seat on the FinTech Group Supervisory Board. FinTech Group will issue 1,225,761 new shares under exclusion of subscription rights in the total amount of around EUR 35m. These shares will be acquired by Austrian Post.
FinTech Group AG is a modern smart bank headquartered in Germany. On the one hand, FinTech Group AG offers innovative IT solutions and services for financial service providers, including its own core banking systems. On the other hand, its retail brand flatex has ranked among the market and innovation leaders for years on the German and Austrian B2C online brokerage market.
Source : https://www.post.at/en