World Postal News
POSTAL NEWS
No.37 -2018 Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Record Parcel Growth For Canada Post. May 4, 2018.
Deutsche Post DHL Group wins four German Stevie Awards for its environmental engagement. May 03, 2018.
BPOST Unveils Business Restructure. May 2, 2018.
Trump Targeting U.S. Postal Service. May 1, 2018.
May Day - Celebrate International Workers’ Day! April 30, 2018.
Record Parcel Growth For Canada Post.
May 4, 2018
Canada Post has reported a $74m profit before tax for 2017, supported by a record 24.5% growth in parcel volumes.In a statement issued yesterday (3 May), Canada Post said: “Most of the Parcels revenue growth of $393m was from domestic shipments, which speaks to the important role Canada Post plays delivering for online shoppers and retailers across the country. The Canada Post segment grew revenue to $6.4bn, an increase of 4.1% over 2016.
“In 2017, for the first time, the Canada Post segment exceeded $2bn in Parcels revenue. It has grown annual Parcels revenue by over $900m since 2011, the year the Corporation pivoted to focus on ecommerce. By adapting to the evolving needs of Canadians, who use the postal service less for mail and more for ecommerce delivery, Canada Post became and remains the country’s No.1 parcel company.”
The figures showed just how central parcels have become to Canada Post’s business. Total parcels volumes increased by 47m pieces (or 24.5%), while Domestic Parcels volumes grew by 32m pieces (22.3%). Domestic Parcels revenue increased by $309m (25.1%). Parcels generated 33% of the segment’s revenue in 2017, up from 28% in 2016 and only 21% in 2011.
The Canada Post Group of Companies (which includes the core Canada Post segment and also its three non-wholly owned subsidiaries, Purolator Holdings, SCI Group and Innovapost) reported a profit before tax of $199m, which was an increase of $85m or 74.9% over the 2016 results.
Source: https://postandparcel.info
Deutsche Post DHL Group wins four German Stevie Awards for its environmental engagement
May 03, 2018
The German Stevie® Awards honored the Group's environmental protection strategy Mission 2050: Zero Emissions! with two Gold and two Silver awards As part of its Group-wide environmental protection program GoGreen, Deutsche Post DHL Group pioneers innovative measures to improve the sustainability of its own business and that of its customers. The DPDHL Group was honored four times by the German Stevie® Awards for its global environmental protection strategy "Mission 2050: Zero Emissions" and for the company's integrated communications campaign, which supports the implementation of the Mission 2050 strategy. Deutsche Post DHL Group received two Gold awards in the categories "Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year - More Than 2,500 Employees" and "Marketing Campaign of the Year - Transportation" as well as two Silver awards in the categories "Company of the Year - Transportation" and "Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Global Issues".
"Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time, and I firmly believe that the future belongs to environmentally friendly technologies and solutions. With green logistics, we do well by doing good - we benefit not only our children and the environment, but also our business. And with sustainable logistics solutions becoming more and more important among both consumers and business customers, our ambitious environmental strategy "Mission 2050: Zero Emissions" sets us apart from other logistics companies while setting new standards for the industry," explains Christof Ehrhart, Director of Corporate Communications and Responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL Group. "We are very pleased to see that our commitment to achieving zero-emission logistics over the long term has been recognized in the form of Stevie® Awards in multiple categories."
The German Stevie® Awards in categories "Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Global Issues" and "Company of the Year - Transportation" honor Deutsche Post DHL Group's global environmental strategy "Mission 2050: Zero Emissions" as a visionary showcase project with both ambitious goals and outstanding actionable measures. Launched in 2017, the Group's Mission 2050 environmental strategy "thinks big" when it comes to realizing a greener, more sustainable future. By 2050, it wants to reduce all logistics-related emissions to zero. In doing so, the Group is making its contribution to the achievement of the goal established by the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius, while also supporting the United Nations Agenda 2030.
The integrated launch campaign "Climate protection: global communications on a global issue" also received two Stevie® Awards in the categories "Marketing Campaign of the Year - Transportation" and "Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Global Issues" for its holistic approach. The large "Green Zero" iconic sculpture was unveiled by CEO Frank Appel. Within the Group, employees in over 200 countries and territories worldwide are kept informed and up-to-date on Mission 2050 goals and developments via videos, brochures, info graphics, posters, newsletters, stand-up displays and other communications measures.
The German Stevie® Awards
The German Stevie® Awards are considered Germany's most multifaceted business award. Launched in 2015, they are part of the international Stevie® Awards program, one of the world's most prestigious business awards. The awards ceremony on April 27 honored both companies and individuals for their outstanding achievements. All German companies and organizations are eligible to submit nominations for the German Stevie® Awards.
Source: http://www.posteurop.org
BPOST Unveils Business Restructure
May 2, 2018
bpost has announced that it is restructuring around three businesses units in order to “accelerate its transformation” and “prepare for the future”.
In a statement sent to Post&Parcel today (2 May) the Belgian postal operator announced: “bpost group will be organized around three business units: Mail & Retail that will be headed by Kurt Pierloot; Parcels & Logistics Europe & Asia headed by Luc Cloet; and Parcels & Logistics North America headed by Pierre Winand.”
Luc Cloet and Pierre Winand will become members of the Group Executive Committee. Marc Huybrechts, currently member of the Group Executive Committee in charge of Mail Retail Solutions, will leave the company and Philippe Dubois, also currently member of the Group Executive Committee in charge of Mail Services Operations, will report to Kurt Pierloot. The other responsibilities within the Group Executive Committee remain unchanged.
The company announcement stated: “For the future, bpost aims at remaining an innovative and efficient operator in Belgium with a last mile adapted to the changing needs of the Belgian society, an exceptional customer reach and a sustainable delivery of the Universal Service Obligation. We also want to become a leader in e-commerce logistics in the Benelux, using our meaningful presence in the EU and US to offer an access for Belgian companies and consumers to EU, US and transatlantic e-commerce logistics solutions. In order to realize this ambition we defined a focused strategy which remains unchanged.
“The acceleration of the mail volume decline, the increase in parcel volumes and the e-commerce logistics value creation are among others important challenges requiring modifications to our organization and Group Executive Committee.”
Commenting on the restructure, Koen Van Gerven, CEO of bpost: “I’m convinced these organizational changes will better position our company to implement successfully our strategy. It will help us to accelerate our transformation into an international and dynamic group with headquarter in Belgium.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info
Trump Targeting U.S. Postal Service
May 1, 2018
President Trump this month launched an attempt to overhaul the Postal Service through an executive order forming a task force chaired by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to examine the Postal Service’s operations and within 120 days release a report outlining reforms.
Stating that the Postal Service had lost $65 billion since 2009, the order added, “The USPS is on an unsustainable financial path and must be restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout.”
Separately, Trump tweeted, “Only fools, or worse, are saying that our money-losing Post Office makes money with Amazon. THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and this will be changed.”
A key fact that ignores: The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses, instead relying on the sale of postage, products and services to fund operations.
USPS has tried to correct uninformed attacks, reminding the public that “the reason we continue to attract e-commerce customers and grow our package delivery business is not because of unfair competition with private carriers, but because customers increasingly see the value of our predictable service, enhanced visibility, and competitive pricing.”
That doesn’t matter to critics like Trump.
Arguably just the latest of a series of blasts at Amazon, the executive order actually goes much deeper than just another inappropriate and probably unethical spat with someone with whom the President disagrees.
True, Trump repeatedly criticizes Amazon and accuses it of cheating the U.S. Postal Service by exploiting bulk-delivery rates, but the executive order itself doesn’t name Amazon. Also true, Trump has frequently complained about the company and its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos (who owns the Washington Post, which publishes independently from Amazon, though Trump has falsely accused the newspaper of being an Amazon “lobbyist”).
PolitiFact has reported that Trump’s assertions are false, and for its part, Amazon says its customer orders paid $7 billion of the $19.5 billion generated last year in USPS’ package delivery services – 30 percent of USPS’ annual revenue. In addition, the $65 billion loss Trump cites was mostly because of a 2006 law mandating that USPS pre-fund health benefits for future retirees.
No, the order is less about personal and political animosity toward Bezos than doing the bidding of those who want to privatize the Postal Service to benefit competitors. Trump’s attempts at interfering with private enterprise and his one-sided feud with Bezos disguise the renewed effort to break up the Postal Service.
USPS for many months has worked to offset fiscal declines, especially in first-class mail, it’s said.
“We have reduced our annual cost base by approximately $14 billion since 2008,” USPS said. “Still, we have lost approximately 28 percent of mail volume since 2006, and are hamstrung from taking the necessary steps to account for that volume decline through restrictive statutory and regulatory restrictions that do not apply to private delivery companies.”
That refers to the mandate Congress imposed on USPS.
“Since the 2006 all-time peak mail volume, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which mandated $5.5 billion per year to be paid into an account to fully prefund employee retirement health benefits, a requirement exceeding that of other government and private organizations,” USPS said. “The law requires the Postal Service to participate in and self-fund an unaffordable retiree health benefits system that is not fully integrated with Medicare. Among the commercial and governmental entities that offer and fund health benefits for their retired employees (an ever-shrinking pool), virtually every one fully integrates with Medicare. If the Postal Service were permitted to follow this uniform best practice, the Postal Service would have achieved net income.”
Despite that obvious “elephant in the room,” extremists seemingly want to dismantle the USPS and let corporations take over.
But the Postal Service still has advantages. Its 30,000 locations make USPS the country’s largest retail network – bigger than McDonald’s, Starbucks and Walmart COMBINED. And despite a decline in first-class mail, a few adjustments could make up the difference:
‒ revive the Post Office’s financial services – ranging from basic accounts to small loans – that helped its bottom line from 1911 to 1967 but were dropped;
‒ make UPS, DHL, FedEx, et. al. deliver their own “last mile” of any package – a service that the USPS now provides as a service; and
‒ free USPS from the extraordinary burden of pre-funding, letting it operate as other companies do.
Source : http://www.pekintimes.com
May Day - Celebrate International Workers’ Day!
April 30, 2018
International Workers’ Day is May 1! Better known as May Day, it is an annual holiday commemorating the universal struggle of all working people. It is a day for all workers around the globe to stand together in solidarity and fight for respect, dignity, rights, and opportunities for working people of all backgrounds.
This year, thousands are expected to participate in demonstrations, strikes, parades and other actions across the country. The APWU encourages all members to take part in this historic day and bring attention to workers’ issues at home and across the world! You can do an internet search to find a May Day event in your area.
Honoring the struggle for workers’ rights
May Day originated in the 1880s. The holiday was born out of the historic fight for the eight-hour day, centered in Chicago and the Haymarket Affair. It is celebrated in over 80 countries with massive rallies. In many countries, it is a paid holiday – but unfortunately, not in the U.S.
May Day, the international day of worker solidarity, lives!
Source : http://www.apwu.org/news
POSTAL NEWS
No.36 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Unmanned Life and Swiss Post trial drone-based autonomous sorting solution. April 30, 2018.
Prime Price Hike Gives Amazon Warchest for Fight Over Postal Costs. April 28, 2018.
Posti becomes the first logistics company in Finland to receive the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Level A Certification. April 27, 2018.
Delivering the real problems facing the Postal Service (Amazon’s not one).April 27, 2018.
Thursday’s Daily Round-up.April 26 2018.
Unmanned Life and Swiss Post trial drone-based autonomous sorting solution
April 30, 2018 .
Autonomy-as-a-service provider Unmanned Life is trialling its drone-based autonomous sorting solution in partnership with postal operator Swiss Post. The test will run at a distribution center near Zurich, Switzerland, until July 2018, with the results set to be unveiled in September.
The Autonomous Pop-Up Sorting Center leverages a fleet of autonomous robots that intelligently avoid obstacles and other drones to transfer unsorted packages from conveyors or trolleys to the designated output gates.
“Swiss Post has identified autonomous technology as one of the innovation areas where we want to dig in and pilot,” said Thierry Golliard, head of open innovation and venturing at Swiss Post. “In a warehouse, there are many opportunities for these new solutions to be deployed. We have chosen Unmanned Life to learn from this field by testing and piloting the technology.”
As a modular and mobile solution, the Autonomous Pop-Up Sorting Center provides the flexibility to complement or even replace existing fixed sorting systems, providing a cost-efficient tool that can be deployed anywhere, according to demand.
Kumardev Chatterjee, CEO, Unmanned Life, said, “The solution is totally portable, flexible and scalable – the number and size of rovers used can be increased and decreased at will without any new development required, the solution can be moved from one place to another such as one warehouse to another within a day, and different types of rovers can be used together.”
Unmanned Life, which developed the AI-software for the drones, previously gave a proof-of-concept demonstration in July 2017. Shortly after, the solution won the Postal Innovation Platform (PIP) award at Post-Expo 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland.
“There are no solutions or companies that have or deploy this technology; this is the world’s first using fully autonomous rovers and autonomy-as-a-service architecture that we have developed from scratch,” added Chatterjee.
According to Chatterjee, one of the major advantages of the solution is that it can be integrated with existing IT infrastructure without requiring expensive or extensive development. Postal workers simply load and unload the parcels while the AI software and drones sort and allocate the packages.
Source : http://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com
Prime Price Hike Gives Amazon Warchest for Fight Over Postal Costs
28 April 2018
Amazon.com Inc's 20 percent hike in the cost of Prime membership should deliver more than $1 billion (roughly Rs. 6,662 crores) in extra revenue this year and cover any "rational" hike in United States Postal Service delivery fees, Wall Street analysts say.
President Donald Trump has been laying into the Seattle-based online shopping firm in recent weeks for what he says is a deal with publicly-owned USPS which effectively lumps much of the cost of thousands of daily deliveries onto U.S. taxpayers.
Trump has said that if USPS raised parcel rates, Amazon would face $2.6 billion (roughly Rs. 17,321 crores) in extra cost, although equity analysts who follow billionaire Jeff Bezos' company estimate a much lower number and say the deal may actually be keeping USPS afloat.
Several said that Thursday's move by the company to raise Prime fees to $119 a year from $99 starting June 16 would not faze many of Prime's estimated 60-65 million U.S. members.
"The incremental $20 membership fee could result in an incremental $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion of revenue which should more than offset any rational USPS price increase," Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley said.
Shares of the company were up 7.4 percent to a record high of $1,630 (roughly Rs. 1,08,590) in premarket trading on Friday as investors lauded another blockbuster quarter that delivered profits of $1.6 billion (roughly Rs. 10,660 crores) and revenue of $51 billion (roughly Rs. 51 lakh crores).
"Amazon delivered a humongous quarter, with faster growth and higher profitability than Street projections and followed up with a one-two punch by announcing it was raising annual Prime membership fee," Deutsche Bank Lloyd Walmsley said.
The 20 percent hike was the second time Amazon had increased its Prime subscription fee since the launch of the service in 2005.
The service, crucial in driving purchases of both goods and digital media on Amazon, gives members free delivery, access to movies and original series through Prime Video, on-demand music streaming and free books on Prime Reading.
That appears to put it on a collision course with Netflix and Apple in the streaming market - but analysts say Bezos is more interested in how the appeal of the service props up his retail empire.
Amazon disclosed last week it now has more than 100 million Amazon Prime members globally and commentators said it would likely raise prices outside of the United States as well.
"So far there is no word on international price hikes but with the expansion of shipping services and content worldwide, it wouldn't be unreasonable to see them," Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Graham said.
Source : http://www.postalvision2020.com
Posti becomes the first logistics company in Finland to receive the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Level A Certification
April 27, 2018.
Posti’s food logistics warehousing service has been certified at the second-highest level, Level A, of the internationally recognized BRC Global Standard for Food Safety. The certification is unique and the first in Finland for a logistics company. In Finland, similar certifications are usually only held by food processing companies.
In its first phase, the certification will cover Posti’s service warehouses, with a total floor area of over 60,000 m2, in the Voutila district of Vantaa. Depending on the needs of Posti’s clients, Posti may extend the high standards of the BRC food safety practices to all of its warehouses in Finland. According to its strategy, Posti has in recent years made acquisitions related to food logistics in warehousing, transport and delivery services.
The food safety certification, based on the BRC (the British Retail Consortium) Global Standard, proves Posti’s competence in hygiene, food safety and quality management systems. The certification is also proof of the commitment to consumer safety and maintaining stakeholder relations. As a BRC-certified company, Posti can meet the needs and requirements of food industry operators by using an internationally recognized food safety management system.
Harri Kämppä, the Vice President responsible for Posti’s Supply Chain Solutions, says that food industry key operators, particularly big international operators, will, almost without exception, require services that meet the BRC standards from their logistics partner as well.
-The food logistics operations were certified after listening to the needs of our Finnish and international food industry clients. The certification also means that the efficiency of the entire food logistics supply chain is examined.
Posti serves operators in the food industry and other industries such as the retail industry by offering consumer goods logistics services and food online store services in addition to product warehousing and processing.
Source: https://www.ipc.be
Delivering the real problems facing the Postal Service (Amazon’s not one)
April 27, 2018
She was the neighborhood letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, and seemingly everyone knew her and appreciated her easy smile, mischievous wit and highly competent handling of the mail. My mail lady was the antithesis of the Seattle Freeze.
She retired a few years ago and is still missed. When I see a story about a postal worker hoarding thousands of pieces of mail or worse, I think of her. She represented the best — and the majority — of those who follow the creed that “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
The Postal Service is undeniably in trouble. Contrary to President Trump’s tweets, however, the culprit is not Amazon. Instead, a complex storm of “disruption” and other woes bedevil the appointed rounds.
This is a story of a business not allowed to run itself like one. But it’s also one of the most prominent examples of the degradation of the commons. Should we expect the common good to always be served by the for-profit system?
Knitting together the country was important even before independence: The First Continental Congress created the Post Office in 1775, naming Benjamin Franklin postmaster general. This was not only important for commerce, but for spreading ideas and news. The Constitution explicitly gave Congress authority “to establish post offices and post roads.”
The Post Office Department was no more expected to turn a profit than was the Army or Navy. It operated in the national interest and was expected to deliver everywhere for the price of postage.
This changed in 1970 when a Democratic Congress passed, and Republican President Richard Nixon signed, a comprehensive reorganization. The Post Office became the U.S. Postal Service, a government-owned corporation. It was supposed to operate like a business with no taxpayer support.
Unfortunately, because of congressional interference, other meddling and bad labor relations with a strong union, the results have been disappointing. Postal Service executives have been unable to make nimble and effective responses, whether in stamp pricing or the size of the labor force.
And the 1970 law itself continued to tip its hat to the commons. The first sentences: “The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States.” And: “The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people.”
“To the people.” “Obligation” “Bind the nation together.” Contrast those words and phrases to the sickness of today’s America and its federal leaders.
This demand also doesn’t apply to FedEx or United Parcel Service.
With the rise of the internet and digital communication, the big money maker of first-class mail, the Postal Service’s monopoly, has fallen dramatically in volume since 2001.
But the biggest financial problem is hidden: In 2006, Congress ordered the Postal Service to pre-fund 75 years of retiree health and pension benefits. No other federal agency faces this mandate. It also doesn’t happen in the private sector. The bipartisan legislation that led to this extraordinary measure was intended to provide the post office with more flexibility, such as more competitive pricing for shipping. But the George W. Bush White House threatened a veto if pre-funding wasn’t added.
Thus, even after draconian cutbacks (including job reductions that hurt this“gateway to the middle class” especially hard), the Postal Service lost $2.7 billion last year.
Admittedly, this is a few days of military action in a federal budget of more than $4 trillion. But the biggest cause of the shortfall is contributing to the pre-funding requirement.
One savior has been an increase in parcels because of the rise of e-commerce. Amazon is USPS’ largest single shipper.Neither the Postal Service nor Amazon release the details of their pricing. The Postal Service says it makes money and the e-commerce business is essential to supporting its universal network.
If anything, the constructive response to the Postal Service’s problems is to bring in more e-commerce business, along with reforming the enormous, economically illogical prefunding mandate.
The president’s eggers-on within the administration may be riffing off a Citigroup research report that questioned whether the Postal Service was charging enough. But the report didn’t account for Amazon already having its own massive infrastructure that sorts packages by ZIP code and only using the Postal Service for the “last mile” of delivery.
Of course, Wall Street would love to see the Postal Service totally privatized. So, no doubt, would Trump’s cronies, who will generate or spin the report the president has ordered on the condition of the organization. A Wall Street that thrives on “rip, strip and flip,” shedding as many jobs as possible in the process, is not to be trusted with the appointed rounds. Imagine the equivalent of the private-prison racket handed one of the oldest and still most important trusts in the republic.
Germany privatized its post office between 1995 and 2000, with Deutsche Post also acquiring DHL Express and Seattle-based Airborne Express. This was part of a general liberalization of postal services in the EU. The results across Europe were mixed, with more competition but higher prices, worse service and eliminating many jobs or replacing full-time work with “gig” employees
Japan Post was also gradually privatized, but it also comprises large banking and insurance units. The government still holds a major stake. But the performance of the enterprise’s stock has been lackluster.None of these countries offer perfect best practices for the United States. They all have universal health care and better social-safety nets to at least partially offset job losses and downward economic mobility.Libertarian think tanks have enthusiastically put forward privatization ideas. In 2015, Elaine Kamarck of the centrist Brookings Institution proposed splitting the Postal Service in half. One part would compete in the marketplace to handle profitable parcels. The other would be a public entity to serve the “universal mandate,” delivering mail everywhere, with adjustments for the digital age.For constituencies from rural members of Congress to postal workers, “adjustments” mean cutbacks. And the experience of Europe backs that up.
On the other hand, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is proposing legislation that would allow the Postal Service to provide financial services to low-income people. The measure would leverage the reach of the post office and provide a better option than predatory payday lenders. It stands little chance with Republicans in control of Congress and the White House. But that could change.
Which brings us back to the question of whether the common good can always be served by the for-profit system? The answer is obviously “no” when it comes to, say, the armed forces, Social Security — or a host of botched privatization efforts in the United States.
At a time of rising inequality and the loss of middle-wage jobs, a hasty dismantling of the Postal Service would only accelerate these destructive trends. And it would make it impossible to experience the duty-bound commitment and warmth of someone like Rhonda Jo Jeffries.
Source : https://www.seattletimes.com
Thursday’s Daily Round-up
April 26 2018
“Maverick managers” who are “out of step” with the new culture of the Four Pillars & Pay agreement were sharply criticised in a strongly-worded motion adopted by conference this morning.
Members at Bristol Mail Centre are furious at the actions of local management, who stand accused of launching “spurious conduct cases” against CWU reps and activists.
Moving the motion, Rob Wotherspoon set out the issues involved in the instance of a local rep, who has been subject to what are widely thought of as “trumped-up charges.”
Speaker after speaker from many different branches came to the rostrum to support the motion, several of them with similar instances in their own localities.
Responding to the debate, deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger asked delegates to back the motion, saying: “This identifies the problem we’ve had with workplace culture.”
The proposition, which conference formally approved, urges the Postal Executive to meet with the business “urgently” to seek a swift resolution of these issues, with a warning that a failure to resolve this could spark industrial action ballots.
Terry stressed that the union wanted to work positively with the company to tackle this problem, telling conference that the CWU “travels in peace.
“But,” he added: “We carry a big b****** stick.”
On a busy final day, Conference also discussed and debated motions on excess workload procedures, fair workload distribution, grievance procedures, Christmas arrangement and uniform entitlement and a range of specific driving duty propositions.
Source : https://www.cwu.org