POSTAL NEWS
No 78 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Nordic E-commerce consumption increased by 11 percent during the first half of 2018. September 27, 2018.
Royal Mail: Stop putting crisp packets in post boxes. September 26, 2018.
APWU and Postal Management Agree to Extend Negotiations Deadline until October 20, 2018. September 21, 2018.
BLUE DART to Expand Reach To Every Corner Of India. September 21, 2018.
DPD and Renault Planning to Go Autonomous in the Last Mile. September 21, 2018.
Nordic e-commerce consumption increased by 11 percent during the first half of 2018.
September 27, 2018
Six out of ten people in the Nordic region, which equates to 12 million consumers, shop online each month in the Nordic countries. During the first half of the year, Nordic consumers made purchases amounting to SEK 104 billion, an increase of 11 percent compared with the same period last year. This finding is presented in the E-commerce in the Nordics report, issued by PostNord.
The highest proportion of online shoppers is in Sweden, where two out of three people on average make purchases at least once a month, compared to about six out of ten in Norway and Denmark and only about half of consumers in Finland.
The fact that more and more consumers are choosing to buy their goods online has made e-commerce increasingly important for Nordic retail companies. E-commerce now makes a significant contribution to growth in the retail sector. The conditions for selling and purchasing online are favorable in the Nordic region, given the population’s high level of e-commerce maturity, high internet penetration, comprehensive infrastructure and motivated e-commerce market participants.
E-commerce is still a generational issue. Young people shop online to a much greater extent than older consumers, with consumers in the 30-49 age group shopping online most of all. In that age group, no less than 76 percent of people in Sweden make online purchases in an average month, compared to 47 percent in the 65-79 age group.
“It is clear from the report that consumers in all Nordic countries agree on the importance of communicating when a delivery will take place, as it provides security and control. Another insight is that an increasing number of shoppers would appreciate getting their goods to a locked item at home, which indicates that consumers want a more convenient delivery in the future,” says Arne Andersson, Nordic eCommerce Advisor at PostNord.
Fashion is the most popular category of goods among Nordic consumers. This is followed by media, home electronics and health/cosmetics. However, fashion products are the category that also has the largest competition from abroad. Overall, Nordic consumers spend approximately every fifth krona in international online stores.
Nordic consumers are making ever more demands regarding deliveries, and want to be able to choose how they have their goods delivered. The most stringent demands regarding deliveries are made by consumers in Sweden and Denmark, and more than every fourth consumer has refrained from making a purchase on a specific e-commerce site over the last year due to it having a lack of suitable delivery options.
Download the full report from https://www.postnord.com/en/media/publications/e-commerce/
E-commerce in the Nordics – six-month report 2018 is based on consumer surveys conducted on a monthly basis in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland from January through June. The total number of respondents surveyed was 53,849. PostNord has been monitoring e-commerce trends in the Nordics for the past nine years.
Source : https://www.postnord.com/en/media/press-releases
Royal Mail: Stop putting crisp packets in post boxes
September 26, 2018
Campaigners are sending empty packets to Walkers to protest its non-recyclable packaging - but waste slows down sorting.
Royal Mail has urged campaigners to stop sending crisp packets without envelopes to the headquarters of Walkers in the post.
People have been sending empty packets with sticky labels on to the snack maker to protest at the use of non-recyclable plastic as part of a campaign backed by online activism group 38 Degrees.
The campaign, started by Geraint Ashcroft, provided instructions for securing an address label to an empty packet and sticking it in the post, and urged participants to post photos of their protest on social media.
"By posting our packets to them, we can bring the crisis right to Walkers door," it said. "Walkers bosses won't be able to escape our call."
But Royal Mail is telling protesters they should always use proper packaging when sending items in the post.
It has "strongly encouraged" people to refrain from posting the packets, which it is legally obliged to mail to Walkers' freepost address.
"We strongly encourage customers not to post anything into the postal system which is not properly packaged," a spokesperson said.
Source : https://news.sky.com/story/royal-mail-stop-putting-crisp-packets-in-post-boxes-11509005
APWU and Postal Management Agree to Extend Negotiations Deadline until October 20, 2018
September 21, 2018
APWU President Mark Dimondstein has announced that the union and the Postal Service have agreed to extend negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for 30 days.
Our current union contract between the American Postal Workers Union and the United States Postal Service covers the wages, hours and working conditions of 200,000 postal workers. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expired Thursday, September 20, 2018.
The APWU and postal management have engaged in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) since June 26, 2018. Three months of frequent negotiation sessions and a last 10-day stretch of intense “round-the-clock” discussions identified important issues that the union believes deserve more time to discuss and explore before declaring an impasse and ending negotiations for a voluntary agreement.
“Our goal is to reach a negotiated settlement that can be voted on by the members” declared President and lead negotiator Mark Dimondstein. “National Negotiations are always challenging. At this point in time it is in the best interest of the members to stay at the bargaining table rather than declare a hard and fast impasse.”
Once an impasse is declared, the parties enter the phase of mediation and binding interest arbitration. In an interest arbitration, after both the union and management sides make their presentations and arguments, the final decisions regarding our future conditions of employment is determined by an arbitrator.
The goals of the APWU remain consistent as the union is “fighting today for a better tomorrow” and include: Fair wage increases, COLA, job security including maintaining no lay-off protections, bridging the gaps of the divisive three-tier wage structure, addressing concerns of hostile work environments, seeking better career and full-time opportunities for both PSEs and PTFs, and expanded postal services.
“Postal workers deserve the respect and dignity, recognition for their dedication and hard work, that comes with a decent union contract,” said Dimondstein. “We will continue this just fight over the next 30 days.”
“Negotiations are fluid, changes can happen quickly and we remain optimistic that together we have the power as unionized workers to win a decent union contract,” shared chief spokesperson and Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman. “Keep the contract campaign going strong and continue to send management the message that we are united in our demand for a good union contract.”
All the rights, benefits and provisions of our existing union contract remain in place, and are fully enforceable during the 30-day extension of negotiations.
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnews
BLUE DART To Expand Reach To Every Corner Of India
September 21, 2018
Blue Dart, India’s leading logistics services provider, and part of Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), has announced major expansion plans to deliver to every Indian home by December 2018, amidst rising demand for deliveries in tier II, III & IV towns in India. The initiative is one of the biggest drives undertaken to expand Blue Dart’s reach to every corner of India and aims to reach 19,100+ pin codes by December 2018.
Through the initiative, the goal is to reach every Indian home, further strengthening Blue Dart’s leadership position in the Express Logistics industry in India for B2B and B2C. It is the largest and most preferred third party logistics service provider for leading industry verticals and has truly differentiated itself with world-class products and services, high service quality, state-of-the art infrastructure and innovative technology to deliver superior services to the customer.
The initiative was launched in January 2018 and since then Blue Dart has expanded its reach from 6,164 pin codes to 17,677+ pin codes across the country, currently. As of September 2018, Blue Dart has achieved 100% pin code coverage in 16 states and union territories which includes Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Telangana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Pondicherry, Daman & Diu, Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart Express Limited said, “As India’s leading logistics company, we are committed to delivering only the best for our customers. We are aggressively expanding our network to reach every Indian home by December 2018 to enable fast, efficient and reliable deliveries for both B2B and B2C customers. We are well on our way to cover all pin codes in India, with already 17,677+ pin codes and 100% pin code coverage in 16 states and union territories. Blue Dart’s strategy is in alignment with the Government’s Make in India vision and various state initiatives, to further enable business and generate employment across the country“.
As part of the expansion, Blue Dart has opened over 939+ new facilities (called NBDO – New Blue Dart Offices) to cater to the large consumer base in rural and remote locations.
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98224/news/post
DPD and Renault Planning to Go Autonomous in the Last Mile
September 21, 2018
Renault has unveiled the Renault EZ-PRO, a robo-pod concept developed with DPD that could automate last mile delivery.
The EZ-PRO concept consists of an autonomous leader pod and driverless robo-pods. Each pod can be set up differently. A pod could contain self-service parcel lockers, for example.
The leader pod hosts a human concierge who supervises the delivery of goods and services and its fleet. The concierge won’t be a driver, but can help give a human face to the service and help with delivery of groceries or fragile objects.
The robo-pods can travel in a platoon or independently.
"This project gives us the ability to imagine how optimised last mile deliveries can shape tomorrow’s urban life, through the implementation of greener and closer solutions," -Thomas Steverding, Senior Group Manager Process & Development at DPD in Germany.
Renault says that the robo-pod system will combat congestion (all these fancy automated solutions make this claim) by reducing the number of vehicles on the road during rush hour. Really? Putting parcel lockers on a robo-pod instead of near public transport hubs won’t reduce the number of vehicles on the road. Quite the opposite.
That’s not to say that there are no benefits from autonomous vehicles. The robo-vehicle could be connected to city infrastructures like traffic lights to help optimise routes and vehicle acceleration.
There have to be changes to infrastructure to enable some of the other benefits to traffic flow. Double-parked vans are a safety issue for delivery drivers, and create traffic problems. If cities provide adequate spaces for delivery vehicles (including autonomous solutions) then deliveries would be speedier and safer, and overall traffic flow would improve.
Another issue affecting traffic is the number of drops delivery drivers have to make. If drivers were able to make more deliveries per stop, then that would increase efficiency, reduce costs, reduce congestion (as a result of fewer stop-start trips), and reduce engine wear-and-tear.
Autonomous vehicles on their own won’t resolve these issues.
Good luck to DPD and Renault as they continue on this project. Autonomous vehicles will undoubtedly play a role in last mile delivery in the years to come.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com
POSTAL NEWS
No 79 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Spring UK, Post NL and MyParcel.com launch SendMyParcel.com. September 27, 2018.
SWISS Post Delivering Meals. September 26, 2018.
aN post Partner With Avantcard To Offer Personal Loans And Credit Cards. September 25, 2018.
DPD UK opens flagship super depot near Glasgow. September 24, 2018.
Pay Equity: A major victory for rural mail carriers. September 21, 2018.
Spring UK, Post NL and MyParcel.com launch SendMyParcel.com
September 27, 2018
Spring UK, its parent company Post NL and Dutch firm MyParcel.com have partnered to create SendMyParcel.com, which has just launched in the UK. They say that the new firm seeks to set new courier and shipping standards in deliveries for online retailers.
Saying that they have something for most online retailers, the system is apparently suitable for larger enterprises and promises smaller operators a greater opportunity to compete against much larger brands both at home and abroad.
The SendMyParcel platform has already integrated a number of the major ecommerce platforms and marketplaces including Magento, Amazon eBay, woocommerce and Prestashop and more are planned in the coming months. In terms of carriers they have also already integrated with Yodel, myHermes, DPD, UKmail and DHL. They are asking merchants to let them know if they have preferred providers that they would like the service to offer support for.
They say they can help ecommerce and marketplace businesses save time and money shipping parcels and letters to and from any place in the world by simplifying shipping, making it faster and easier for any business, regardless of size, IT knowledge and infrastructure.
So many online retailers with which we speak, including those in webshops and marketplaces, want to be able to offer consumers a broad range of delivery services. However, they find that they are prevented from tapping into the kind of facilities which would enable them to grow because their volumes aren’t large enough. However, SendMyParcel allows them access to the sort of delivery options which are normally only provided by much larger competitors, such as nominated day or ‘click and collect’, at very competitive price points.
– Craig Lee, Head of Channel, Sendmyparcel.com
Source : https://tamebay.com/2018/09
SWISS Post Delivering Meals
September 26, 2018
Swiss Post is delivering meals under an agreement with a subsidiary of supermarket chain Migros.
The service, called “Menu Casa”, offers 40 menu combinations that customers heat at home using their microwave or conventional oven.
Orders can be placed on weekday mornings for delivery the following morning. (There’s no delivery on Sundays and Mondays.) Meals are shipped using Swiss Post’s priority service.
Swiss Post collects the meals from Migros subsidiary Bischofszell Nahrungsmittel AG and delivers them to the customer’s door.
Menu Casa uses a specially developed packaging solution. A hard plastic shell protects the contents, and an isolation pouch plus frozen PET water bottles keep the frozen meals cool for up to 20 hours. After delivering the meals, the courier takes the boxes back straight away, along with cooling pouches from previous deliveries.
What about failed deliveries? If the customer is not at home, the courier deposits the cooler in front of the house or apartment door. Porch piracy doesn’t seem to be a problem in Switzerland!
The Menu Casa service was launched during the northern summer following a trial period. It’s now available across Switzerland… but only in German for now! French and Italian versions of the website are being prepared.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com
aN post Partner With Avantcard To Offer Personal Loans And Credit Cards
September 25, 2018
Avantcard has announced a partnership with An Post which will see it offering An Post branded personal loans and credits cards through the national post office network.
In joining forces, Avantcard and An Post will develop and launch exciting new consumer finance propositions designed to make a real impact in the market. This partnership represents a powerful opportunity for Avantcard to share its consumer finance expertise with one of the most recognised and trusted brands in Ireland, and one with an extensive retail distribution network throughout the country.
The Avantcard and An Post consumer finance partnership forms an important milestone in the Leitrim-based lender’s growth plans.
Speaking at the launch of the partnership today, Jurgen Hutter, Head of Commercial and Partnerships at Avantcard, had this to say: “Avantcard is delighted to be partnering with An Post to offer personal loans and credit cards through the An Post network. We are excited to bring to market a new offering for An Post customers and to be working with such a well-known and reputable Irish brand. The Avantcard team is looking forward to bringing this partnership to life in early 2019.”
The planned personal loan and credit card propositions will be distinctive to the An Post brand and will have a unique rewards element.
An Post Financial Services Director, John Rice said: “We’re delighted to partner with Avantcard to grow this important strand of business under a new An Post Money brand, a key pillar of our Financial Services strategy. It offers great opportunities for contract Post Offices too, as Postmasters will benefit from customer referrals and in-branch product promotion.
Working with Avantcard, we’ll bring more choice and convenience to Irish consumers. A simple online application process will deliver loan decisions within hours with same-day access to money. Loans ranging from €5,000 - €75,000, credit card options and secure web facilities will make money management more convenient for customers. These two new products start to complete our financial services offering, building on our expanding banking, foreign currency and money transfer offerings.”
Denis Naughten, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, who attended the announcement of the partnership in Carrick-on-Shannon today, added “We were delighted to announce a new strategic partnership between Avantcard and An Post today. From early next year, there will be An Post credit card and personal loan services available in every single post office across the country, operated from this campus here in Carrick On Shannon. This will benefit people by bringing financial services to every single parish in Ireland as well as supporting local employment here in Carrick On Shannon. In the past 18 months we’ve seen the creation of an additional 55 jobs at Avantcard and we hope to see that momentum continue with this new relationship between An Post and Avantcard.”
Avantcard DAC trading as Avantcard is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Source : http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent
DPD UK opens flagship super depot near Glasgow
September 24, 2018
Parcel delivery company DPD has opened its largest ever depot, EuroCentral, near Glasgow, Scotland, creating at least 65 new jobs.
The new 70,363ft² state-of-the-art distribution center (DC) is 11 miles east of Glasgow and is capable of processing more than 45,000 parcels a day. It is DPD’s 31st new depot since 2012 and is in addition to DPD’s two existing Glasgow depots at Cambuslang and Tannochside.
The EuroCentral DC will enable DPD to further optimize delivery routes around Glasgow and the Central Belt, with 117 new routes introduced to improve efficiency and expand capacity to handle the predicted parcel growth in the area through to 2025.
Recruitment has been underway for a number of months, and in total, the site could create up to 200 new jobs when fully operational. The new jobs will be in a range of roles including drivers, operations and warehousing.
DPD recently reported a 40% year-on-year increase in weekend parcel volumes, while the Your DPD app, which enables consumers to personalize their DPD experience, now has three million users in the UK.
Dwain McDonald, CEO of DPD, said, “The new DC is stunning and it is both our biggest ever depot and our most technologically advanced. We’ve gone from 36,000ft² new-builds back in 2012 to over 70,000ft² here today. Doubling the size means we not only increase our capacity overnight, but we’ve also got room to carry on growing, to ensure we continue to maintain the high level of service our Scottish customers have come to expect from us.
“We’ve invested heavily in Scotland in recent years with a big new DC in Edinburgh and a purpose-built depot in Aberdeen. The investment in new larger, fully automated, purpose-built facilities in the last six years has made a huge difference to our operational efficiency across the network.
“Some of our new-builds have replaced existing, older DPD depots, but around half of them have been brand-new locations for us, like this one.
“The scale of our investment is unprecedented in the sector. We’ve now built 31 brand-new depots in the last six years with more in the pipeline, and we are about to start work on our second giant super hub in three years at Hinckley in Leicestershire.”
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news
Pay Equity: A major victory for rural mail carriers
September 21, 2018
Statement of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on the final decision of Arbitrator Maureen Flynn on pay equity
Ottawa – Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) have finally won their long battle for pay equity. Arbitrator Flynn’s final decision confirms that Canada Post must put an end to the economic injustice faced by RSMCs. “After years of struggle, we are happy to finally have the recognition that there was a profound injustice at Canada Post,” said Nancy Beauchamp, member of the Pay Equity Committee. Arbitrator Flynn’s decision comes after months of difficult negotiations. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has successfully established a process to permanently close the wage gap between the RSMCs and the letter carriers of the urban bargaining unit. “No one should have to negotiate with their employer to ensure they comply with the law. Pay equity has been the law of the land for decades. It’s time for the real enforcement of pay equity for all,” added Barb McMillan, another member of the Pay Equity Committee. RSMCs earn 28% less than urban letter carriers. There could not be a more striking example of pay inequity than that of the RSMCs at Canada Post. Members of this group, composed mainly of women, have inferior working conditions while essentially doing the same work as their urban counterparts. “This decision is a major step forward in our long struggle to obtain justice for the RSMCs. We have achieved equity, but not yet equality. Equality is part of the ongoing collective bargaining process,” concluded Cathy Kennedy, also member of the Pay Equity Committee.
Source: https://www.cupw.ca/en
No 78 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Nordic E-commerce consumption increased by 11 percent during the first half of 2018. September 27, 2018.
Royal Mail: Stop putting crisp packets in post boxes. September 26, 2018.
APWU and Postal Management Agree to Extend Negotiations Deadline until October 20, 2018. September 21, 2018.
BLUE DART to Expand Reach To Every Corner Of India. September 21, 2018.
DPD and Renault Planning to Go Autonomous in the Last Mile. September 21, 2018.
Nordic e-commerce consumption increased by 11 percent during the first half of 2018.
September 27, 2018
Six out of ten people in the Nordic region, which equates to 12 million consumers, shop online each month in the Nordic countries. During the first half of the year, Nordic consumers made purchases amounting to SEK 104 billion, an increase of 11 percent compared with the same period last year. This finding is presented in the E-commerce in the Nordics report, issued by PostNord.
The highest proportion of online shoppers is in Sweden, where two out of three people on average make purchases at least once a month, compared to about six out of ten in Norway and Denmark and only about half of consumers in Finland.
The fact that more and more consumers are choosing to buy their goods online has made e-commerce increasingly important for Nordic retail companies. E-commerce now makes a significant contribution to growth in the retail sector. The conditions for selling and purchasing online are favorable in the Nordic region, given the population’s high level of e-commerce maturity, high internet penetration, comprehensive infrastructure and motivated e-commerce market participants.
E-commerce is still a generational issue. Young people shop online to a much greater extent than older consumers, with consumers in the 30-49 age group shopping online most of all. In that age group, no less than 76 percent of people in Sweden make online purchases in an average month, compared to 47 percent in the 65-79 age group.
“It is clear from the report that consumers in all Nordic countries agree on the importance of communicating when a delivery will take place, as it provides security and control. Another insight is that an increasing number of shoppers would appreciate getting their goods to a locked item at home, which indicates that consumers want a more convenient delivery in the future,” says Arne Andersson, Nordic eCommerce Advisor at PostNord.
Fashion is the most popular category of goods among Nordic consumers. This is followed by media, home electronics and health/cosmetics. However, fashion products are the category that also has the largest competition from abroad. Overall, Nordic consumers spend approximately every fifth krona in international online stores.
Nordic consumers are making ever more demands regarding deliveries, and want to be able to choose how they have their goods delivered. The most stringent demands regarding deliveries are made by consumers in Sweden and Denmark, and more than every fourth consumer has refrained from making a purchase on a specific e-commerce site over the last year due to it having a lack of suitable delivery options.
Download the full report from https://www.postnord.com/en/media/publications/e-commerce/
E-commerce in the Nordics – six-month report 2018 is based on consumer surveys conducted on a monthly basis in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland from January through June. The total number of respondents surveyed was 53,849. PostNord has been monitoring e-commerce trends in the Nordics for the past nine years.
Source : https://www.postnord.com/en/media/press-releases
Royal Mail: Stop putting crisp packets in post boxes
September 26, 2018
Campaigners are sending empty packets to Walkers to protest its non-recyclable packaging - but waste slows down sorting.
Royal Mail has urged campaigners to stop sending crisp packets without envelopes to the headquarters of Walkers in the post.
People have been sending empty packets with sticky labels on to the snack maker to protest at the use of non-recyclable plastic as part of a campaign backed by online activism group 38 Degrees.
The campaign, started by Geraint Ashcroft, provided instructions for securing an address label to an empty packet and sticking it in the post, and urged participants to post photos of their protest on social media.
"By posting our packets to them, we can bring the crisis right to Walkers door," it said. "Walkers bosses won't be able to escape our call."
But Royal Mail is telling protesters they should always use proper packaging when sending items in the post.
It has "strongly encouraged" people to refrain from posting the packets, which it is legally obliged to mail to Walkers' freepost address.
"We strongly encourage customers not to post anything into the postal system which is not properly packaged," a spokesperson said.
Source : https://news.sky.com/story/royal-mail-stop-putting-crisp-packets-in-post-boxes-11509005
APWU and Postal Management Agree to Extend Negotiations Deadline until October 20, 2018
September 21, 2018
APWU President Mark Dimondstein has announced that the union and the Postal Service have agreed to extend negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for 30 days.
Our current union contract between the American Postal Workers Union and the United States Postal Service covers the wages, hours and working conditions of 200,000 postal workers. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expired Thursday, September 20, 2018.
The APWU and postal management have engaged in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) since June 26, 2018. Three months of frequent negotiation sessions and a last 10-day stretch of intense “round-the-clock” discussions identified important issues that the union believes deserve more time to discuss and explore before declaring an impasse and ending negotiations for a voluntary agreement.
“Our goal is to reach a negotiated settlement that can be voted on by the members” declared President and lead negotiator Mark Dimondstein. “National Negotiations are always challenging. At this point in time it is in the best interest of the members to stay at the bargaining table rather than declare a hard and fast impasse.”
Once an impasse is declared, the parties enter the phase of mediation and binding interest arbitration. In an interest arbitration, after both the union and management sides make their presentations and arguments, the final decisions regarding our future conditions of employment is determined by an arbitrator.
The goals of the APWU remain consistent as the union is “fighting today for a better tomorrow” and include: Fair wage increases, COLA, job security including maintaining no lay-off protections, bridging the gaps of the divisive three-tier wage structure, addressing concerns of hostile work environments, seeking better career and full-time opportunities for both PSEs and PTFs, and expanded postal services.
“Postal workers deserve the respect and dignity, recognition for their dedication and hard work, that comes with a decent union contract,” said Dimondstein. “We will continue this just fight over the next 30 days.”
“Negotiations are fluid, changes can happen quickly and we remain optimistic that together we have the power as unionized workers to win a decent union contract,” shared chief spokesperson and Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman. “Keep the contract campaign going strong and continue to send management the message that we are united in our demand for a good union contract.”
All the rights, benefits and provisions of our existing union contract remain in place, and are fully enforceable during the 30-day extension of negotiations.
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnews
BLUE DART To Expand Reach To Every Corner Of India
September 21, 2018
Blue Dart, India’s leading logistics services provider, and part of Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), has announced major expansion plans to deliver to every Indian home by December 2018, amidst rising demand for deliveries in tier II, III & IV towns in India. The initiative is one of the biggest drives undertaken to expand Blue Dart’s reach to every corner of India and aims to reach 19,100+ pin codes by December 2018.
Through the initiative, the goal is to reach every Indian home, further strengthening Blue Dart’s leadership position in the Express Logistics industry in India for B2B and B2C. It is the largest and most preferred third party logistics service provider for leading industry verticals and has truly differentiated itself with world-class products and services, high service quality, state-of-the art infrastructure and innovative technology to deliver superior services to the customer.
The initiative was launched in January 2018 and since then Blue Dart has expanded its reach from 6,164 pin codes to 17,677+ pin codes across the country, currently. As of September 2018, Blue Dart has achieved 100% pin code coverage in 16 states and union territories which includes Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Telangana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Pondicherry, Daman & Diu, Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart Express Limited said, “As India’s leading logistics company, we are committed to delivering only the best for our customers. We are aggressively expanding our network to reach every Indian home by December 2018 to enable fast, efficient and reliable deliveries for both B2B and B2C customers. We are well on our way to cover all pin codes in India, with already 17,677+ pin codes and 100% pin code coverage in 16 states and union territories. Blue Dart’s strategy is in alignment with the Government’s Make in India vision and various state initiatives, to further enable business and generate employment across the country“.
As part of the expansion, Blue Dart has opened over 939+ new facilities (called NBDO – New Blue Dart Offices) to cater to the large consumer base in rural and remote locations.
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98224/news/post
DPD and Renault Planning to Go Autonomous in the Last Mile
September 21, 2018
Renault has unveiled the Renault EZ-PRO, a robo-pod concept developed with DPD that could automate last mile delivery.
The EZ-PRO concept consists of an autonomous leader pod and driverless robo-pods. Each pod can be set up differently. A pod could contain self-service parcel lockers, for example.
The leader pod hosts a human concierge who supervises the delivery of goods and services and its fleet. The concierge won’t be a driver, but can help give a human face to the service and help with delivery of groceries or fragile objects.
The robo-pods can travel in a platoon or independently.
"This project gives us the ability to imagine how optimised last mile deliveries can shape tomorrow’s urban life, through the implementation of greener and closer solutions," -Thomas Steverding, Senior Group Manager Process & Development at DPD in Germany.
Renault says that the robo-pod system will combat congestion (all these fancy automated solutions make this claim) by reducing the number of vehicles on the road during rush hour. Really? Putting parcel lockers on a robo-pod instead of near public transport hubs won’t reduce the number of vehicles on the road. Quite the opposite.
That’s not to say that there are no benefits from autonomous vehicles. The robo-vehicle could be connected to city infrastructures like traffic lights to help optimise routes and vehicle acceleration.
There have to be changes to infrastructure to enable some of the other benefits to traffic flow. Double-parked vans are a safety issue for delivery drivers, and create traffic problems. If cities provide adequate spaces for delivery vehicles (including autonomous solutions) then deliveries would be speedier and safer, and overall traffic flow would improve.
Another issue affecting traffic is the number of drops delivery drivers have to make. If drivers were able to make more deliveries per stop, then that would increase efficiency, reduce costs, reduce congestion (as a result of fewer stop-start trips), and reduce engine wear-and-tear.
Autonomous vehicles on their own won’t resolve these issues.
Good luck to DPD and Renault as they continue on this project. Autonomous vehicles will undoubtedly play a role in last mile delivery in the years to come.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com
POSTAL NEWS
No 79 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Spring UK, Post NL and MyParcel.com launch SendMyParcel.com. September 27, 2018.
SWISS Post Delivering Meals. September 26, 2018.
aN post Partner With Avantcard To Offer Personal Loans And Credit Cards. September 25, 2018.
DPD UK opens flagship super depot near Glasgow. September 24, 2018.
Pay Equity: A major victory for rural mail carriers. September 21, 2018.
Spring UK, Post NL and MyParcel.com launch SendMyParcel.com
September 27, 2018
Spring UK, its parent company Post NL and Dutch firm MyParcel.com have partnered to create SendMyParcel.com, which has just launched in the UK. They say that the new firm seeks to set new courier and shipping standards in deliveries for online retailers.
Saying that they have something for most online retailers, the system is apparently suitable for larger enterprises and promises smaller operators a greater opportunity to compete against much larger brands both at home and abroad.
The SendMyParcel platform has already integrated a number of the major ecommerce platforms and marketplaces including Magento, Amazon eBay, woocommerce and Prestashop and more are planned in the coming months. In terms of carriers they have also already integrated with Yodel, myHermes, DPD, UKmail and DHL. They are asking merchants to let them know if they have preferred providers that they would like the service to offer support for.
They say they can help ecommerce and marketplace businesses save time and money shipping parcels and letters to and from any place in the world by simplifying shipping, making it faster and easier for any business, regardless of size, IT knowledge and infrastructure.
So many online retailers with which we speak, including those in webshops and marketplaces, want to be able to offer consumers a broad range of delivery services. However, they find that they are prevented from tapping into the kind of facilities which would enable them to grow because their volumes aren’t large enough. However, SendMyParcel allows them access to the sort of delivery options which are normally only provided by much larger competitors, such as nominated day or ‘click and collect’, at very competitive price points.
– Craig Lee, Head of Channel, Sendmyparcel.com
Source : https://tamebay.com/2018/09
SWISS Post Delivering Meals
September 26, 2018
Swiss Post is delivering meals under an agreement with a subsidiary of supermarket chain Migros.
The service, called “Menu Casa”, offers 40 menu combinations that customers heat at home using their microwave or conventional oven.
Orders can be placed on weekday mornings for delivery the following morning. (There’s no delivery on Sundays and Mondays.) Meals are shipped using Swiss Post’s priority service.
Swiss Post collects the meals from Migros subsidiary Bischofszell Nahrungsmittel AG and delivers them to the customer’s door.
Menu Casa uses a specially developed packaging solution. A hard plastic shell protects the contents, and an isolation pouch plus frozen PET water bottles keep the frozen meals cool for up to 20 hours. After delivering the meals, the courier takes the boxes back straight away, along with cooling pouches from previous deliveries.
What about failed deliveries? If the customer is not at home, the courier deposits the cooler in front of the house or apartment door. Porch piracy doesn’t seem to be a problem in Switzerland!
The Menu Casa service was launched during the northern summer following a trial period. It’s now available across Switzerland… but only in German for now! French and Italian versions of the website are being prepared.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com
aN post Partner With Avantcard To Offer Personal Loans And Credit Cards
September 25, 2018
Avantcard has announced a partnership with An Post which will see it offering An Post branded personal loans and credits cards through the national post office network.
In joining forces, Avantcard and An Post will develop and launch exciting new consumer finance propositions designed to make a real impact in the market. This partnership represents a powerful opportunity for Avantcard to share its consumer finance expertise with one of the most recognised and trusted brands in Ireland, and one with an extensive retail distribution network throughout the country.
The Avantcard and An Post consumer finance partnership forms an important milestone in the Leitrim-based lender’s growth plans.
Speaking at the launch of the partnership today, Jurgen Hutter, Head of Commercial and Partnerships at Avantcard, had this to say: “Avantcard is delighted to be partnering with An Post to offer personal loans and credit cards through the An Post network. We are excited to bring to market a new offering for An Post customers and to be working with such a well-known and reputable Irish brand. The Avantcard team is looking forward to bringing this partnership to life in early 2019.”
The planned personal loan and credit card propositions will be distinctive to the An Post brand and will have a unique rewards element.
An Post Financial Services Director, John Rice said: “We’re delighted to partner with Avantcard to grow this important strand of business under a new An Post Money brand, a key pillar of our Financial Services strategy. It offers great opportunities for contract Post Offices too, as Postmasters will benefit from customer referrals and in-branch product promotion.
Working with Avantcard, we’ll bring more choice and convenience to Irish consumers. A simple online application process will deliver loan decisions within hours with same-day access to money. Loans ranging from €5,000 - €75,000, credit card options and secure web facilities will make money management more convenient for customers. These two new products start to complete our financial services offering, building on our expanding banking, foreign currency and money transfer offerings.”
Denis Naughten, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, who attended the announcement of the partnership in Carrick-on-Shannon today, added “We were delighted to announce a new strategic partnership between Avantcard and An Post today. From early next year, there will be An Post credit card and personal loan services available in every single post office across the country, operated from this campus here in Carrick On Shannon. This will benefit people by bringing financial services to every single parish in Ireland as well as supporting local employment here in Carrick On Shannon. In the past 18 months we’ve seen the creation of an additional 55 jobs at Avantcard and we hope to see that momentum continue with this new relationship between An Post and Avantcard.”
Avantcard DAC trading as Avantcard is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Source : http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent
DPD UK opens flagship super depot near Glasgow
September 24, 2018
Parcel delivery company DPD has opened its largest ever depot, EuroCentral, near Glasgow, Scotland, creating at least 65 new jobs.
The new 70,363ft² state-of-the-art distribution center (DC) is 11 miles east of Glasgow and is capable of processing more than 45,000 parcels a day. It is DPD’s 31st new depot since 2012 and is in addition to DPD’s two existing Glasgow depots at Cambuslang and Tannochside.
The EuroCentral DC will enable DPD to further optimize delivery routes around Glasgow and the Central Belt, with 117 new routes introduced to improve efficiency and expand capacity to handle the predicted parcel growth in the area through to 2025.
Recruitment has been underway for a number of months, and in total, the site could create up to 200 new jobs when fully operational. The new jobs will be in a range of roles including drivers, operations and warehousing.
DPD recently reported a 40% year-on-year increase in weekend parcel volumes, while the Your DPD app, which enables consumers to personalize their DPD experience, now has three million users in the UK.
Dwain McDonald, CEO of DPD, said, “The new DC is stunning and it is both our biggest ever depot and our most technologically advanced. We’ve gone from 36,000ft² new-builds back in 2012 to over 70,000ft² here today. Doubling the size means we not only increase our capacity overnight, but we’ve also got room to carry on growing, to ensure we continue to maintain the high level of service our Scottish customers have come to expect from us.
“We’ve invested heavily in Scotland in recent years with a big new DC in Edinburgh and a purpose-built depot in Aberdeen. The investment in new larger, fully automated, purpose-built facilities in the last six years has made a huge difference to our operational efficiency across the network.
“Some of our new-builds have replaced existing, older DPD depots, but around half of them have been brand-new locations for us, like this one.
“The scale of our investment is unprecedented in the sector. We’ve now built 31 brand-new depots in the last six years with more in the pipeline, and we are about to start work on our second giant super hub in three years at Hinckley in Leicestershire.”
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news
Pay Equity: A major victory for rural mail carriers
September 21, 2018
Statement of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on the final decision of Arbitrator Maureen Flynn on pay equity
Ottawa – Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) have finally won their long battle for pay equity. Arbitrator Flynn’s final decision confirms that Canada Post must put an end to the economic injustice faced by RSMCs. “After years of struggle, we are happy to finally have the recognition that there was a profound injustice at Canada Post,” said Nancy Beauchamp, member of the Pay Equity Committee. Arbitrator Flynn’s decision comes after months of difficult negotiations. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has successfully established a process to permanently close the wage gap between the RSMCs and the letter carriers of the urban bargaining unit. “No one should have to negotiate with their employer to ensure they comply with the law. Pay equity has been the law of the land for decades. It’s time for the real enforcement of pay equity for all,” added Barb McMillan, another member of the Pay Equity Committee. RSMCs earn 28% less than urban letter carriers. There could not be a more striking example of pay inequity than that of the RSMCs at Canada Post. Members of this group, composed mainly of women, have inferior working conditions while essentially doing the same work as their urban counterparts. “This decision is a major step forward in our long struggle to obtain justice for the RSMCs. We have achieved equity, but not yet equality. Equality is part of the ongoing collective bargaining process,” concluded Cathy Kennedy, also member of the Pay Equity Committee.
Source: https://www.cupw.ca/en