POSTAL NEWS
No 19-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Egil Møller Nielsen appointed Head of PostNord’s Operations & Technology unit. March 6, 2019.
China Post to Begin Autonomous Truck Operations in April. March 4, 2019.
Pos Indonesia to Enter the E-Commerce Business.
March 4,2019.
UPS Reinforces Commitment To Diverse Customers. March 4, 2019.
NPMHU – RI-399 Update- Monetary Payment Criteria Finalized. March 1, 2019.
Ottawa appoints new president-CEO of Canada Post. March 1, 2019
Egil Møller Nielsen appointed Head of PostNord’s Operations & Technology unit
March 6, 2019
On July 1, 2019, the Dane Egil Møller Nielsen will take over responsibility for PostNord’s newly created Operations & Technology unit. This consists of the former Technology & Infrastructure unit, the operational parts of the E-com & Logistics and Communications Services business areas, and the quality team from Corporate Affairs. Egil Møller Nielsen will also be a member of PostNord’s Group Executive Team and will report directly to President and Group CEO Håkan Ericsson.
Egil Møller Nielsen started his career at DSV and ASG. After that, he was Global Logistics Manager at both ECCO Sko and LEGO, and then vice CEO and COO at Bodum. Following a brief spell as Global Logistics Manager at the toy company Mega Brands in Canada, the company was acquired by Mattel. Egil Møller Nielsen chose to remain in Canada and since 2014 he has worked for SmartCentres, where among other things he has started PenguinPickUp and PenguinFresh, two market participants that have acted as a disruptive force in the Canadian market for home delivery of food and parcels.
“I am very pleased that Egil Møller Nielsen has accepted the position and that he will move to Sweden to establish our new Operations & Technology unit. He has in-depth knowledge and valuable insights, in particular regarding how parcels and the e-commerce market work in the Nordic countries and globally,” says PostNord’s President and Group CEO Håkan Ericsson. “In his latest position at SmartCentres, with responsibility for PenguinPickUp and PenguinFresh, Egil created, for example, advanced solutions that utilize the latest technology in big data and machine learning. I am convinced that his experience will be crucial in allowing us to scale up all the initiatives that we have already launched in this area”.
Source : https://www.postnord.com/en/media/press-releases/postnord/2019
China Post to Begin Autonomous Truck Operations in April
March 4, 2019
Autonomous trucks are now working in China. China Post and Deppon Express, two of China’s leading delivery and logistics companies, will begin autonomous package delivery services this April with the first self-driving vehicles to be put into daily commercial use in the country. The delivery trucks will operate on autonomous driving technologies developed by Fabu Technology, an artificial intelligence (AI) company focused on intelligent driving systems.
The autonomous truck deployment comes on the heels of real-world evaluation testing that wrapped up last November. To conduct these tests, Fabu partnered with China Post and Deppon Express to run Level 4 autonomous driving trucks in China’s heavily populated Zhejiang Province. During the testing, self-driving trucks operating on Fabu autonomous
driving technology averaged 40-mile daily round trips along three different routes, with one delivery route passing through 50 intersections, 26 of which were controlled by traffic lights.
The trucks drove both in daylight and at night, and on highways, through tunnels and along residential streets filled with pedestrians, schools and flea markets. Since the self-driving tests were conducted in winter, these Level 4 trucks also had to drive their routes during challenging weather conditions such as rainstorms, snow and fog.
In Level 4 autonomous driving, the car handles the majority of driving situations independently although a human driver can still take control when needed.
In total, during the testing period autonomous trucks operated by Fabu technology successfully drove over 2,200 miles and delivered over 60,000 parcels during China’s peak shopping season, which includes Singles’ Day, Christmas and Chinese New Year.
“We are very excited that Fabu technology is at the heart of the first autonomous delivery trucks in China,” said Xiaofei He, founder and CEO of Fabu. “China Post and Deppon have also been very pleased with the performance of FABU self-driving technology in their trucks and plan on expanding their autonomous delivery services to 100 routes in the near future.”
China Post, the state-owned enterprise that operates the official postal service of mainland China, employs 860,000 employees in over 82,000 post offices and branches. The service operates over 39,000 transport vehicles, which travel over a delivery network with 1,926,250 miles of streets and highways.
Deppon Express is a leading logistics company in China, with operations in Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Deppon Express operates 10,000 retail offices across China’s 34 provinces.
Source: https://www.truckinginfo.com/326433
Pos Indonesia to Enter the E-Commerce Business
March 4,2019
PT Pos Indonesia in the near future will have a "grandson" of the company. The grandson of the company in question is a subsidiary of PT Pos Indonesia, Post Logistics Indonesia, will have a subsidiary that is engaged in supporting the E-Commerce business.
"His name is Pos Indonesia Courier. This is his grandson, PT Pos Indonesia. Later it will be named Pro Kurir," said Rahmat Eka Haryanto, Business Director of PT Pos Logistics Indonesia, while attending the Lubricants Days 2019 Poslog in Sidoarjo, Friday (1/3/2019). Rahmat said, the application supporting the product had been prepared including the operating system. As for infrastructure, PT Pos Indonesia infrastructure will be utilized which has spread throughout the region.
"We have also explored the market, it is only an improvement. In fact, we have collaborated with a number of e-commerce companies such as JD.id, Lazada and Blibli.com. Hopefully this year can be realized," he explained.
Rahmat gave an earlier information, the Pro Courier service product launched will serve the delivery of e-commerce products in one delivery day within a certain distance. "Today sent, today received," he said. He even set a target to become the top 3 e-commerce courier companies under JNE and JNT. "Our target can be the top 3 players in the e-commerce product courier business," explained Rahmat.
https://regional.kompas.com/read/2019/03/04/10541181
UPS Reinforces Commitment To Diverse Customers
March 4, 2019
Announces New VP Of Diverse Segments
UPS (NYSE:UPS) today reaffirmed its long-held commitment to diversity and inclusion by announcing a series of new initiatives aimed at increasing growth opportunities for diverse customer segments around the world. These initiatives include the development of a global effort to help women business owners gain access to world markets, a collaboration with the federal government promoting women’s economic empowerment, and the creation of a new marketing leadership position focused on diversity marketing.
“These initiatives will expand our capabilities within the small and medium-sized business space and leverage our global logistics expertise to help accelerate the growth of minority- and women-owned companies,” said Kevin Warren, UPS chief marketing officer. “Adding additional professional resources and new product and support programs is part of our focus on offering solutions that support small businesses in their goals.”
The newest initiative is a global effort to help women business owners learn about exporting. It’s called the UPS Women Exporters Program. The UPS Foundation is partnering with the International Trade Centre’s SheTrades initiative, which helps to train and connect women entrepreneurs with buyers around the world. For example, through SheTrades Argentina, UPS will work with Argentina’s Department of Economic Development to establish workshops to provide access to markets, knowledge and technical proficiency to women entrepreneurs.
Additionally, UPS has created the role of vice president of marketing, diverse segments. This new position will help UPS advance its global commitment to diversity and inclusion, focusing not only on customers, but vendors, employees and communities as well.
UPS named Kathleen Marran, a 25-year UPS marketing veteran, to fill the post. Her role is to lead UPS’s efforts to deliver growth-oriented solutions to minority- and women-owned businesses around the world.
Marran will bring together the best of UPS, leveraging the company’s intelligence, data, leadership and expertise to help deliver growth-oriented and relatable connections and solutions to minority- and women-owned companies. She will also lead a newly created external advisory panel, which will focus on identifying and advancing opportunities for those businesses.
“Kathleen will bring critical international experience and perspective to this important new role,” Warren continued. “This position will be fundamental to the growth of our business and our people well into the future.”
Source: https://www.pressroom.ups.com/pressroom
NPMHU – RI-399 Update- Monetary Payment Criteria Finalized
March 1, 2019
On June 26, 2018, the NPMHU, the APWU and the United States Postal Service executed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (“Update MOU”) to update the RI-399 Dispute Resolution Procedures that were originally signed in 1992.
With certain exceptions, the MOU effectively withdrew and administratively closed all cross-craft grievances that were pending in the RI- 399 process prior to September 1, 2017. The Update MOU also provides monetary payments to mail handlers and clerks in consideration of the withdrawal of these grievances. The parties have agreed that $14,500,000 will be distributed among mail handlers designated by the NPMHU. The parties also agreed that the APWU represented employees will be similarly compensated.
The NPMHU National Executive Board has approved a detailed criteria to determine which mail handlers will receive payments as well as the amount that each eligible mail handler will receive.
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com
Ottawa appoints new president-CEO of Canada Post
March 1, 2019
The federal government has named Doug Ettinger as the new president and chief executive of Canada Post Corp.
The appointment is effective Monday.
Mr. Ettinger has been chief commercial officer for Canada Post since 2016.
He has led the company’s parcel business as well as a range of the company’s commercial functions, including sales, marketing, retail, digital, business development and customer service.
Deepak Chopra stepped down as chief executive of Canada Post last year.
Board chairwoman Jessica McDonald has been serving as interim president and chief executive since April, 2018.
Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-governmentPOSTAL NEWS
No 20-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Royal Mail Decorating Postboxes To Honour Children's Authors. March 7, 2019.
NZ Post Increase Postal Rate To Future-Proof Its Business. March 6, 2019.
Amazon to Shut All U.S. Pop-Up Stores as It Rethinks Physical Retail Strategy. March 6,2019.
National Apprenticeship Week – training the future workforce – RM HR. March 6 2019.
Austrian Post and Swiss Post commit to 100% electric fleets. March 5, 2019.
Royal Mail Decorating Postboxes To Honour Children's Authors
March 7, 2019
To mark World Book Day, Royal Mail has unveiled four special edition postboxes across the UK honouring some of Britain’s most popular children’s authors.
The postboxes feature quotes from UK writers David Walliams (pictured above), Judith Kerr, C.S. Lewis and Frances Hodgson Burnett. The decorated postboxes will remain in place for a month.
"I am honoured that my books are featured on this special postbox. I am an advocate of letter writing. Letters are so much more meaningful than a text or email." - David Walliams
The announcement follows research carried out by Royal Mail revealing the nation’s enduring love affair with physical books. Over half (56%) of UK adults expressed an intent to read more in 2019, and just one in ten (10%) readers claim to exclusively use e-readers.
And of course, people who buy books online might receive them via Royal Mail or Parcelforce! If the parcel isn’t delivered by an Amazon driver.
This latest promotion follows a Valentine’s Day initiative, featuring four “romantic” postboxes covered with quotes from some of the UK’s best-known romantic poets.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com/blog
NZ Post Increase Postal Rate To Future-Proof Its Business
March 6, 2019
The price of sending a standard letter within New Zealand will increase 10 cents to $1.30 from 1 July 2019, says New Zealand Post.
New Zealand Post General Manager Mail Matt Geor says NZ Post delivers over 400 million mail items a year, but the number of letters sent continues to drop at a significant rate.
“We need to make the price change to help cover the cost of delivering letters and to ensure we can sustain the current postal service for those who are using it,” says Mr Geor.
“New Zealand currently has one of the highest rates of decline in the world, as people choose to communicate more online. Only around one percent of mail sent in New Zealand is made up of personal letters, the rest is business mail.
“We continue to work hard to keep the cost of posting mail as low as possible, by significantly reducing our network costs and making big changes to how we operate. However, with an annual decline of approximately 60 million mail items through our network, we also need to increase the price of postage.
“We acknowledge the significance of these changes for our customers. We want to reassure them we are working very hard to ensure our mail business is fit for the future, and that the changes will not affect our delivery service.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/103199/news
Amazon to Shut All U.S. Pop-Up Stores as It Rethinks Physical Retail Strategy
March 6,2019
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -2.58% is shutting down all 87 of its U.S. pop-up stores, ending the retailer’s years long experiment with these small shops as the company tinkers with an evolving bricks-and-mortar strategy.
“After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program,” an Amazon spokeswoman confirmed to The Wall Street Journal.
The closings are expected by the end of next month, some employees at Amazon pop-up stores said.
These shops typically occupy a few hundred square feet of space and showcase devices like voice-assistant speakers, tablets and Kindle e-readers. They feature staff, dressed casually in black Amazon T-shirts, who encourage passersby to sample the newest
products. Pop-ups are operated in locations ranging from malls and Kohl’s stores to Amazon’s Whole Foods stores in 21 states.
Amazon is expanding its bookstores as well as its so-called 4-star stores, which sell products rated four stars or higher by Amazon customers, “where we provide a more comprehensive customer experience and broader selection,” the spokeswoman said. “We look forward to opening additional locations of both stores this year.”
Products at these stores will include books, toys, games, home and kitchen goods, electronics, and Amazon devices among other items, she said.
The pop-up-store closings come as Amazon takes new steps to offer a wider variety of products in an effort to improve how it interacts with its millions of customers. The company is preparing to roll out a new line of grocery stores and ramp up its Amazon Go cashierless convenience stores in more locations.
Amazon has been experimenting with the pop-up concept since at least 2014, using such stores to educate customers about its Echo and Alexa devices and to allow customers to trade in old Kindles or Fire tablets for credit. Some of the stores have been open only for a few months.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether any Amazon pop-up stores outside the U.S. would be affected.
In recent days, Amazon has begun to notify its employees and partners that it would close the stores by April 29th. It informed pop-up store staff during calls last week, according to employees who were on the calls. Some said they were surprised by the announcement’s timing and weren’t expecting to be out of jobs so soon, especially in light of the newly opened stores.
Amazon told workers they would receive severance pay if they stayed until the end of April, some employees said.
The company said it doesn’t disclose information about employees.
Kohl’s chief executive officer Michelle Gass said in a conference call Tuesday that the department-store chain will move away from “the store-within-a-store concept” and extend its assortment of Amazon-branded products into the rest of the store in over 200 of its locations.
Amazon also assured landlords that its decision to close pop-up stores wasn’t a sign that it is pulling back from its expansion into bricks-and-mortar retail, one landlord said.
“The pop-up stores were designed to ascertain demand, and Amazon can leverage that data for prototypes of other stores,” said Mr. Charles Lanier, director of real estate at Plaza Associates Inc., a private commercial-property landlord that operates Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, N.C., which contains an Amazon pop-up.
Amazon is innovating at a fast pace, he said, adding, “We’re big fans of the brand.”
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles
National Apprenticeship Week – training the future workforce – RM HR
March 6 2019
CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey reports more good news on skill training within Royal Mail Group with the announcement that the company’s HR Services division in Sheffield is set to launch an apprenticeship scheme for around 28 apprentices.
“It’s great to be able to confirm this positive development during National Apprenticeship Week,” said Andy, who explains that this new scheme will be introduced across various specialist areas including pay, pensions, recruitment, Advice Centre, and PSP Support & Learning.
The programme, which is aimed at relatively new employees and succeeds the previously agreed NVQ arrangements, will be run by fully qualified external training providers.
According to the agreed schedule, the apprentices are expected to be in place across the various functions in HR Services by next month.
“Importantly, the approach agreed to the introduction of this apprenticeship scheme is aimed at up-skilling and developing current employees and therefore, crucially the members’ pay and the contractual number of hours of work is fully in line with the Four Pillars Agreement which introduced for these grades a 34-hour net working week from October 2018,” Andy points out.
“This is a positive development and it is good to be able to report this significant progress in our joint work with Royal Mail to invest in developing the skills of our members.”
Source : https://www.cwu.org/news
Austrian Post and Swiss Post commit to 100% electric fleets
March 5,2019
Swiss Post and Austrian Post have announced their commitment to electrifying their delivery fleets by joining the global electric vehicles initiative EV100, which aims to make electric transport ‘the new normal’ by 2030.
EV100 is led by The Climate Group, the international non-profit focused on accelerating climate action. Other new members are Portugal’s EDP and New Zealand’s Meridian Energy.
Together, the four companies will switch 22,000 fossil-fuel vehicles to electric. With two out of three new cars in Europe being sold to the private sector, business commitments to electric vehicles send a clear signal of demand for EVs to auto makers.
The news comes as the global auto industry gathers at the Geneva International Motor Show, where brands like Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Kia are set to exhibit new electric vehicles – but combustion engine models continue to dominate.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, said, “Today’s EV100 announcements show demand for electric vehicles is on the up. With logistics companies operating some of the world’s biggest delivery fleets, these businesses are well placed to accelerate the switch to electric vehicles, tackle climate change and reduce air pollution in cities.
“The EV transition is well underway. To stay competitive, all major companies should start transitioning their fleets now, and auto makers must get on with increasing supply – or else risk losing out on this huge opportunity.”
As the need to tackle climate change becomes ever more urgent and many cities look to address air pollution by introducing low- or zero-emission zones limiting access of polluting vehicles, companies are switching to electric vehicles to lower business risk and future-proof their operations.
Austrian Post is the largest logistics business in Austria. The company already operates the largest electric vehicle fleet in the country and will switch more than 9,000 vehicles to electric as part of EV100. Committing to go fully electric through EV100 will drive innovation and ensure long-term competitive advantage for the business.
Georg Pölzl, CEO, Austrian Post, commented, “Austrian Post has been relying on the deployment of electric vehicles within the context of its CO₂ Neutral Delivery initiative since 2011, making it a trailblazer in green logistics. About 1,600 electric-powered bikes, mopeds, quads and cars are already in use in Austrian Post’s daily business.
“As the country’s leading logistics company, we want to leverage the public’s familiarity with us to show that e-mobility works well in our regular operations and is also profitable. Our joining the EV100 initiative and the objective of having 100% e-vehicles on the last mile by the year 2030 comprise a logistical step on our journey toward CO₂-free and pollution-free logistics.”
Post CH Ltd (a subsidiary of Swiss Post Ltd) will switch more than 10,000 vehicles to electric under EV100. To accelerate climate action and to reach carbon neutral delivery, Post CH sees investing in a modern fleet of vehicles with energy-efficient, alternative drive systems and a well-designed logistics strategy as key.
Post CH has already electrified its mail delivery fleet consisting of 6,000 electric three-wheeled vehicles and now wants to switch 4,600 delivery vans (up to 3.5 tonne) and 180 service vehicles to EVs by 2030, if market supply and operating and real estate conditions
allow. All of Post CH electric vehicles are 100% powered by ‘naturemade star’ – certified renewable energy from Switzerland. Furthermore, Post CH supports the uptake of electric vehicles by its staff by installing charging infrastructure at its largest sites.
Marco Reber, CEO of Post Company Cars Ltd, fleet management company for Post CH Ltd, said, “We have the largest fleet of electric three-wheeled scooters of its kind in Europe in use for mail delivery in Switzerland, running on green electricity produced in Switzerland.
“We are acting today for tomorrow by increasing the use of energy-efficient electric vehicles for parcel deliveries and service trips in order to further reduce CO₂ emissions and to save on operational costs. For the many stop-and-gos in delivery, to improve air quality and to reduce noise, EVs are the most optimal drive concept. Furthermore, we support the uptake of electric vehicles by our staff.”
With these and other commitments from a growing number of international businesses such as Deutsche Post DHL and LeasePlan, The Climate Group is seeing the electrification of more than two million vehicles by 2030 through its EV100 initiative.
A recent report from The Climate Group on the impact of the EV100 initiative so far revealed that cutting air pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating financial savings are among the top drivers for business switch to EVs.
Source: https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/sustainabilityPOSTAL NEWS
No 21-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Petition for the maintenance of subsidized holidays.
March 12, 2019.
DHL Start-up Helpdesk supports successful launch of Japanese online shop ZOZO in Germany. March 11, 2019.
Converting Phone Booths Into Parcel Lockers.
March 8, 2019.
Parcel Carriers Slashed 9,700 Jobs in February. March 8, 2019.
Posti Group divests Opus Capita Solutions to Providence Equity. March 8, 2019.
Chunghwa Post has NT$1m pool in big data competition. March 8, 2019.
Petition for the maintenance of subsidized holidays
March 12, 2019
The bill on subsidized leave seriously undermines the legitimate and fundamental rights of civil servants from overseas departments who live and work in France. Under the pretext of leaving more often and less long in the departments of origin. In fact, this reform only aims to abolish the cost of living allowance and to call into question the rights of overseas nationals.
Far away from their relatives, their culture, their centers of interest and all that is dear to them, the people cannot consent to new sacrifices and the questioning of their social achievements. These changes will only impoverish and penalize public servants. The proposed reform will have adverse economic consequences for the territories concerned. For these reasons, FO demands the abandonment of this unfair bill.
In order to support the action of FO, you are invited to complete the online petition, which will be attached to a letter addressed to the Deputy and the Deputy.
As a reminder, FO does not accept such reconsiderations of subsidized holidays, on the contrary, FO requires the extension of these assets to employees. For all these reasons, do not hesitate, sign!
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr
DHL Start-up Helpdesk supports successful launch of Japanese online shop ZOZO in Germany
March 11, 2019
DHL Global Forwarding's Start-up Helpdesk in Berlin is currently supporting Japanese e-tailer ZOZO with its market launch in Germany. With ZOZO already selling its custom-fitted apparel in over 70 countries, consumers in Germany can now also use the ZOZO app to have individualized t-shirts, shirts and pants delivered to their home. DHL's tailored supply chain solution for ZOZO includes transport by rail, air and ocean freight from China to Germany, customs clearance services, as well as the last mile delivery to customers via DHL Parcel and Deutsche Post.
For ZOZO customers, it all begins with free delivery of the ultra-thin ZOZOSUIT via DHL parcel for customers in Germany or Deutsche Post's new international commodity mail service (Warenpost International) for European customers. A tight-fitting black bodysuit featuring some 350 electronic measurement points, the ZOZOSUIT combines with the special ZOZO-APP to create a 3D-rendering of the body via the customer's smartphone, which ZOZO then uses to produce perfectly fitting clothes. Thousands of ZOZOSUITS are sent every month through Europe's postal network.
Currently, ZOZO produces its custom-made apparel in China. Deutsche Post DHL Group's air and ocean freight specialist DHL Global Forwarding handles transport from ZOZO's production facilities in Wuxi, Lianyungang and Qingdao to Germany, along with customs clearance. As part of its service, DHL applied for a deferment account so that ZOZO can avoid paying import sales tax directly (19% of the merchandise value) and manage cash flow more effectively. Shipments are then delivered to ZOZO's customer warehouse in Ludwigsfelde, Germany.
Additional ZOZO shipments originate in Shenzhen, where ZOZO's fulfillment partner packs and labels the DHL packages and bundles them for weekly air freight delivery to Frankfurt. After clearing customs, these are then delivered by truck to DHL's parcel center in Obertshausen. From there, DHL Parcel takes over to handle domestic and international deliveries directly to end customers.
"By combining the customized logistics solutions offered by both DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Parcel, we were able to create a secure and trouble-free supply chain for ZOZO," explains Nicolai Rehberg from the
DHL Start-up Helpdesk. "Starting in March, Deutsche Post's new international commodity mail service (Warenpost International) will be used for delivering the ZOZOSUITS".
DHL's solution also takes advantage of the Belt & Road Initiative. Late in 2018, DHL rail service brought the first containers from Nantong to Germany via the new Silk Road. With a transit time of approximately 20 days, the rail connection offers a good alternative to ocean freight - especially in terms of transition time.
"We are very pleased to be partnering with DHL," says Susanne Burger, Managing Director of ZOZO Germany GmbH. "It's great having such a reliable partner at our side to help spread the #zozorevolution."
Source : https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/press-releases/2019
Converting Phone Booths Into Parcel Lockers
March 8, 2019
Old phone booths are being converted into parcel locker installations in Vienna.
The A1 Paket Station project is a collaboration between telecommunications company A1, online marketplace Shpock, and Austrian Post.
Austrian Post can deliver parcels to the parcel lockers.
The lockers also operate as an open network - members of the public can use the lockers to drop off and pick up items.
For members of the public, access is via an app, and locker access costs from 1 Euro to 4 Euros for 24 hours, depending on the size of the item.
The person who lodges the item in the A1 Paket Station pays the fee. Collection is free.
The lockers, which have 12 doors, can be accessed 24 hours a day.
As phone booth usage drops, it makes sense to convert the real estate into something customer-focused that may even generate revenue for the telecom operator.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com/blog
Parcel Carriers Slashed 9,700 Jobs in February
March 8, 2019
Hiring at parcel-delivery firms plummeted in February as job growth slowed sharply across the broader U.S. economy, even as payrolls expanded in other logistics sectors.
Courier and messenger companies, made up mostly of the companies that deliver packages to homes and businesses, cut 9,700 jobs last month, according to preliminary, seasonally-adjusted figures the Labor Department released Friday. Warehouse operators and trucking companies added a combined 4,800 jobs from January to February.
The slide in parcel hiring was the steepest drop since January 2017 in a sector that includesUnited Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. Package carriers have added 53,100 jobs over the past 12 months, including 14,500 in January, as e-commerce growth led to more delivery demand.
“This was not a great month for couriers and messengers,” said Martha Gimbel, director of economic research at jobs website Indeed.com’s hiring lab.
Delivery-firm wages also have slipped, counter to the broader national trend. The average hourly wage in the courier and messenger sector was about $21 in January, the most recent data available by sector, compared with $22 a year earlier, Ms. Gimbel said.
The 2018 labor agreement between UPS and unionized workers in its main package division “should lower the effective hourly rate of marginal labor,” Bernstein Research analyst David Vernon wrote in a Friday research note.
Ms. Gimbel noted courier and messenger payrolls have grown by 8% in a year and that movements in hiring in specific industry sectors can be volatile from time to time.
“In the long view, growth has been quite strong,” Ms. Gimbel said. “One month should not cause people to panic, particularly when it was a month that was slow all around.”
Overall the U.S. economy added 20,000 jobs in February, far fewer than economists had expected. Goods-producing industries slashed payrolls by 32,000 jobs, potentially a signal of weaker output that would reduce demand for transportation and logistics services.
Construction payrolls shrank by 31,000, and retailers cut 6,100 positions. Manufacturing added 4,000 jobs, down from 21,000 in January, and factory output softened as cold weather in the Midwest caused transportation disruptions and closed factories.
Warehouse operators added 3,900 jobs last month, nearly a third of January’s postholiday hiring surge.
“There’s a real shortage of labor,” Hamid Moghadam, chief executive of industrial real estate giant Prologis Inc., said in an interview this week. The world’s largest owner of warehouses and distribution centers, the company is working with local workforce programs in Southern California and elsewhere to train high-school students for logistics jobs.
Distribution and storage companies are raising pay and other benefits as they compete with Amazon.com Inc. and others for staff while unemployment is hovering around its lowest in decades.
Trucking companies hired 900 workers in February, the 10th straight month of growth as carriers coming off one of the strongest freight markets in years continue adding capacity. Fleets ordered new trucks at a record clip last year, and have been raising pay to boost hiring.
Long-distance truckload employment added about 13,000 workers last year, “nearly double the number added in 2017, helped partly by a 4% increase in average hourly wages,” KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Todd Fowler wrote in a Thursday research note. “In our view, industry employment trends are contributing to reduced driver attrition, further supporting incremental capacity near term.”
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles
Posti Group divests Opus Capita Solutions to Providence Equity
March 8, 2019
Posti Group Corporation has agreed to sell Opus Capita Solutions Oy, its fully owned subsidiary, to a fund managed by Providence Equity Partners L.L.C (Providence). Providence is a premier global asset management firm with over $40 billion in aggregate capital commitments. The divestment is in line with Posti Group’s strategy to focus on Postal, Parcel & E-commerce and Logistics services. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction price.
Opus Capita Solutions is one of the leading providers of digital solutions and transaction processing for source-to-pay, cash management, and product information management. Opus Capita is headquartered in Finland with 8 offices in Europe and the United States, and has 350 employees and 3,000 customers globally. The change in ownership comes as the next natural step for Opus Capita Solutions and is planned to enable stronger investment in product competitiveness and global growth in the future.
The agreement was signed on March 8, 2019. Closing of the transaction is subject to approval by Germany´s Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), which is expected to be received in due course. The completion of the transaction will be disclosed separately.
Employees of Opus Capita Solutions will continue with current terms and conditions. The change does not affect customer relations and will not require any actions from Opus Capita’s customers.
In 2018, Opus Capita Solutions´s net sales accounted for about 4 percent of Posti Group´s net sales. Opus Capita Solutions is reported as a separate segment in Posti Group`s financial reporting and it will be excluded from reporting after the transaction has been completed.
Posti, as the leading Postal, Parcel & E-commerce and Logistics company in Finland will focus on its core
“Posti Group’s strategy is to accelerate the company’s transformation and renewal by focusing on its core businesses in postal, parcel & e-commerce, and logistics. We will continue to take advantage of digital communications in our business. For us, the new technology and automation will provide greater efficiency and help us maintain high quality. Finding a new owner for Opus Capita Solutions, with deep technological knowledge of transaction platforms and a global presence, is expected to support Opus Capita Solution’s plans to accelerate growth within the digitalization trend of CFO and CPO offices. Opus Capita Solutions is already an international forerunner in modern technology solutions for the Buyer-Supplier Ecosystem”, said Heikki Malinen, President & CEO of Posti Group.
The new ownership is expected to provide new opportunities to serve customers better
“This change comes as the next natural step in OpusCapita Solutions’ evolution. Over the past three years, we have divested non-core activities in order to focus our business on digitalizing and automating our customers’ finance and procurement processes. New ownership will allow Opus Capita Solutions to increase investments into key strategic initiatives while benefiting from Providence Equity’s insight and experience in driving
global growth. We are confident that this ownership structure will allow Opus Capita Solutions to become a trusted partner for our customers on their digital transformation journey”, said Patrik Sallner, CEO, Opus Capita Solutions.
Opus Capita Solutions marks the first growth stage software investment for Providence in Europe as it brings its proven investment strategy in growth stage software companies to a new geography. Providence has been investing in Europe for over two decades.
Providence’s expertise, capabilities and track record of building profitable and high-growth software businesses, are well-suited for Opus Capita Solutions, whose attractive market position and strong management team are key characteristics consistent with Providence’s successful software investments to date.
“Providence is excited to be partnering with the Opus Capita Solutions team in their next chapter of delivering customers robust source-to-pay and cash management solutions. We believe our new partnership will enable various investments in product development and customer facing functions that will further enhance the overall customer experience, enabling organizations to sell, buy and pay more efficiently. Furthermore, we are excited to support Opus Capita Solutions in its endeavors to have customers stay ahead of procurement trends as digital and automated transaction capability become a critical element of any business network,” said Gopi Vaddi, Managing Director at Providence.
Source : https://www.posti.com/en/media/financial-releases/2019
Chunghwa Post has NT$1m pool in big data competition
March 8, 2019
Chunghwa Post is offering NT$1 million (US$32,395) in total prize money in a competition that asks entrants to create a service people can use to access data it collects.
The company is speeding up the provision of smart logistics services, said Liu Shi-biao (劉錫標), director of Chunghwa Post’s training institute.
In addition to “iPostboxes” — its unstaffed postal service terminals — staff use personal digital assistants to collect signatures when confirming receipt of registered mail, Liu said, adding that it is also implementing a six-digit postal code system to facilitate delivery services.
Data the company collected last year would be released for the competition, including tallies of registered mail, express mail and packages, as well as delivery routes and time required for delivery, Liu said.
Chunghwa Post vice president Chou Rei-chi (周瑞祺) said that the company has collected a massive and diverse database, which would be useful when processed.
It received and delivered more than 300 million pieces of registered mail, 12 million pieces of express mail and 25 million packages last year, Chou said.
“Mining this big data could turn out to be a gold mine,” he said.
The competition would be conducted in three stages: preliminary, semi-finals and final, the company said, adding that teams of two to four people, with at least half being undergraduate or graduate students, can enter.
The teams can have one professor as an adviser and teams must develop topics and analyze the data themselves, it said.
Microsoft Taiwan and Systex Software have provided an operating platform and would arrange experts to advise teams, it said.
The top team is to receive NT$300,000, the company said, adding that 70 teams had registered.
Chunghwa Post said it would also make data collected from savings and insurance services available next year, while e-commerce and retail service data would be made public in 2021.
Source : http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2019
POSTAL NEWS
No 20-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Australia Post divests shareholding in Aramex. March 13,2019.
The Delivery Group opens US$2.6m hub in Kent. March 12, 2019.
Deutsche Post DHL Group and Austrian Post enter into
a long-term partnership to accelerate parcel business.
March 12, 2019.
Canada Post’s role in helping law enforcement fight opioids. March 11, 2019.
Management and APWU Exchange Final Economic Proposals. March 8, 2019.
Australia Post divests shareholding in Aramex
March 13,2019
Australia Post has divested its 10.06% shareholding in Aramex PJSC (Aramex), a company listed on the Dubai Financial Market.
As announced in our 2017-18 Annual Report, Australia Post made a decision to divest its Aramex shareholding following a review of its international strategy, completed during 2018.
Australia Post's international growth strategy will continue to be supported by its wholly-owned business, Australia Post Global eCommerce Solutions (APG eCommerce Solutions), which has an established presence in key global eCommerce trade lanes, including Asia, the UK, Europe and the US.
This business brings together the best of both postal and commercial solutions with a comprehensive suite of B2C cross-border shipping services and complements Australia Post’s joint venture with China Post, Sai Cheong Logistics.
Source : https://newsroom.auspost.com.au/article
The Delivery Group opens US$2.6m hub in Kent
March 12, 2019
E-commerce and specialist mail services firm The Delivery Group has opened a new £2m (US$2.6m) mail processing hub in Aylesford, Kent, this week (March 11).
The new premises will enable The Delivery Group to support the rapidly growing delivery demand from e-commerce clients based outside London, and the Kent location has been specifically chosen for its proximity to prime motorway (freeway) links to the company’s main suppliers.
The site comprises a 25,000ft² (2,300m²) warehouse and office space, which has been purpose-built by the company. The new hub will host over 50 staff and will process over 100,000 packages each month.
Steve Stokes, CEO, The Delivery Group, commented, “This is an exciting time of growth for the company and this investment outlines our determination to offer exceptional value and service to clients throughout the UK.
“We move 1.6 million items a month of tracked and untracked mail and parcels both domestically and internationally. The new Kent hub complements our existing sites in Warrington, Luton and Central London and enables us to effortlessly handle the growing volume of parcels and packages that we are processing on behalf of the UK’s rapidly expanding e-commerce marketplace.”
The site was officially opened with the unveiling of a plaque by the mayor of Tonbridge and Malling, councillor Pam Bates, on March 11.
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/logistics
Deutsche Post DHL Group and Austrian Post enter into a long-term partnership to accelerate parcel business
March 12, 2019
Customers will benefit from high-quality parcel delivery services, including short delivery times for shipments.
Deutsche Post DHL Group, the world's leading provider of mail and logistics services, has entered into a long-term partnership with Austrian Post. Under the agreement, Austrian Post will deliver parcels sent by DHL customers to Austria. The agreement is still subject to review by the German and Austrian competition authorities. Once the partnership has been approved, the collaboration is expected to launch in 2019.
Customers will benefit from high-quality parcel delivery services, including short delivery times for shipments. The collaboration will thus allow both parties to create further profitable growth and jointly tap the potential of the growing cross-border e-commerce business.
"The expansion of our parcel business in Europe is proceeding successfully. This has culminated in a very attractive agreement which enables us and Austrian Post to strengthen and accelerate our growth in Austria and beyond. We will be exploring additional collaboration opportunities with Austrian Post in the future as we continue to focus on developing our international e-commerce business as a key growth driver for our Group," said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group. "The agreement is a
further step towards improving our quality and productivity in the European parcel business."
"We are delighted to have Deutsche Post DHL Group as our partner. Our nationwide delivery throughout Austria stands for quality and reliability," said Georg Pölzl, CEO of Austrian Post. "Pick-up stations, self-service zones, reception boxes and the features of our app are unique and are very well received by our customers."
This agreement has no impact on Deutsche Post DHL Group's business activities in international express, freight transport and supply chain solutions in Austria.
Source : https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/press-releases/2019
Canada Post’s role in helping law enforcement fight opioids
March 11, 2019
The growing and devastating toll that illicit opioid use is taking on Canadians and communities is shocking. No responsible person or organization wants anything to do with the distribution of these deadly substances.
With nearly 300 million parcels moving through Canada Post’s network in a year, it is arguably predictable that some criminals use the postal service to ship these illicit drugs. This has Canada Post concerned about the risks to the health and well-being of its employees, and to the Canadians we serve. Beyond our moral and legal duties to keep employees safe and to prevent illegal use of the mail, our employees work in neighbourhoods where opioid use is widespread. They see some of its impact on Canadian streets. They care – and so do we.
Canada Post has not opposed any legislative changes suggested by law enforcement. In fact, we are open to ideas that legislators and policy-makers believe could better protect Canadians and our employees.
Until such time legislation or regulations change, our highly trained postal inspectors will continue to cooperate and collaborate fully with all law enforcement and government agencies to intercept and remove illicit drugs from the mail. Postal inspectors have the authority to inspect mail, and if illegal drugs are found, they are removed from the postal system and turned over to law enforcement.
Our collaboration with law enforcement occurs in several ways, including coordinated inspections, joint investigations, enhanced real-time security intelligence, and
collaborating with them to execute search warrants for items that have been posted. In addition, we have several security, screening and safety protocols in place to help us identify suspicious items. As a precaution, we have also made naloxone kits available at our processing facilities, and we work with Health Canada and our Joint Health and Safety Committee to ensure our approach is effective.
We believe that through increased collaboration, enhanced intelligence sharing, joint training and awareness, and better coordinated joint investigations, we would all be in a better position to combat the public health threat that opioids are.
Source : https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements
Management and APWU Exchange Final Economic Proposals
March 8, 2019
On March 7, 2019, the APWU and United States Postal Service negotiators exchanged their final economic proposals as both sides continue their preparation for interest arbitration.
The APWU put forward proposals that reward postal workers for our hard work. The Union’s proposals include:
Solid annual pay raises,
Two COLA increases every year,
Adding top Steps to the lower career pay scale,
Reduction of the non-career workforce and increasing the career workforce,
Automatic PSE conversion to career after a set time of service,
Increased company contributions to health insurance premiums,
Raising the pay of PSEs.
The union had previously presented many proposals and continues to fight for these demands: work hour guarantees for PTFs; guaranteed weekly day off for PTFs and PSEs; elimination of all subcontracting, including continuation of moratorium of subcontracting of any existing MVS/PVS work; moratorium on plant closings; addressing the hostile work environment, including sexual harassment; elimination of management performing bargaining unit work in level 18 offices; and no mandatory overtime.
USPS economic proposals are nothing short of draconian and regressive. Their proposals include:
No increase in pay rates – a freeze for current employees:
One lump sum payment in lieu of the usual annual pay raise;
Lump sum payments in lieu of COLAs.
Decreasing the career workforce:
Increasing the percentage of non-career employees to 25% in the clerk craft;
Reintroduction of 10% PSEs into the maintenance workforce undoing the all-career maintenance craft;
Reintroduction of 10% PSEs into the MVS Craft.
Pay and benefits substantially cut for all future conversion to career and future hires:
A converted PSE would take a pay cut of almost $1.00 per hour and work into year three before getting back to the PSE rate.
Current career employees with less than six years seniority must work 15 years to gain “no lay-off” protection.
Elimination of no lay-off provision for all future workers.
USPS management also had made numerous regressive proposals including: Universal PSE Clerk with no restrictions on working the window, PSEs allowed to work in Level 18 offices and then replace career jobs; replace career PTFs with non-career PSEs; eliminate the 50-mile limit on excessing employees; subcontract custodial work under conditions of unforeseen long-term absences; eliminate penalty pay; eliminate all existing Local Memos; eliminate any on-the-clock steward union time to represent employees.
Chief Spokesperson for the APWU, Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman, told the Postal Service negotiators “This is blatant disrespect for postal workers. They provide a valuable service to their country. This is not even close to respecting the value of the service we give. I could go on and on but I will just say I find this insulting.”
President Mark Dimondstein said, “There are clearly two sides in this fight and the battle lines have been drawn in our efforts to obtain a contract that honors and respects postal workers. The USPS proposals reek of contempt for the workforce. APWU members will fight for what we deserve in the interest arbitration process as we continue ‘Fighting Today for a Better Tomorrow.’”
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnews
No 19-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Egil Møller Nielsen appointed Head of PostNord’s Operations & Technology unit. March 6, 2019.
China Post to Begin Autonomous Truck Operations in April. March 4, 2019.
Pos Indonesia to Enter the E-Commerce Business.
March 4,2019.
UPS Reinforces Commitment To Diverse Customers. March 4, 2019.
NPMHU – RI-399 Update- Monetary Payment Criteria Finalized. March 1, 2019.
Ottawa appoints new president-CEO of Canada Post. March 1, 2019
Egil Møller Nielsen appointed Head of PostNord’s Operations & Technology unit
March 6, 2019
On July 1, 2019, the Dane Egil Møller Nielsen will take over responsibility for PostNord’s newly created Operations & Technology unit. This consists of the former Technology & Infrastructure unit, the operational parts of the E-com & Logistics and Communications Services business areas, and the quality team from Corporate Affairs. Egil Møller Nielsen will also be a member of PostNord’s Group Executive Team and will report directly to President and Group CEO Håkan Ericsson.
Egil Møller Nielsen started his career at DSV and ASG. After that, he was Global Logistics Manager at both ECCO Sko and LEGO, and then vice CEO and COO at Bodum. Following a brief spell as Global Logistics Manager at the toy company Mega Brands in Canada, the company was acquired by Mattel. Egil Møller Nielsen chose to remain in Canada and since 2014 he has worked for SmartCentres, where among other things he has started PenguinPickUp and PenguinFresh, two market participants that have acted as a disruptive force in the Canadian market for home delivery of food and parcels.
“I am very pleased that Egil Møller Nielsen has accepted the position and that he will move to Sweden to establish our new Operations & Technology unit. He has in-depth knowledge and valuable insights, in particular regarding how parcels and the e-commerce market work in the Nordic countries and globally,” says PostNord’s President and Group CEO Håkan Ericsson. “In his latest position at SmartCentres, with responsibility for PenguinPickUp and PenguinFresh, Egil created, for example, advanced solutions that utilize the latest technology in big data and machine learning. I am convinced that his experience will be crucial in allowing us to scale up all the initiatives that we have already launched in this area”.
Source : https://www.postnord.com/en/media/press-releases/postnord/2019
China Post to Begin Autonomous Truck Operations in April
March 4, 2019
Autonomous trucks are now working in China. China Post and Deppon Express, two of China’s leading delivery and logistics companies, will begin autonomous package delivery services this April with the first self-driving vehicles to be put into daily commercial use in the country. The delivery trucks will operate on autonomous driving technologies developed by Fabu Technology, an artificial intelligence (AI) company focused on intelligent driving systems.
The autonomous truck deployment comes on the heels of real-world evaluation testing that wrapped up last November. To conduct these tests, Fabu partnered with China Post and Deppon Express to run Level 4 autonomous driving trucks in China’s heavily populated Zhejiang Province. During the testing, self-driving trucks operating on Fabu autonomous
driving technology averaged 40-mile daily round trips along three different routes, with one delivery route passing through 50 intersections, 26 of which were controlled by traffic lights.
The trucks drove both in daylight and at night, and on highways, through tunnels and along residential streets filled with pedestrians, schools and flea markets. Since the self-driving tests were conducted in winter, these Level 4 trucks also had to drive their routes during challenging weather conditions such as rainstorms, snow and fog.
In Level 4 autonomous driving, the car handles the majority of driving situations independently although a human driver can still take control when needed.
In total, during the testing period autonomous trucks operated by Fabu technology successfully drove over 2,200 miles and delivered over 60,000 parcels during China’s peak shopping season, which includes Singles’ Day, Christmas and Chinese New Year.
“We are very excited that Fabu technology is at the heart of the first autonomous delivery trucks in China,” said Xiaofei He, founder and CEO of Fabu. “China Post and Deppon have also been very pleased with the performance of FABU self-driving technology in their trucks and plan on expanding their autonomous delivery services to 100 routes in the near future.”
China Post, the state-owned enterprise that operates the official postal service of mainland China, employs 860,000 employees in over 82,000 post offices and branches. The service operates over 39,000 transport vehicles, which travel over a delivery network with 1,926,250 miles of streets and highways.
Deppon Express is a leading logistics company in China, with operations in Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Deppon Express operates 10,000 retail offices across China’s 34 provinces.
Source: https://www.truckinginfo.com/326433
Pos Indonesia to Enter the E-Commerce Business
March 4,2019
PT Pos Indonesia in the near future will have a "grandson" of the company. The grandson of the company in question is a subsidiary of PT Pos Indonesia, Post Logistics Indonesia, will have a subsidiary that is engaged in supporting the E-Commerce business.
"His name is Pos Indonesia Courier. This is his grandson, PT Pos Indonesia. Later it will be named Pro Kurir," said Rahmat Eka Haryanto, Business Director of PT Pos Logistics Indonesia, while attending the Lubricants Days 2019 Poslog in Sidoarjo, Friday (1/3/2019). Rahmat said, the application supporting the product had been prepared including the operating system. As for infrastructure, PT Pos Indonesia infrastructure will be utilized which has spread throughout the region.
"We have also explored the market, it is only an improvement. In fact, we have collaborated with a number of e-commerce companies such as JD.id, Lazada and Blibli.com. Hopefully this year can be realized," he explained.
Rahmat gave an earlier information, the Pro Courier service product launched will serve the delivery of e-commerce products in one delivery day within a certain distance. "Today sent, today received," he said. He even set a target to become the top 3 e-commerce courier companies under JNE and JNT. "Our target can be the top 3 players in the e-commerce product courier business," explained Rahmat.
https://regional.kompas.com/read/2019/03/04/10541181
UPS Reinforces Commitment To Diverse Customers
March 4, 2019
Announces New VP Of Diverse Segments
UPS (NYSE:UPS) today reaffirmed its long-held commitment to diversity and inclusion by announcing a series of new initiatives aimed at increasing growth opportunities for diverse customer segments around the world. These initiatives include the development of a global effort to help women business owners gain access to world markets, a collaboration with the federal government promoting women’s economic empowerment, and the creation of a new marketing leadership position focused on diversity marketing.
“These initiatives will expand our capabilities within the small and medium-sized business space and leverage our global logistics expertise to help accelerate the growth of minority- and women-owned companies,” said Kevin Warren, UPS chief marketing officer. “Adding additional professional resources and new product and support programs is part of our focus on offering solutions that support small businesses in their goals.”
The newest initiative is a global effort to help women business owners learn about exporting. It’s called the UPS Women Exporters Program. The UPS Foundation is partnering with the International Trade Centre’s SheTrades initiative, which helps to train and connect women entrepreneurs with buyers around the world. For example, through SheTrades Argentina, UPS will work with Argentina’s Department of Economic Development to establish workshops to provide access to markets, knowledge and technical proficiency to women entrepreneurs.
Additionally, UPS has created the role of vice president of marketing, diverse segments. This new position will help UPS advance its global commitment to diversity and inclusion, focusing not only on customers, but vendors, employees and communities as well.
UPS named Kathleen Marran, a 25-year UPS marketing veteran, to fill the post. Her role is to lead UPS’s efforts to deliver growth-oriented solutions to minority- and women-owned businesses around the world.
Marran will bring together the best of UPS, leveraging the company’s intelligence, data, leadership and expertise to help deliver growth-oriented and relatable connections and solutions to minority- and women-owned companies. She will also lead a newly created external advisory panel, which will focus on identifying and advancing opportunities for those businesses.
“Kathleen will bring critical international experience and perspective to this important new role,” Warren continued. “This position will be fundamental to the growth of our business and our people well into the future.”
Source: https://www.pressroom.ups.com/pressroom
NPMHU – RI-399 Update- Monetary Payment Criteria Finalized
March 1, 2019
On June 26, 2018, the NPMHU, the APWU and the United States Postal Service executed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (“Update MOU”) to update the RI-399 Dispute Resolution Procedures that were originally signed in 1992.
With certain exceptions, the MOU effectively withdrew and administratively closed all cross-craft grievances that were pending in the RI- 399 process prior to September 1, 2017. The Update MOU also provides monetary payments to mail handlers and clerks in consideration of the withdrawal of these grievances. The parties have agreed that $14,500,000 will be distributed among mail handlers designated by the NPMHU. The parties also agreed that the APWU represented employees will be similarly compensated.
The NPMHU National Executive Board has approved a detailed criteria to determine which mail handlers will receive payments as well as the amount that each eligible mail handler will receive.
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com
Ottawa appoints new president-CEO of Canada Post
March 1, 2019
The federal government has named Doug Ettinger as the new president and chief executive of Canada Post Corp.
The appointment is effective Monday.
Mr. Ettinger has been chief commercial officer for Canada Post since 2016.
He has led the company’s parcel business as well as a range of the company’s commercial functions, including sales, marketing, retail, digital, business development and customer service.
Deepak Chopra stepped down as chief executive of Canada Post last year.
Board chairwoman Jessica McDonald has been serving as interim president and chief executive since April, 2018.
Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-governmentPOSTAL NEWS
No 20-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Royal Mail Decorating Postboxes To Honour Children's Authors. March 7, 2019.
NZ Post Increase Postal Rate To Future-Proof Its Business. March 6, 2019.
Amazon to Shut All U.S. Pop-Up Stores as It Rethinks Physical Retail Strategy. March 6,2019.
National Apprenticeship Week – training the future workforce – RM HR. March 6 2019.
Austrian Post and Swiss Post commit to 100% electric fleets. March 5, 2019.
Royal Mail Decorating Postboxes To Honour Children's Authors
March 7, 2019
To mark World Book Day, Royal Mail has unveiled four special edition postboxes across the UK honouring some of Britain’s most popular children’s authors.
The postboxes feature quotes from UK writers David Walliams (pictured above), Judith Kerr, C.S. Lewis and Frances Hodgson Burnett. The decorated postboxes will remain in place for a month.
"I am honoured that my books are featured on this special postbox. I am an advocate of letter writing. Letters are so much more meaningful than a text or email." - David Walliams
The announcement follows research carried out by Royal Mail revealing the nation’s enduring love affair with physical books. Over half (56%) of UK adults expressed an intent to read more in 2019, and just one in ten (10%) readers claim to exclusively use e-readers.
And of course, people who buy books online might receive them via Royal Mail or Parcelforce! If the parcel isn’t delivered by an Amazon driver.
This latest promotion follows a Valentine’s Day initiative, featuring four “romantic” postboxes covered with quotes from some of the UK’s best-known romantic poets.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com/blog
NZ Post Increase Postal Rate To Future-Proof Its Business
March 6, 2019
The price of sending a standard letter within New Zealand will increase 10 cents to $1.30 from 1 July 2019, says New Zealand Post.
New Zealand Post General Manager Mail Matt Geor says NZ Post delivers over 400 million mail items a year, but the number of letters sent continues to drop at a significant rate.
“We need to make the price change to help cover the cost of delivering letters and to ensure we can sustain the current postal service for those who are using it,” says Mr Geor.
“New Zealand currently has one of the highest rates of decline in the world, as people choose to communicate more online. Only around one percent of mail sent in New Zealand is made up of personal letters, the rest is business mail.
“We continue to work hard to keep the cost of posting mail as low as possible, by significantly reducing our network costs and making big changes to how we operate. However, with an annual decline of approximately 60 million mail items through our network, we also need to increase the price of postage.
“We acknowledge the significance of these changes for our customers. We want to reassure them we are working very hard to ensure our mail business is fit for the future, and that the changes will not affect our delivery service.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/103199/news
Amazon to Shut All U.S. Pop-Up Stores as It Rethinks Physical Retail Strategy
March 6,2019
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -2.58% is shutting down all 87 of its U.S. pop-up stores, ending the retailer’s years long experiment with these small shops as the company tinkers with an evolving bricks-and-mortar strategy.
“After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program,” an Amazon spokeswoman confirmed to The Wall Street Journal.
The closings are expected by the end of next month, some employees at Amazon pop-up stores said.
These shops typically occupy a few hundred square feet of space and showcase devices like voice-assistant speakers, tablets and Kindle e-readers. They feature staff, dressed casually in black Amazon T-shirts, who encourage passersby to sample the newest
products. Pop-ups are operated in locations ranging from malls and Kohl’s stores to Amazon’s Whole Foods stores in 21 states.
Amazon is expanding its bookstores as well as its so-called 4-star stores, which sell products rated four stars or higher by Amazon customers, “where we provide a more comprehensive customer experience and broader selection,” the spokeswoman said. “We look forward to opening additional locations of both stores this year.”
Products at these stores will include books, toys, games, home and kitchen goods, electronics, and Amazon devices among other items, she said.
The pop-up-store closings come as Amazon takes new steps to offer a wider variety of products in an effort to improve how it interacts with its millions of customers. The company is preparing to roll out a new line of grocery stores and ramp up its Amazon Go cashierless convenience stores in more locations.
Amazon has been experimenting with the pop-up concept since at least 2014, using such stores to educate customers about its Echo and Alexa devices and to allow customers to trade in old Kindles or Fire tablets for credit. Some of the stores have been open only for a few months.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether any Amazon pop-up stores outside the U.S. would be affected.
In recent days, Amazon has begun to notify its employees and partners that it would close the stores by April 29th. It informed pop-up store staff during calls last week, according to employees who were on the calls. Some said they were surprised by the announcement’s timing and weren’t expecting to be out of jobs so soon, especially in light of the newly opened stores.
Amazon told workers they would receive severance pay if they stayed until the end of April, some employees said.
The company said it doesn’t disclose information about employees.
Kohl’s chief executive officer Michelle Gass said in a conference call Tuesday that the department-store chain will move away from “the store-within-a-store concept” and extend its assortment of Amazon-branded products into the rest of the store in over 200 of its locations.
Amazon also assured landlords that its decision to close pop-up stores wasn’t a sign that it is pulling back from its expansion into bricks-and-mortar retail, one landlord said.
“The pop-up stores were designed to ascertain demand, and Amazon can leverage that data for prototypes of other stores,” said Mr. Charles Lanier, director of real estate at Plaza Associates Inc., a private commercial-property landlord that operates Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, N.C., which contains an Amazon pop-up.
Amazon is innovating at a fast pace, he said, adding, “We’re big fans of the brand.”
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles
National Apprenticeship Week – training the future workforce – RM HR
March 6 2019
CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey reports more good news on skill training within Royal Mail Group with the announcement that the company’s HR Services division in Sheffield is set to launch an apprenticeship scheme for around 28 apprentices.
“It’s great to be able to confirm this positive development during National Apprenticeship Week,” said Andy, who explains that this new scheme will be introduced across various specialist areas including pay, pensions, recruitment, Advice Centre, and PSP Support & Learning.
The programme, which is aimed at relatively new employees and succeeds the previously agreed NVQ arrangements, will be run by fully qualified external training providers.
According to the agreed schedule, the apprentices are expected to be in place across the various functions in HR Services by next month.
“Importantly, the approach agreed to the introduction of this apprenticeship scheme is aimed at up-skilling and developing current employees and therefore, crucially the members’ pay and the contractual number of hours of work is fully in line with the Four Pillars Agreement which introduced for these grades a 34-hour net working week from October 2018,” Andy points out.
“This is a positive development and it is good to be able to report this significant progress in our joint work with Royal Mail to invest in developing the skills of our members.”
Source : https://www.cwu.org/news
Austrian Post and Swiss Post commit to 100% electric fleets
March 5,2019
Swiss Post and Austrian Post have announced their commitment to electrifying their delivery fleets by joining the global electric vehicles initiative EV100, which aims to make electric transport ‘the new normal’ by 2030.
EV100 is led by The Climate Group, the international non-profit focused on accelerating climate action. Other new members are Portugal’s EDP and New Zealand’s Meridian Energy.
Together, the four companies will switch 22,000 fossil-fuel vehicles to electric. With two out of three new cars in Europe being sold to the private sector, business commitments to electric vehicles send a clear signal of demand for EVs to auto makers.
The news comes as the global auto industry gathers at the Geneva International Motor Show, where brands like Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Kia are set to exhibit new electric vehicles – but combustion engine models continue to dominate.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, said, “Today’s EV100 announcements show demand for electric vehicles is on the up. With logistics companies operating some of the world’s biggest delivery fleets, these businesses are well placed to accelerate the switch to electric vehicles, tackle climate change and reduce air pollution in cities.
“The EV transition is well underway. To stay competitive, all major companies should start transitioning their fleets now, and auto makers must get on with increasing supply – or else risk losing out on this huge opportunity.”
As the need to tackle climate change becomes ever more urgent and many cities look to address air pollution by introducing low- or zero-emission zones limiting access of polluting vehicles, companies are switching to electric vehicles to lower business risk and future-proof their operations.
Austrian Post is the largest logistics business in Austria. The company already operates the largest electric vehicle fleet in the country and will switch more than 9,000 vehicles to electric as part of EV100. Committing to go fully electric through EV100 will drive innovation and ensure long-term competitive advantage for the business.
Georg Pölzl, CEO, Austrian Post, commented, “Austrian Post has been relying on the deployment of electric vehicles within the context of its CO₂ Neutral Delivery initiative since 2011, making it a trailblazer in green logistics. About 1,600 electric-powered bikes, mopeds, quads and cars are already in use in Austrian Post’s daily business.
“As the country’s leading logistics company, we want to leverage the public’s familiarity with us to show that e-mobility works well in our regular operations and is also profitable. Our joining the EV100 initiative and the objective of having 100% e-vehicles on the last mile by the year 2030 comprise a logistical step on our journey toward CO₂-free and pollution-free logistics.”
Post CH Ltd (a subsidiary of Swiss Post Ltd) will switch more than 10,000 vehicles to electric under EV100. To accelerate climate action and to reach carbon neutral delivery, Post CH sees investing in a modern fleet of vehicles with energy-efficient, alternative drive systems and a well-designed logistics strategy as key.
Post CH has already electrified its mail delivery fleet consisting of 6,000 electric three-wheeled vehicles and now wants to switch 4,600 delivery vans (up to 3.5 tonne) and 180 service vehicles to EVs by 2030, if market supply and operating and real estate conditions
allow. All of Post CH electric vehicles are 100% powered by ‘naturemade star’ – certified renewable energy from Switzerland. Furthermore, Post CH supports the uptake of electric vehicles by its staff by installing charging infrastructure at its largest sites.
Marco Reber, CEO of Post Company Cars Ltd, fleet management company for Post CH Ltd, said, “We have the largest fleet of electric three-wheeled scooters of its kind in Europe in use for mail delivery in Switzerland, running on green electricity produced in Switzerland.
“We are acting today for tomorrow by increasing the use of energy-efficient electric vehicles for parcel deliveries and service trips in order to further reduce CO₂ emissions and to save on operational costs. For the many stop-and-gos in delivery, to improve air quality and to reduce noise, EVs are the most optimal drive concept. Furthermore, we support the uptake of electric vehicles by our staff.”
With these and other commitments from a growing number of international businesses such as Deutsche Post DHL and LeasePlan, The Climate Group is seeing the electrification of more than two million vehicles by 2030 through its EV100 initiative.
A recent report from The Climate Group on the impact of the EV100 initiative so far revealed that cutting air pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating financial savings are among the top drivers for business switch to EVs.
Source: https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/sustainabilityPOSTAL NEWS
No 21-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Petition for the maintenance of subsidized holidays.
March 12, 2019.
DHL Start-up Helpdesk supports successful launch of Japanese online shop ZOZO in Germany. March 11, 2019.
Converting Phone Booths Into Parcel Lockers.
March 8, 2019.
Parcel Carriers Slashed 9,700 Jobs in February. March 8, 2019.
Posti Group divests Opus Capita Solutions to Providence Equity. March 8, 2019.
Chunghwa Post has NT$1m pool in big data competition. March 8, 2019.
Petition for the maintenance of subsidized holidays
March 12, 2019
The bill on subsidized leave seriously undermines the legitimate and fundamental rights of civil servants from overseas departments who live and work in France. Under the pretext of leaving more often and less long in the departments of origin. In fact, this reform only aims to abolish the cost of living allowance and to call into question the rights of overseas nationals.
Far away from their relatives, their culture, their centers of interest and all that is dear to them, the people cannot consent to new sacrifices and the questioning of their social achievements. These changes will only impoverish and penalize public servants. The proposed reform will have adverse economic consequences for the territories concerned. For these reasons, FO demands the abandonment of this unfair bill.
In order to support the action of FO, you are invited to complete the online petition, which will be attached to a letter addressed to the Deputy and the Deputy.
As a reminder, FO does not accept such reconsiderations of subsidized holidays, on the contrary, FO requires the extension of these assets to employees. For all these reasons, do not hesitate, sign!
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr
DHL Start-up Helpdesk supports successful launch of Japanese online shop ZOZO in Germany
March 11, 2019
DHL Global Forwarding's Start-up Helpdesk in Berlin is currently supporting Japanese e-tailer ZOZO with its market launch in Germany. With ZOZO already selling its custom-fitted apparel in over 70 countries, consumers in Germany can now also use the ZOZO app to have individualized t-shirts, shirts and pants delivered to their home. DHL's tailored supply chain solution for ZOZO includes transport by rail, air and ocean freight from China to Germany, customs clearance services, as well as the last mile delivery to customers via DHL Parcel and Deutsche Post.
For ZOZO customers, it all begins with free delivery of the ultra-thin ZOZOSUIT via DHL parcel for customers in Germany or Deutsche Post's new international commodity mail service (Warenpost International) for European customers. A tight-fitting black bodysuit featuring some 350 electronic measurement points, the ZOZOSUIT combines with the special ZOZO-APP to create a 3D-rendering of the body via the customer's smartphone, which ZOZO then uses to produce perfectly fitting clothes. Thousands of ZOZOSUITS are sent every month through Europe's postal network.
Currently, ZOZO produces its custom-made apparel in China. Deutsche Post DHL Group's air and ocean freight specialist DHL Global Forwarding handles transport from ZOZO's production facilities in Wuxi, Lianyungang and Qingdao to Germany, along with customs clearance. As part of its service, DHL applied for a deferment account so that ZOZO can avoid paying import sales tax directly (19% of the merchandise value) and manage cash flow more effectively. Shipments are then delivered to ZOZO's customer warehouse in Ludwigsfelde, Germany.
Additional ZOZO shipments originate in Shenzhen, where ZOZO's fulfillment partner packs and labels the DHL packages and bundles them for weekly air freight delivery to Frankfurt. After clearing customs, these are then delivered by truck to DHL's parcel center in Obertshausen. From there, DHL Parcel takes over to handle domestic and international deliveries directly to end customers.
"By combining the customized logistics solutions offered by both DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Parcel, we were able to create a secure and trouble-free supply chain for ZOZO," explains Nicolai Rehberg from the
DHL Start-up Helpdesk. "Starting in March, Deutsche Post's new international commodity mail service (Warenpost International) will be used for delivering the ZOZOSUITS".
DHL's solution also takes advantage of the Belt & Road Initiative. Late in 2018, DHL rail service brought the first containers from Nantong to Germany via the new Silk Road. With a transit time of approximately 20 days, the rail connection offers a good alternative to ocean freight - especially in terms of transition time.
"We are very pleased to be partnering with DHL," says Susanne Burger, Managing Director of ZOZO Germany GmbH. "It's great having such a reliable partner at our side to help spread the #zozorevolution."
Source : https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/press-releases/2019
Converting Phone Booths Into Parcel Lockers
March 8, 2019
Old phone booths are being converted into parcel locker installations in Vienna.
The A1 Paket Station project is a collaboration between telecommunications company A1, online marketplace Shpock, and Austrian Post.
Austrian Post can deliver parcels to the parcel lockers.
The lockers also operate as an open network - members of the public can use the lockers to drop off and pick up items.
For members of the public, access is via an app, and locker access costs from 1 Euro to 4 Euros for 24 hours, depending on the size of the item.
The person who lodges the item in the A1 Paket Station pays the fee. Collection is free.
The lockers, which have 12 doors, can be accessed 24 hours a day.
As phone booth usage drops, it makes sense to convert the real estate into something customer-focused that may even generate revenue for the telecom operator.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com/blog
Parcel Carriers Slashed 9,700 Jobs in February
March 8, 2019
Hiring at parcel-delivery firms plummeted in February as job growth slowed sharply across the broader U.S. economy, even as payrolls expanded in other logistics sectors.
Courier and messenger companies, made up mostly of the companies that deliver packages to homes and businesses, cut 9,700 jobs last month, according to preliminary, seasonally-adjusted figures the Labor Department released Friday. Warehouse operators and trucking companies added a combined 4,800 jobs from January to February.
The slide in parcel hiring was the steepest drop since January 2017 in a sector that includesUnited Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. Package carriers have added 53,100 jobs over the past 12 months, including 14,500 in January, as e-commerce growth led to more delivery demand.
“This was not a great month for couriers and messengers,” said Martha Gimbel, director of economic research at jobs website Indeed.com’s hiring lab.
Delivery-firm wages also have slipped, counter to the broader national trend. The average hourly wage in the courier and messenger sector was about $21 in January, the most recent data available by sector, compared with $22 a year earlier, Ms. Gimbel said.
The 2018 labor agreement between UPS and unionized workers in its main package division “should lower the effective hourly rate of marginal labor,” Bernstein Research analyst David Vernon wrote in a Friday research note.
Ms. Gimbel noted courier and messenger payrolls have grown by 8% in a year and that movements in hiring in specific industry sectors can be volatile from time to time.
“In the long view, growth has been quite strong,” Ms. Gimbel said. “One month should not cause people to panic, particularly when it was a month that was slow all around.”
Overall the U.S. economy added 20,000 jobs in February, far fewer than economists had expected. Goods-producing industries slashed payrolls by 32,000 jobs, potentially a signal of weaker output that would reduce demand for transportation and logistics services.
Construction payrolls shrank by 31,000, and retailers cut 6,100 positions. Manufacturing added 4,000 jobs, down from 21,000 in January, and factory output softened as cold weather in the Midwest caused transportation disruptions and closed factories.
Warehouse operators added 3,900 jobs last month, nearly a third of January’s postholiday hiring surge.
“There’s a real shortage of labor,” Hamid Moghadam, chief executive of industrial real estate giant Prologis Inc., said in an interview this week. The world’s largest owner of warehouses and distribution centers, the company is working with local workforce programs in Southern California and elsewhere to train high-school students for logistics jobs.
Distribution and storage companies are raising pay and other benefits as they compete with Amazon.com Inc. and others for staff while unemployment is hovering around its lowest in decades.
Trucking companies hired 900 workers in February, the 10th straight month of growth as carriers coming off one of the strongest freight markets in years continue adding capacity. Fleets ordered new trucks at a record clip last year, and have been raising pay to boost hiring.
Long-distance truckload employment added about 13,000 workers last year, “nearly double the number added in 2017, helped partly by a 4% increase in average hourly wages,” KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Todd Fowler wrote in a Thursday research note. “In our view, industry employment trends are contributing to reduced driver attrition, further supporting incremental capacity near term.”
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles
Posti Group divests Opus Capita Solutions to Providence Equity
March 8, 2019
Posti Group Corporation has agreed to sell Opus Capita Solutions Oy, its fully owned subsidiary, to a fund managed by Providence Equity Partners L.L.C (Providence). Providence is a premier global asset management firm with over $40 billion in aggregate capital commitments. The divestment is in line with Posti Group’s strategy to focus on Postal, Parcel & E-commerce and Logistics services. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction price.
Opus Capita Solutions is one of the leading providers of digital solutions and transaction processing for source-to-pay, cash management, and product information management. Opus Capita is headquartered in Finland with 8 offices in Europe and the United States, and has 350 employees and 3,000 customers globally. The change in ownership comes as the next natural step for Opus Capita Solutions and is planned to enable stronger investment in product competitiveness and global growth in the future.
The agreement was signed on March 8, 2019. Closing of the transaction is subject to approval by Germany´s Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), which is expected to be received in due course. The completion of the transaction will be disclosed separately.
Employees of Opus Capita Solutions will continue with current terms and conditions. The change does not affect customer relations and will not require any actions from Opus Capita’s customers.
In 2018, Opus Capita Solutions´s net sales accounted for about 4 percent of Posti Group´s net sales. Opus Capita Solutions is reported as a separate segment in Posti Group`s financial reporting and it will be excluded from reporting after the transaction has been completed.
Posti, as the leading Postal, Parcel & E-commerce and Logistics company in Finland will focus on its core
“Posti Group’s strategy is to accelerate the company’s transformation and renewal by focusing on its core businesses in postal, parcel & e-commerce, and logistics. We will continue to take advantage of digital communications in our business. For us, the new technology and automation will provide greater efficiency and help us maintain high quality. Finding a new owner for Opus Capita Solutions, with deep technological knowledge of transaction platforms and a global presence, is expected to support Opus Capita Solution’s plans to accelerate growth within the digitalization trend of CFO and CPO offices. Opus Capita Solutions is already an international forerunner in modern technology solutions for the Buyer-Supplier Ecosystem”, said Heikki Malinen, President & CEO of Posti Group.
The new ownership is expected to provide new opportunities to serve customers better
“This change comes as the next natural step in OpusCapita Solutions’ evolution. Over the past three years, we have divested non-core activities in order to focus our business on digitalizing and automating our customers’ finance and procurement processes. New ownership will allow Opus Capita Solutions to increase investments into key strategic initiatives while benefiting from Providence Equity’s insight and experience in driving
global growth. We are confident that this ownership structure will allow Opus Capita Solutions to become a trusted partner for our customers on their digital transformation journey”, said Patrik Sallner, CEO, Opus Capita Solutions.
Opus Capita Solutions marks the first growth stage software investment for Providence in Europe as it brings its proven investment strategy in growth stage software companies to a new geography. Providence has been investing in Europe for over two decades.
Providence’s expertise, capabilities and track record of building profitable and high-growth software businesses, are well-suited for Opus Capita Solutions, whose attractive market position and strong management team are key characteristics consistent with Providence’s successful software investments to date.
“Providence is excited to be partnering with the Opus Capita Solutions team in their next chapter of delivering customers robust source-to-pay and cash management solutions. We believe our new partnership will enable various investments in product development and customer facing functions that will further enhance the overall customer experience, enabling organizations to sell, buy and pay more efficiently. Furthermore, we are excited to support Opus Capita Solutions in its endeavors to have customers stay ahead of procurement trends as digital and automated transaction capability become a critical element of any business network,” said Gopi Vaddi, Managing Director at Providence.
Source : https://www.posti.com/en/media/financial-releases/2019
Chunghwa Post has NT$1m pool in big data competition
March 8, 2019
Chunghwa Post is offering NT$1 million (US$32,395) in total prize money in a competition that asks entrants to create a service people can use to access data it collects.
The company is speeding up the provision of smart logistics services, said Liu Shi-biao (劉錫標), director of Chunghwa Post’s training institute.
In addition to “iPostboxes” — its unstaffed postal service terminals — staff use personal digital assistants to collect signatures when confirming receipt of registered mail, Liu said, adding that it is also implementing a six-digit postal code system to facilitate delivery services.
Data the company collected last year would be released for the competition, including tallies of registered mail, express mail and packages, as well as delivery routes and time required for delivery, Liu said.
Chunghwa Post vice president Chou Rei-chi (周瑞祺) said that the company has collected a massive and diverse database, which would be useful when processed.
It received and delivered more than 300 million pieces of registered mail, 12 million pieces of express mail and 25 million packages last year, Chou said.
“Mining this big data could turn out to be a gold mine,” he said.
The competition would be conducted in three stages: preliminary, semi-finals and final, the company said, adding that teams of two to four people, with at least half being undergraduate or graduate students, can enter.
The teams can have one professor as an adviser and teams must develop topics and analyze the data themselves, it said.
Microsoft Taiwan and Systex Software have provided an operating platform and would arrange experts to advise teams, it said.
The top team is to receive NT$300,000, the company said, adding that 70 teams had registered.
Chunghwa Post said it would also make data collected from savings and insurance services available next year, while e-commerce and retail service data would be made public in 2021.
Source : http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2019
POSTAL NEWS
No 20-2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Australia Post divests shareholding in Aramex. March 13,2019.
The Delivery Group opens US$2.6m hub in Kent. March 12, 2019.
Deutsche Post DHL Group and Austrian Post enter into
a long-term partnership to accelerate parcel business.
March 12, 2019.
Canada Post’s role in helping law enforcement fight opioids. March 11, 2019.
Management and APWU Exchange Final Economic Proposals. March 8, 2019.
Australia Post divests shareholding in Aramex
March 13,2019
Australia Post has divested its 10.06% shareholding in Aramex PJSC (Aramex), a company listed on the Dubai Financial Market.
As announced in our 2017-18 Annual Report, Australia Post made a decision to divest its Aramex shareholding following a review of its international strategy, completed during 2018.
Australia Post's international growth strategy will continue to be supported by its wholly-owned business, Australia Post Global eCommerce Solutions (APG eCommerce Solutions), which has an established presence in key global eCommerce trade lanes, including Asia, the UK, Europe and the US.
This business brings together the best of both postal and commercial solutions with a comprehensive suite of B2C cross-border shipping services and complements Australia Post’s joint venture with China Post, Sai Cheong Logistics.
Source : https://newsroom.auspost.com.au/article
The Delivery Group opens US$2.6m hub in Kent
March 12, 2019
E-commerce and specialist mail services firm The Delivery Group has opened a new £2m (US$2.6m) mail processing hub in Aylesford, Kent, this week (March 11).
The new premises will enable The Delivery Group to support the rapidly growing delivery demand from e-commerce clients based outside London, and the Kent location has been specifically chosen for its proximity to prime motorway (freeway) links to the company’s main suppliers.
The site comprises a 25,000ft² (2,300m²) warehouse and office space, which has been purpose-built by the company. The new hub will host over 50 staff and will process over 100,000 packages each month.
Steve Stokes, CEO, The Delivery Group, commented, “This is an exciting time of growth for the company and this investment outlines our determination to offer exceptional value and service to clients throughout the UK.
“We move 1.6 million items a month of tracked and untracked mail and parcels both domestically and internationally. The new Kent hub complements our existing sites in Warrington, Luton and Central London and enables us to effortlessly handle the growing volume of parcels and packages that we are processing on behalf of the UK’s rapidly expanding e-commerce marketplace.”
The site was officially opened with the unveiling of a plaque by the mayor of Tonbridge and Malling, councillor Pam Bates, on March 11.
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/logistics
Deutsche Post DHL Group and Austrian Post enter into a long-term partnership to accelerate parcel business
March 12, 2019
Customers will benefit from high-quality parcel delivery services, including short delivery times for shipments.
Deutsche Post DHL Group, the world's leading provider of mail and logistics services, has entered into a long-term partnership with Austrian Post. Under the agreement, Austrian Post will deliver parcels sent by DHL customers to Austria. The agreement is still subject to review by the German and Austrian competition authorities. Once the partnership has been approved, the collaboration is expected to launch in 2019.
Customers will benefit from high-quality parcel delivery services, including short delivery times for shipments. The collaboration will thus allow both parties to create further profitable growth and jointly tap the potential of the growing cross-border e-commerce business.
"The expansion of our parcel business in Europe is proceeding successfully. This has culminated in a very attractive agreement which enables us and Austrian Post to strengthen and accelerate our growth in Austria and beyond. We will be exploring additional collaboration opportunities with Austrian Post in the future as we continue to focus on developing our international e-commerce business as a key growth driver for our Group," said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group. "The agreement is a
further step towards improving our quality and productivity in the European parcel business."
"We are delighted to have Deutsche Post DHL Group as our partner. Our nationwide delivery throughout Austria stands for quality and reliability," said Georg Pölzl, CEO of Austrian Post. "Pick-up stations, self-service zones, reception boxes and the features of our app are unique and are very well received by our customers."
This agreement has no impact on Deutsche Post DHL Group's business activities in international express, freight transport and supply chain solutions in Austria.
Source : https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/press-releases/2019
Canada Post’s role in helping law enforcement fight opioids
March 11, 2019
The growing and devastating toll that illicit opioid use is taking on Canadians and communities is shocking. No responsible person or organization wants anything to do with the distribution of these deadly substances.
With nearly 300 million parcels moving through Canada Post’s network in a year, it is arguably predictable that some criminals use the postal service to ship these illicit drugs. This has Canada Post concerned about the risks to the health and well-being of its employees, and to the Canadians we serve. Beyond our moral and legal duties to keep employees safe and to prevent illegal use of the mail, our employees work in neighbourhoods where opioid use is widespread. They see some of its impact on Canadian streets. They care – and so do we.
Canada Post has not opposed any legislative changes suggested by law enforcement. In fact, we are open to ideas that legislators and policy-makers believe could better protect Canadians and our employees.
Until such time legislation or regulations change, our highly trained postal inspectors will continue to cooperate and collaborate fully with all law enforcement and government agencies to intercept and remove illicit drugs from the mail. Postal inspectors have the authority to inspect mail, and if illegal drugs are found, they are removed from the postal system and turned over to law enforcement.
Our collaboration with law enforcement occurs in several ways, including coordinated inspections, joint investigations, enhanced real-time security intelligence, and
collaborating with them to execute search warrants for items that have been posted. In addition, we have several security, screening and safety protocols in place to help us identify suspicious items. As a precaution, we have also made naloxone kits available at our processing facilities, and we work with Health Canada and our Joint Health and Safety Committee to ensure our approach is effective.
We believe that through increased collaboration, enhanced intelligence sharing, joint training and awareness, and better coordinated joint investigations, we would all be in a better position to combat the public health threat that opioids are.
Source : https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements
Management and APWU Exchange Final Economic Proposals
March 8, 2019
On March 7, 2019, the APWU and United States Postal Service negotiators exchanged their final economic proposals as both sides continue their preparation for interest arbitration.
The APWU put forward proposals that reward postal workers for our hard work. The Union’s proposals include:
Solid annual pay raises,
Two COLA increases every year,
Adding top Steps to the lower career pay scale,
Reduction of the non-career workforce and increasing the career workforce,
Automatic PSE conversion to career after a set time of service,
Increased company contributions to health insurance premiums,
Raising the pay of PSEs.
The union had previously presented many proposals and continues to fight for these demands: work hour guarantees for PTFs; guaranteed weekly day off for PTFs and PSEs; elimination of all subcontracting, including continuation of moratorium of subcontracting of any existing MVS/PVS work; moratorium on plant closings; addressing the hostile work environment, including sexual harassment; elimination of management performing bargaining unit work in level 18 offices; and no mandatory overtime.
USPS economic proposals are nothing short of draconian and regressive. Their proposals include:
No increase in pay rates – a freeze for current employees:
One lump sum payment in lieu of the usual annual pay raise;
Lump sum payments in lieu of COLAs.
Decreasing the career workforce:
Increasing the percentage of non-career employees to 25% in the clerk craft;
Reintroduction of 10% PSEs into the maintenance workforce undoing the all-career maintenance craft;
Reintroduction of 10% PSEs into the MVS Craft.
Pay and benefits substantially cut for all future conversion to career and future hires:
A converted PSE would take a pay cut of almost $1.00 per hour and work into year three before getting back to the PSE rate.
Current career employees with less than six years seniority must work 15 years to gain “no lay-off” protection.
Elimination of no lay-off provision for all future workers.
USPS management also had made numerous regressive proposals including: Universal PSE Clerk with no restrictions on working the window, PSEs allowed to work in Level 18 offices and then replace career jobs; replace career PTFs with non-career PSEs; eliminate the 50-mile limit on excessing employees; subcontract custodial work under conditions of unforeseen long-term absences; eliminate penalty pay; eliminate all existing Local Memos; eliminate any on-the-clock steward union time to represent employees.
Chief Spokesperson for the APWU, Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman, told the Postal Service negotiators “This is blatant disrespect for postal workers. They provide a valuable service to their country. This is not even close to respecting the value of the service we give. I could go on and on but I will just say I find this insulting.”
President Mark Dimondstein said, “There are clearly two sides in this fight and the battle lines have been drawn in our efforts to obtain a contract that honors and respects postal workers. The USPS proposals reek of contempt for the workforce. APWU members will fight for what we deserve in the interest arbitration process as we continue ‘Fighting Today for a Better Tomorrow.’”
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnews