“Forward ever, backward never: onwards with Breaking Through”

POSTAL NEWS
No 55-2020

Formulated by UNI AproPost and Logistics Sector

1.  Parcel lockers and the service station of the future.

July 09, 2020.

 

2.  Two iconic brands join forces for electric delivery trial.
July 08, 2020.

 

4.  UPS opens new DC in Slovenia to facilitate e-commerce growth. July 06, 2020.

 

5.  Australia Post invests $25m in new Adelaide parcel facility to meet online shopping boom. July 05, 2020.

 

1. Parcel lockers and the service station of the future

July 09, 2020

Finnish postal operator Posti has unveiled a new OmaPosti kiosk as part of a low-emission service station.

The service station, featuring the new self-serve kiosk, is in the Tuusula Housing Fair 2020 area. The futuristic service station also features a self-service deli, fuel pumps for renewable diesel, and fast charging for electric vehicles.

In early autumn, biogas and natural gas filling points will also be opened at the station.
From the OmaPosti self-service kiosk, customers can pick up, return and send domestic and international packages and registered letters. It will be open seven days a week, 7am to 10pm, and features 163 locker doors. The service point complements South Tuusula’s existing postal services. Personal video chat support is also available when necessary.
“The growth in e-commerce and parcel volumes has been enormous during the past spring. To support the growth, we need to offer our customers flexible service options close to their everyday routes. This will also reduce emissions from deliveries.” – Heiko Laubach , Director of Posti's service point network .

This is Posti’s eighth OmaPosti kiosk.

The energy used by the service station comes from solar panels installed on the deli roof, as well as electricity generated by wind power and hydroelectric power.

“Posts and carriers need to look at how to gain more synergy and efficiency in the last mile. Moves like this one from Posti are a step in the right direction.” - Marek Różycki, Last Mile Experts and co-host of Last Mile Prophets

 

 

2.  Two iconic brands join forces for electric delivery trial

July 08, 2020 
Royal Mail is partnering with London Electric Vehicle Company to trial its new VN5 prototype electric van – based on a typical London taxi cab – for parcel and letter deliveries later this month. The trial is an example of the Company’s efforts to continue to reduce emissions associated with its operations.

The 2.9 tonne small van is a durable vehicle which is designed to operate at lengthy distances on a stop and start basis, comparable to a typical postal round. Fully chargeable at the local delivery office, the van is designed to help postmen and women deliver letters and parcels securely, whilst reducing associated emissions.

One van will be trialled on delivery rounds in largely urban areas over the next six months, including locations in Derby, Leeds, Edinburgh and Bristol. The trial begins this week in Hockley, near Birmingham.

The prototype van forms part of Royal Mail’s program of low or zero emission vehicle trials. They are an example of the Company’s efforts to continue to reduce emissions associated with its operations, and to test the suitability of alternative vehicles and fuels.

The Van
The TX conversion is able to accommodate letters, cards and parcels of all sizes, and is designed for use on roads and highways. Deliveries during the trial will operate as part of a usual delivery pattern on suitable routes.

If introduced more widely, the cabs will complement the Company’s pre-existing fleet of 295 electric vans. The cab’s range extender would enable emission-free deliveries to more remote locations, and on longer routes than a typical electric van.

London Electric Vehicle Company is trialling the TX-based prototype vehicle with 25 company partners across various sectors, ahead of the official launch of its new VN5 electric van later this year.

Paul Gatti, Fleet Director at Royal Mail said: “As a Company, we are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact, whilst ensuring we continue to meet customer expectations. Alongside the introduction of electric vans in locations across our business, this trial is part of a programme of initiatives that allow us to experiment with ways to achieve this, whilst enabling us to continue to deliver letters and parcels safely, efficiently and responsibly.”

Joerg Hofmann, LEVC CEO, commented: “Royal Mail is one of the oldest postal services in the world and, like our London black cab, is part of British history and culture. It is great that these two iconic brands are joining forces for this trial. The VN5 prototypes will wear the iconic Royal Mail red livery and be used on routes that will test the vehicles ability to the full. These trials are crucial to the final development of the van, ahead of its launch later this year.”



3.  FO alongside postal workers to ensure the accommodation of their children

Because the costs of studying for children are difficult to finance from the family budget, FO works to develop solutions to help postal workers find accommodation for their student children.

Thanks to the action of FO, the offer is expanding. Four solutions now exist: “Studéa” residences, “Sergic Twenty Campus” residences, student accommodation in the Cachan home, student accommodation in Créteil.

Good to know ! The Housing Service of La Poste also makes some heritage accommodation in Ile-de-France available to the children of postal workers. Priority is given to Domiens children.

FO is working quickly to develop a wider range of offers and services intended for "older children", students or high school students, in order to promote Equal Opportunities!

 

Source :http://www.focom-laposte.fr/

 


4.  UPS opens new DC in Slovenia to facilitate e-commerce growth

July 06, 2020

UPS has opened a new distribution centre in Slovenia to serve the country’s burgeoning ecommerce market.
The new distribution centreis located inZgornjiBrnjk, near Ljubljana Business Center, and is sized at nearly 1400 square metres with a sorting capacity of 2500 packages per hour.
Sitting at a crossroads of different European trade routes, the site is intended to help Slovenian businesses expand their reach outside of the country to neighbouring countries such as Austria and Italy.

UPS has operated in the country since 1991 and has a fleet of 110 delivery vehicles in the country. The carrier is investing $2 billion in Europe over multiple years with the goal of modernising and expanding its network across the continent.

A bulletin from statistics agency Eurostat in March said that ecommerce sales had risen 11% in Slovenia in January year-on-year.

Yannick Moojiman, managing director for UPS Slovenia, Hungary, Greece and Romania. “As the global economy continues to shift, this facility gives our customers the best possible resources to meet the future logistics challenges of the ‘new normal’.”

 

 

5.  Australia Post invests $25m in new Adelaide parcel facility to meet online shopping boom

July 05, 2020

Australia Post is investing $25 million in a brand new parcel facility in Adelaide - to meet the demand for parcels boosted by the unprecedented growth in online shopping in the state.

This will be the company’s biggest operational investment in South Australia ever.
The new site will consolidate operations currently carried out across multiple sites into one state-of-the-art facility, featuring automated parcel processing for the first time ever in the state, significantly boosting parcel processing capacity and improving service standards for residents in South Australia.

Australia Post Group Chief Executive Officer and Manager Director Christine Holgate said South Australians are shopping online more than ever before, with this investment part of Australia Post’s ongoing efforts to keep up with demand, particularly in growing areas such as Adelaide.

“It is no secret Australians love shopping online, spending over $4.4 billion in April this year alone, and South Australians love it more than most with a huge jump in online purchases during COVID-19,” Ms Holgate said.

“More than 14,000 South Australian households shopped online for the first time in April, with Adelaide’s postcode alone ranked third nationally by percentage of new online shoppers. This drove the state’s overall online shopping growth figure for the month to an incredible 86 per cent up on last year.

“I am so thrilled to be making this investment as it will be the first time we have introduced any parcels automation in South Australia so it truly will future-proof our operations.

“The facility will be critical in helping us to stay ahead of the continued growth in parcels, enabling us to get parcels from merchants and to our customer faster,” Ms Holgate continued.

The new facility is not just great news for online shoppers, it will also improve safety and efficiency, and create 50 new, important local jobs while preserving current roles.

“The health and safety of our people is our priority and this new site will feature high-speed sorting machinery and other automation, significantly reducing manual handling and the associated risk of injury to our people,” she added.

“Through the transition we will be bringing our teams together under one roof, maintaining current roles wle also creating new opportunities for our people to move into new positions within the growth area of our businhiess.”

According to Australia Post’s 2020 Inside Australian Online Shopping Report, South Australians are big buyers of fashion, health and beauty and home and garden products with growth in the state across the three categories up 19.2 percent, 12.6 percent and 11.9 per cent YOY respectively in 2019.

Preparations for the new Adelaide parcels facility are already underway with the site due to become operational in 2021.

Source : https://newsroom.auspost.com.au/article

POSTAL NEWS
No 56-2020

Formulated by UNI AproPost and Logistics Sector

1.   Correos and the Government of Castilla-La Mancha sign a framework agreement to implement services in rural areas.

July 09, 2020.

2.   bpost looks to lower delivery emissions. July 09, 2020.

 

3.   PHLPost warns public of online scam.July 07, 2020.

 

4.   China’s e-commerce logistics business increased steadily
in June.July 06, 2020. 

5.   Royal Mail Group/CWU dog awareness week 2020.

July 06, 2020.


1.  Correos and the Government of Castilla-La Mancha sign a framework agreement to implement services in rural areas

July 09, 2020
The agreement entails that administrative procedures can be carried out in the offices that the Post Office has to avoid that residents in small municipalities have to move. In addition, it establishes the commercialization of local products that are accredited by the quality figures of the region, to through the market place 'Correos Market'

 

The President of Correos, Juan Manuel Serrano and the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, have signed, today, the framework collaboration agreement between the public company and the regional Executive with which it seeks to implement services in the environment rural guaranteeing access to basic public services to the rural population under the same conditions as other people who live in cities.

With this agreement, Correos demonstrates its commitment to the defense of the rural environment and to the development and progress of all citizens, which is why it works to make life easier for them and promote their well-being, according to the president of the public company, who puts its network of post offices spread throughout the territory for this purpose. "In Castilla La Mancha we have 146 offices that will facilitate administrative procedures for the Castilian-Manchego", he indicated.

It is, as the regional vice president, José Luis Martínez Guijarro, assured, to take advantage of the penetration that Correos has as a public company due to its obligation to provide the postal service to any citizen in any corner, which makes it a “strategic ally "

In this sense, the initialed agreement will make it possible to carry out administrative procedures in the offices that the Post Office has in the autonomous territory. "We are talking," said the vice president of the Castilian-Manchego government, "to bring the regional Administration even closer, taking advantage of the network of offices, so that citizens can initiate common procedures that range from the renewal of an unemployment card and the health card or the application of a fishing or hunting card ”along with the possibility of including the processing of aid from the CAP“ or an office where citizens can simply pay the fees ”.

Another of the pillars of the framework agreement involves the promotion of products located in the territory, since it is established that, through the online platform it has - the 'Correos Market' market place - it is possible to market local products that they are accredited by the quality figures of the region such as Designations of Origin, Protected Geographical Indications and ecological, with which the Post Office can serve as the best way to bring these products to any point on the planet.

This measure is intended to encourage employment in the rural world and promote the circular economy, natural and ecological production, as well as agrotourism as basic activities in the rural economy.

Finally, as the vice president has pointed out, the text that has been signed today also establishes collaboration in the field of tourism and culture with the installation of stands for the sale of books in the post offices of those municipalities where there are no bookstores, as well as the implementation of mechanisms that allow access to the resources of public libraries in the region.

The development of this agreement will be carried out through specific agreements signed as addenda, and will give rise to concrete collaborations that include the possibility of offering other services to citizens who live in small municipalities. Such is the case of the possibility of installing ATMs in the Post Offices themselves, returning this service that has been disappearing in recent years in rural areas.

The President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, thanked in his speech the "spectacular work and stuck to the ground" of Correos, responsible for the free distribution of five million masks in full alarm, decreed because of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus. Correos has been "the only entity that was in a position to allow us to distribute free, because they have not charged us, five million masks that have reached 96 percent of the region," he stressed.

 

 

2.  bpost looks to lower delivery emissions

July 09, 2020

Belgian postal organization bpost has launched a pilot project in the city of Mechelen to attempt emissions-free delivery of letters and parcels throughout the city. The group says that the collaboration will last two years and looks to develop a blueprint for the introduction of sustainable delivery solutions in a phased manner.

It is hoped that the foundation of its scheme will be an increase in its network of parcel lockers, meaning the population of Mechelenhas to collect their parcels on foot or by bike.

Further to expanding its network of lockers, the postal service is also looking at investment in electric vehicles and cargo carrying bicycles.

Jean-Paul Van Avermaet, CEO of bpost group explained, “As a company, we want to take the lead in sustainable e-commerce. Thanks to this partnership with the city of Mechelen, we are taking a step in the right direction and the people of Mechelen can count on a growing network of services that complement and strengthen each other perfectly. We naturally hope that this can also serve as inspiration for many other cities and we will have discussions with interested parties in the coming months.”

 

 

3.  PHLPost warns public of online scam

July 07, 2020

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) reminded the public to be cautious in disclosing personal information online especially those messages confirming of an alleged shipment of parcels using the name of the postal service.

According to PHLPost, the online scam is sent through messages via a fictitious website www.parceltrackandtracing.com confirming of an alleged shipment of electronic gadget (Apple iPhone 11) which is ready for delivery using the name of “PHLPost” in the messages.

PHLPost noted that they have received multiple inquiries and complaints involving these online messages received from the said website.

It states that an alleged shipment of the said item shall be ready for delivery by PHLPost upon confirming of shipping details on the web link provided and directing them to pay PhpP19.00 as shipping fee.

The postal service urges the public to disregard the said website informing the receiver that he/she has pending parcel containing a mobile device sponsored or coming from PHLPost.

PHLPost disclosed that the messages and notifications did not come from any of their office and that certain packages that were allegedly sent do not exist.

PHLPost clarified that none of their branches and partners nationwide have current online promos.





4.  China’s e-commerce logistics business increased steadily in June

July 06, 2020 

China’s e-commerce logistics activities expanded in June according to a survey conducted by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing and the e-commerce giant JD.comreports Xinhua.

The index tracking e-commerce logistics activities rose to 108.2 points in June from 107.5 points in May, the survey showed.

The total demand for e-commerce logistics rose in June after falling for two consecutive months, the survey said, attributing the increase to a mid-year online shopping bonanza initiated by Chinese e-commerce platforms. The sub-index tracking the total business volume registered 122.1 points, up 2.2 points from the previous month.

The survey showed demand for e-commerce in rural areas continued to rise for the fourth consecutive month. The sub-index tracking e-commerce logistics in rural areas reached 118.4 points, up 1.9 points from the previous month.

 

Source : https://postandparcel.info/123665/news/e-commerce

 

 

5.  Royal Mail Group/CWU dog awareness week 2020

July 06, 2020

With an average of seven dog attacks on our members taking place every day, the CWU and Royal Mail are highlighting the responsibility of owners to ensure their dogs are kept indoors when their postman or postwoman calls.

This week is Dog Awareness Week 2020, an annual campaign jointly supported by the union and the business aimed at reducing this hazard for our members, and this year’s theme focuses on the simple steps that members of the public can take to help.

CWU health, safety & environment national officer Dave Joyce says: “Of the 2,500 dog attacks on Royal Mail workers over the past year, 83 per cent of them happened either at the front door or in the garden, but with a few basic precautions, these could be prevented.

“So during Dog Awareness Week next week, the CWU and the company will be asking dog owners to please help to make your postie’s safe by:

       Keep your dog indoors or in the back garden where it cannot get to the front – the majority of attacks occur in the front garden.
       Placing your dog in a secure room or fitting a wire letterbox cage/receptacle on the inside of your letter box – many attacks take place on our members at the letter box.
       Considering the fitting of a secure mailbox on the edge of your property.

Monday July 6 – July 11


“We know Royal that not all dogs are dangerous, in fact most don’t present a problem, but if a dog feels it or its territory is being threatened – no matter what breed – it will be defensive,” Dave explains.

“So this coming week, we’re going to be highlighting the potential risks to our members and also the potential risks of prosecution for owners and the possible loss of their pet if attacks occur and asking all dog owners to please follow these simple steps.”