POSTAL NEWS
No 50 -2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Alma Media’s early-morning delivery in Pirkanmaa and Satakunta to be transferred to Posti. June 20, 2019.
DHL express Australia strengthens its network of parcel collection points. June 20, 2019.
Parcelforce Worldwide launches Tariff Code lookup tool. June 18, 2019.
Union pressure brings progress on annual leave. June 17, 2019.
To mark centenary of first transatlantic airmail flight Royal Mail Launches Special Postbox, Postmark and Online Gallery. June 15, 2019.
Alma Media’s early-morning delivery in Pirkanmaa and Satakunta to be transferred to Posti
June 20, 2019
Posti will expand its early-morning delivery. Alma Media's early-morning delivery operations in Pirkanmaa and Satakunta will be transferred to Posti in an acquisition estimated as of January 1, 2020. This transfer of deliveries to Posti is a solution that significantly reforms the delivery industry and aims at boosting the publication deliveries as well as extending the lifecycle of subscribed newspapers.
Posti Ltd, Alma Media Kustannus Oy and Alma Manu Oy have agreed on June 20, 2019 on a business transfer and a delivery service agreement under which Alma Manu Oy's early-morning delivery operations published by Alma Media Kustannus will be transferred to Posti approximately on January 1, 2020.
The newspaper transportations, the deliveries carried out as an outsourced service or as third-party deliveries are not within the scope of the delivery agreement and will continue to be operated by Alma Manu through outsourcing. Alma Manu's deliveries currently cover approximately 90% of the households in the Pirkanmaa and Satakunta regions.
Risto Savikko, Posti's Director responsible for Press Services, is pleased with the acquisition, which he regards as a solution that will strengthen the future of the delivery markets and, simultaneously, as a response to the need for reform required in the delivery industry.
- We believe that by increasing the efficiency of the delivery operations, the lifecycle of subscribed paper publications can be extended as far into the future as possible. This solution will enable more efficient development of the entire delivery operations in
Pirkanmaa and Satakunta and ensure high-quality early-morning delivery services for our customers, says Savikko.
Posti: "Posti's strategy is to have a strong presence in the publication delivery"
According to Savikko, the increase of the unit costs in delivery caused by the rapid digitalization of communications and decline in volumes have made the newspaper deliveries extremely challenging for all the delivery companies. However, Posti is committed to the early-morning delivery.
- Posti's strategy is to have a strong presence in the publication delivery. Posti undertaking the Alma Media publication deliveries shows that Posti can carry out early-morning deliveries competitively, cost-effectively and with high quality, says Savikko.
- Our objective is to ensure, in the best possible way, that customers are delivered the newspapers published by Alma Media Kustannus in the future as well, says Kari Kivelä, Senior Vice President of Alma Consumer business segment.
Posti will employ a total of 3 100 newspaper deliverers as of January 1, 2020
A total of approximately 800 Alma Manu early-morning delivery employees will be transferred to Posti Palvelut Oy as existing employees. This change will not affect other Posti early-morning delivery services or personnel.
- I wish the Alma Manu´s early-morning delivery personnel a very warm welcome to our team. Competition is tough, and digitalization is today's trend, but Posti employees have strong experience and knowledge in newspaper deliveries and service development. Our personnel also have an opportunity to develop themselves at Posti or in cooperation with Posti's partners, says Risto Savikko.
Posti currently carries out early-morning delivery in the capital region as well as in Uusimaa, South-Eastern Finland, South Savo, Central Finland, Ostrobothnia and North Karelia. Currently Posti employs a total of 2 300 early morning deliverers.
Source : https://www.posti.fi/private-news/english/current/2019
DHL express Australia strengthens its network of parcel collection points
June 20, 2019
DHL Express, has officially opened a new state-of-the-art customer support centre in Brisbane’s central business district, further enhancing its customer support services for Australian businesses and consumers.
The new 3,200 square metre office will house more than 320 employees from the customer service, customer account management and customer-facing IT functions. It is also designed to cater for another 20% workforce expansion in the future.
House and university campuses, city workers, students and consumers alike will now have the option to redirect their parcel deliveries to one of the two SwipBox parcel locker units located on the centre’s ground floor, accessible from 8 am – 6 pm, Monday to Friday.
The new SwipBox parcel lockers further strengthen DHL Express Australia’s network of more than 1,000 parcel collection points – providing parcel recipients with a greater range of delivery options – and brings the company closer to its target of 1,500 collection points by end of 2019.
Gary Edstein, CEO and Senior Vice President at DHL Express Oceania said, “DHL Express Australia’s new national customer support centre demonstrates our continuing commitment to providing Australian businesses and consumers with reliable and customer centric onshore support, seven days a week.
Since 1997, our centralised Brisbane-based support centre has helped make international express shipping accessible in just a single phone call and supported the international expansion of countless Australian businesses.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/106447/news
Parcelforce Worldwide launches Tariff Code lookup tool
June 18, 2019
Parcelforce Worldwide has launched a new Tariff Code lookup tool that enables customers to easily and quickly search for a product item using the intelligent search bar. Customers can search for items either one at a time or via the bulk upload of an entire product catalog.
Tariff Codes are an internationally recognized standard that enable the easy identification of items by customs authorities, regardless of language barriers, and the use of Tariff Codes is in-creasing as customs authorities look to streamline their processes.
The new lookup tool enables customers to:
Search for Tariff Codes either one at a time or in bulk;
Switch between EU and non-EU shipments to search for either a six-digit (non-EU) or eight-digit (EU) code;
Save codes against a product line;
Search and save multiple Tariff Codes to a product catalog;
Export a catalog with Tariff Codes to Microsoft Excel.
A spokesperson from Parcelforce Worldwide said, “At Parcelforce Worldwide we are constantly looking to innovate and expand our services to cater to the needs of our customers. Our new Tariff Code lookup tool is another example of how we are doing this.”
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/technology
Union pressure brings progress on annual leave
June 17, 2019
National CWU representatives have made substantial progress this month with senior Royal Mail management in addressing annual leave problems being experienced by members – an issue which featured in eight separate motions at this year’s Annual Conference.
One of the biggest annual leave related problems at the moment is the difference between the contractual pay that is paid during leave periods and average earnings, which may often be higher because of part-time members performing additional hours, pressure overtime for full-time and bonus payments.
This causes significant reductions in pay for many members and the union is already pressing the business to reach a collective agreement to resolve this issue – members have been and are being, encouraged to commence formal grievances, ACAS early conciliation and, if settlements are not offered, Employment Tribunal claims.
Updating branches on this recently, deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger reports that the union has been in dialogue with ACAS on how this early conciliation process can be streamlined – given that the number of claims is now increasing on a daily basis – and this agreed process will commence next Monday (24th June).
“Like ourselves, ACAS believe that a collective resolution to the current impasse provides the best way forward and, in respect of this, a meeting was held with Royal Mail Group last Tuesday (11th June) and a further meeting date is set for this coming Friday (21st June),” Terry explains.
“We have made it clear to the business that this matter cannot remain unresolved for much longer and that, when we next meet, we have told them that we expect them to submit a proposal for a national collective agreement.”
Senior Royal Mail management have told the union that they want a collective agreement to resolve this matter and our DGSP insists that the company leadership “must now put their words into action.”
In the absence of such an agreement, the number of early conciliation claims from our members is “continuing to multiply,” he continues, adding that, until an appropriate agreement is reached, “we continue to encourage every member to make a claim if they are not in receipt of their average pay whilst on annual leave.”
Another big annual leave-related complaint from branches is the difficulty faced by members trying to book leave – and associated problems arising from the company’s recent change to a calculation of leave based on hours rather than days, and also issues that can arise when rest days coincide with Bank Holidays.
In talks with the company over the past month, CWU Postal Executive members have been aiming to reach an agreement that allows all members’ leave requests to be granted, providing that their leave application has been made with sufficient forward notice.
While this substantive work is ongoing, the union has achieved an agreement from the business to a joint statement which seeks to resolve all of the outstanding annual leave through unit reps and unit managers sitting down together and working out all annual leave that is currently outstanding.
Source : https://www.cwu.org/news
To mark centenary of first transatlantic airmail flight Royal Mail Launches Special Postbox, Postmark and Online Gallery
June 15, 2019
Royal Mail is launching a commemorative postbox, special postmark and online gallery to mark the centenary of the first transatlantic airmail flight.
The commemorative postbox is being unveiled on Harlington High Street, close to Heathrow Airport, the home of Royal Mail’s Worldwide Distribution Centre.
The postmark is appearing on stamped mail from June 14 to June 15, while the online gallery marking the event can be found at https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/insights-innovation/heritage/100-years-since-alcock-browns-first-ever-transatlantic-flight/
On 14 June 1919, pioneering aviators Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten-Brown completed the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic, carrying with them hundreds of letters in a mail bag, the first transatlantic mail. The mailbag also contained a letter written by Alcock to his sister Elsie prior to the flight.
The aviators took off from Newfoundland, the nearest point — in transatlantic terms — to the British Isles, at around 1.45pm. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber.
The flight to Ireland was beset with challenges including mechanical failures, heavy snow and blinding fog. The flyers wore electrically heated clothing, overalls, fur gloves and fur-lined helmets, but the battery failed soon into the journey.
The team crash landed near Clifden in County Galway at 8:40 a.m. on 15 June 1919, after around sixteen hours' flying time. The average speed during the Atlantic crossing was around 120 miles per hour.
When incredulous locals were unable to believe that the pair had flown across the Atlantic in less than a day, Alcock handed them the sealed bag of mail as proof, all of it stamped in St John’s, Newfoundland the day before. News of their success quickly spread.
Back in 1913, the Daily Mail, offered a prize for £10,000 - £1 million in today’s money - to “the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland in 72 continuous hours”. The prize was put up by Lord Northcliffe, the aviation-loving owner of the Daily Mail.
Alcock and Brown were feted as heroes on completion of their flight receiving the £10,000 reward from the Daily Mail, 2,000 guineas (£2,100) from the Ardath Tobacco Company and £1,000 from Lawrence Phillips for being the first British subjects to fly the Atlantic Ocean.
The then Secretary of State for Air, Winston Churchill, presented the men with the Daily Mail prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by aeroplane. In his speech, Churchill hailed these exemplars of ‘the audacity, the courage, the physical qualities of the old heroic bygone times’.
The two aviators were a week later awarded the honour of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) by King George V at Windsor Castle.
Sadly John Alcock was killed during December 1919, whilst performing at the Paris Air show. Scottish born Brown was later employed by Metropolitan-Vickers, and by 1923 he was appointed as chief representative in the Swansea area.
In 1969 Royal Mail produced stamps to immortalise Alcock and Brown.
“Royal Mail is proud to pay tribute to the first transatlantic airmail flight. The bravery of Alcock and Brown in pushing these boundaries will never be forgotten, and their legacy lives on in today’s postal service,” said David Gold, Director of Public Affairs & Policy at Royal Mail.
Source : https://www.royalmailgroup.com/enPOSTAL NEWS
No 49 -2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
DPD’s fifth UK hub starting to take shape. June 20, 2019.
USPS stakeholders consider postal reform amid congressional inaction. June 19, 2019.
Italian same-day market continues to grow. June 18, 2019.
Dollar General and FedEx to Offer Convenient Package Drop-off and Pickup Solutions. June 17, 2019.
Two great successes in the subsidiaries. June 17, 2019.
DPD’s fifth UK hub starting to take shape
June 20, 2019
Work on DPD’s new £150 million state-of-the-art parcel hub in Hinckley, Leicestershire is well underway.
Aerial footage shows the giant footprint of the 276,454 sq ft main hub building and infrastructure work taking place on the rest of the 39 acre site.
The new hub will be DPD’s fifth in the UK and the largest domestic parcel hub in Europe. It will be located close to J1 of the M69, as part of the 82 acre Hinckley Park development, being delivered by IM Properties.
The new facility will be just 2 miles from two other key DPD sites in the area; Hub 4 and the firm’s International Gateway, both of which opened in Sketchley in 2015.
Contractors Winvic Construction Ltd commenced building work in January of this year and the main build should be complete by February 2020. The engineering fit-out will then run until December 2021 with the facility operational in 2022. On an average day, there will be around 200 construction workers on site during the build.
The Hub 5 site is the size of 22 football pitches and the main hub building is 502 metres long and 40 metres wide. It will be DPD’s most secure and technologically advanced hub, fitted out with the very latest fully automated sortation technology, the optical character recognition software to automatically scan address information, over 300 security cameras and more than 3,000 metres of conveyor. When fully operational, the giant hub will be able to sort 72,000 parcels per hour.
Dwain McDonald, DPD’s CEO, commented; “It is fantastic to see our fifth hub starting to take shape. Hinckley is already a strategically key location for us but having two giant hubs there in future, separate from our West Midlands hubs, gives us a huge amount of operational flexibility to cope with major volume peaks or traffic issues on the network.
“When Hub 5 opens we will have three of the largest fully automated parcel hubs in Europe and the overnight sorting capacity to support our retail customers for many years to come. In the last seven years we’ve also invested in over 30 purpose built regional depots and larger distribution centres around the country to ensure that we have the best and most efficient network infrastructure in the industry.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/106441/news
USPS stakeholders consider postal reform amid congressional inaction
June 19, 2019
With email and digital communications eating into the Postal Service’s business model, Congress passed a landmark bill in 2006 that reshaped USPS for the 21st century. But more than 13 years later, after the 2008 recession and the boom in e-commerce, current and former lawmakers say it’s time to revisit postal reform.
And with the Postal Service on course to run out of cash by 2024, stakeholders say the status quo won’t be enough. But despite the urgency of the situation, members of Congress appear no closer to a compromise with the Trump administration on a postal reform solution.
Faced with the reality that postal reform legislation hasn’t gained momentum in Congress, USPS stakeholders have outlined what they can do without Congress to keep the country’s mail and package business afloat.
Former USPS Inspector General David Williams, currently one of two confirmed members on the USPS Board of Governors, said Postal Service remains at work on a long-term business plan aimed at turning annual net losses into profits over the next 10 years.
“We’ve tried to identify every possible lever we could pull to meet the challenges that present themselves each year,” Williams said at the recent PostalVision 2020 conference. “We are busy, and we can’t wait for the legislation, but there’s plenty to do until then.”
Those improvements include making the Postal Service more of a data-driven enterprise that can help USPS streamline its operations and simplify its pricing structure.
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnews
Italian same-day market continues to grow
June 18, 2019
Poste Italiane is deepening its ties with Amazon and will offer same-day delivery. It’s part of a deal that is driving innovation at the post. Analysis from Ian Kerr (Postal Hub Podcast) and Marek Różycki (Last Mile Experts).
Poste Italiane has deepened its relationship with Amazon, unveiling a same-day delivery service for Amazon customers in the cities of Rome, Bari, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Padova, Posties will deliver same-day orders during the late afternoon and early evening.
Poste Italiane has also announced that more cities will soon see posties delivering parcels on Saturdays. Next-day delivery is being expanded to areas – including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – thanks to new air links.
This builds upon last year’s announcements of evening and Saturday delivery, a post point (PUDO) partnership with a national network of 3,000 tobacconists, and a burgeoning network of parcel lockers that offer parcel collection and drop-off.
While the locker network (powered by InPost lockers) is still modest, the population coverage of Poste Italiane’s 12,000 post offices and the 3,000 tobacconists is excellent and far ahead of any competitor offering.
All these initiatives were launched to power Amazon delivery across the peninsula.
Poste Italiane’s SDA courier network and the post’s air cargo subsidiary Mistral Air are also a key part of the deal. Earlier this year, Mistral Air (which incidentally was previously owned by TNT) took delivery of a converted 737-400F freighter. According to reports, this is the third 737-400F to join Mistral Air’s fleet in less than a year – a rapid expansion for a fleet now consisting of 10 airplanes.
The expanded deal with Amazon is part of Poste Italiane’s ‘Deliver 2022’ strategy, which aims to grow parcel revenues by 70% between 2018 and 2022. In 2018, the Poste Italiane Group delivered over 127 million parcels, up 12.6% year-on-year; with B2C volumes recording a 27% increase over 2017.
Amazon Prime Now
Amazon’s same-day timeslot delivery Prime Now service is available in Milan and powered by Amazon Flex gig economy drivers. It looks like the same-day delivery service will differ from Prime Now, and will simply enable faster delivery via Poste Italiane.
The major Italian population centers that will benefit from same-day Amazon via Poste Italiane are all home (or very close) to Amazon fulfilment centers.
A good deal for everyone
Amazon has done well to secure this relationship as although there is sophisticated last-mile competition in major metro markets, Poste Italiane is the only operator with national coverage. Now it’s up to Poste Italiane to raise its game and prove that it can be a player in the last mile, and not just a bank that delivers some mail on the side.
Moreover, the 15,000 access points will be critical for effective same-day service – and the expected level of returns that will follow. Coincidentally, Poste Italiane is refreshing many of its smaller rural post offices – outlets which may have been earmarked for closure previously.
Same-day delivery won’t necessarily be plain sailing for Amazon, as it will need to ensure that stock is localized close enough to the consignee via more fulfilment centers (and in time possibly an extended roll-out of smaller, urban fulfilment centers) if it wishes to offer the service to a wider audience.
The announcement is also good news for Poste Italiane, not just because it will mean more parcels through the delivery network, but the customer-obsessed e-commerce giant will push the postal operator to offer more customer-centric features.
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/analysis
Dollar General and FedEx to Offer Convenient Package Drop-off and Pickup Solutions
June 17, 2019
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and Dollar General (NYSE: DG) announced today a strategic alliance that will offer new, convenient access to FedEx drop-off and pickup services at thousands of Dollar General stores. The effort is designed to increase access for all customers, particularly those living in rural communities.
FedEx and Dollar General plan to begin rolling out the service in more than 1,500 Dollar General stores in late summer 2019, building to a total of more than 8,000 stores by the end of 2020. The Dollar General alliance will increase the FedEx Retail Convenience Network to more than 62,000 retail locations.
FedEx is one of the leading enablers of the rapidly-growing e-commerce market. This is one way FedEx continues to meet demand, and the offering complements the company’s existing portfolio of solutions for online merchants. By leveraging Dollar General’s unique rural store footprint, more than 90 percent of Americans will ultimately live within five miles of a FedEx hold retail location.
“Dollar General is the perfect retailer to help us meet the growing need for convenient, secure drop-off and pickup options in a variety of rural communities,” said Scott Harkins, senior vice president, Customer Experience Marketing, FedEx Services. “We understand customers may not always want packages delivered to a home or office. They want secure, alternate delivery options, and we’re on a mission to make that happen. We are proud to work with Dollar General to make our customers’ lives easier.”
“Dollar General is excited to work with FedEx to offer customers a secure, convenient pickup and drop-off location,” said Jason Reiser, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. “This collaboration furthers Dollar General’s mission of Serving Others and long track record of serving rural communities by combining our expansive store presence with FedEx’s global reach.
We look forward to providing customers with expanded services and accessibility throughout our rural footprint and working with FedEx as we begin the rollout later this year.”
Improving Convenience and Saving Time
By bringing together Dollar General’s vast network of retail locations with the growing FedEx convenience network, this new alliance aims to give customers the advantage of a hassle-free shopping experience and the ability to do more in one store. As part of the FedEx OnSite™ program, customers will be able to drop off pre-packaged and pre-labeled FedEx Express or FedEx Ground shipments at Dollar General stores and pick up packages sent to their neighborhood Dollar General.
Source : https://about.van.fedex.com/newsroom
Two great successes in the subsidiaries
June 17, 2019
Following the establishment of the CSE (Economic Social Committee) in all companies except La Poste, the agents of Chronopost and Docaposte BPO IS had to proceed to new elections representative of staff.
A Chronopost, FO Com collects 22.5% of the vote, which earns us 1 seat in the executives and 1 seat in the Agents of Control.
At Docaposte BPO IS, FO Com goes from 13% to 26%! Participation being less than 50%, a second round will take place.
The FO Com Federation congratulates the union representatives FO Com of these two companies for these results and thanks the agents for their trust.
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr/
No 50 -2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Alma Media’s early-morning delivery in Pirkanmaa and Satakunta to be transferred to Posti. June 20, 2019.
DHL express Australia strengthens its network of parcel collection points. June 20, 2019.
Parcelforce Worldwide launches Tariff Code lookup tool. June 18, 2019.
Union pressure brings progress on annual leave. June 17, 2019.
To mark centenary of first transatlantic airmail flight Royal Mail Launches Special Postbox, Postmark and Online Gallery. June 15, 2019.
Alma Media’s early-morning delivery in Pirkanmaa and Satakunta to be transferred to Posti
June 20, 2019
Posti will expand its early-morning delivery. Alma Media's early-morning delivery operations in Pirkanmaa and Satakunta will be transferred to Posti in an acquisition estimated as of January 1, 2020. This transfer of deliveries to Posti is a solution that significantly reforms the delivery industry and aims at boosting the publication deliveries as well as extending the lifecycle of subscribed newspapers.
Posti Ltd, Alma Media Kustannus Oy and Alma Manu Oy have agreed on June 20, 2019 on a business transfer and a delivery service agreement under which Alma Manu Oy's early-morning delivery operations published by Alma Media Kustannus will be transferred to Posti approximately on January 1, 2020.
The newspaper transportations, the deliveries carried out as an outsourced service or as third-party deliveries are not within the scope of the delivery agreement and will continue to be operated by Alma Manu through outsourcing. Alma Manu's deliveries currently cover approximately 90% of the households in the Pirkanmaa and Satakunta regions.
Risto Savikko, Posti's Director responsible for Press Services, is pleased with the acquisition, which he regards as a solution that will strengthen the future of the delivery markets and, simultaneously, as a response to the need for reform required in the delivery industry.
- We believe that by increasing the efficiency of the delivery operations, the lifecycle of subscribed paper publications can be extended as far into the future as possible. This solution will enable more efficient development of the entire delivery operations in
Pirkanmaa and Satakunta and ensure high-quality early-morning delivery services for our customers, says Savikko.
Posti: "Posti's strategy is to have a strong presence in the publication delivery"
According to Savikko, the increase of the unit costs in delivery caused by the rapid digitalization of communications and decline in volumes have made the newspaper deliveries extremely challenging for all the delivery companies. However, Posti is committed to the early-morning delivery.
- Posti's strategy is to have a strong presence in the publication delivery. Posti undertaking the Alma Media publication deliveries shows that Posti can carry out early-morning deliveries competitively, cost-effectively and with high quality, says Savikko.
- Our objective is to ensure, in the best possible way, that customers are delivered the newspapers published by Alma Media Kustannus in the future as well, says Kari Kivelä, Senior Vice President of Alma Consumer business segment.
Posti will employ a total of 3 100 newspaper deliverers as of January 1, 2020
A total of approximately 800 Alma Manu early-morning delivery employees will be transferred to Posti Palvelut Oy as existing employees. This change will not affect other Posti early-morning delivery services or personnel.
- I wish the Alma Manu´s early-morning delivery personnel a very warm welcome to our team. Competition is tough, and digitalization is today's trend, but Posti employees have strong experience and knowledge in newspaper deliveries and service development. Our personnel also have an opportunity to develop themselves at Posti or in cooperation with Posti's partners, says Risto Savikko.
Posti currently carries out early-morning delivery in the capital region as well as in Uusimaa, South-Eastern Finland, South Savo, Central Finland, Ostrobothnia and North Karelia. Currently Posti employs a total of 2 300 early morning deliverers.
Source : https://www.posti.fi/private-news/english/current/2019
DHL express Australia strengthens its network of parcel collection points
June 20, 2019
DHL Express, has officially opened a new state-of-the-art customer support centre in Brisbane’s central business district, further enhancing its customer support services for Australian businesses and consumers.
The new 3,200 square metre office will house more than 320 employees from the customer service, customer account management and customer-facing IT functions. It is also designed to cater for another 20% workforce expansion in the future.
House and university campuses, city workers, students and consumers alike will now have the option to redirect their parcel deliveries to one of the two SwipBox parcel locker units located on the centre’s ground floor, accessible from 8 am – 6 pm, Monday to Friday.
The new SwipBox parcel lockers further strengthen DHL Express Australia’s network of more than 1,000 parcel collection points – providing parcel recipients with a greater range of delivery options – and brings the company closer to its target of 1,500 collection points by end of 2019.
Gary Edstein, CEO and Senior Vice President at DHL Express Oceania said, “DHL Express Australia’s new national customer support centre demonstrates our continuing commitment to providing Australian businesses and consumers with reliable and customer centric onshore support, seven days a week.
Since 1997, our centralised Brisbane-based support centre has helped make international express shipping accessible in just a single phone call and supported the international expansion of countless Australian businesses.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/106447/news
Parcelforce Worldwide launches Tariff Code lookup tool
June 18, 2019
Parcelforce Worldwide has launched a new Tariff Code lookup tool that enables customers to easily and quickly search for a product item using the intelligent search bar. Customers can search for items either one at a time or via the bulk upload of an entire product catalog.
Tariff Codes are an internationally recognized standard that enable the easy identification of items by customs authorities, regardless of language barriers, and the use of Tariff Codes is in-creasing as customs authorities look to streamline their processes.
The new lookup tool enables customers to:
Search for Tariff Codes either one at a time or in bulk;
Switch between EU and non-EU shipments to search for either a six-digit (non-EU) or eight-digit (EU) code;
Save codes against a product line;
Search and save multiple Tariff Codes to a product catalog;
Export a catalog with Tariff Codes to Microsoft Excel.
A spokesperson from Parcelforce Worldwide said, “At Parcelforce Worldwide we are constantly looking to innovate and expand our services to cater to the needs of our customers. Our new Tariff Code lookup tool is another example of how we are doing this.”
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/technology
Union pressure brings progress on annual leave
June 17, 2019
National CWU representatives have made substantial progress this month with senior Royal Mail management in addressing annual leave problems being experienced by members – an issue which featured in eight separate motions at this year’s Annual Conference.
One of the biggest annual leave related problems at the moment is the difference between the contractual pay that is paid during leave periods and average earnings, which may often be higher because of part-time members performing additional hours, pressure overtime for full-time and bonus payments.
This causes significant reductions in pay for many members and the union is already pressing the business to reach a collective agreement to resolve this issue – members have been and are being, encouraged to commence formal grievances, ACAS early conciliation and, if settlements are not offered, Employment Tribunal claims.
Updating branches on this recently, deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger reports that the union has been in dialogue with ACAS on how this early conciliation process can be streamlined – given that the number of claims is now increasing on a daily basis – and this agreed process will commence next Monday (24th June).
“Like ourselves, ACAS believe that a collective resolution to the current impasse provides the best way forward and, in respect of this, a meeting was held with Royal Mail Group last Tuesday (11th June) and a further meeting date is set for this coming Friday (21st June),” Terry explains.
“We have made it clear to the business that this matter cannot remain unresolved for much longer and that, when we next meet, we have told them that we expect them to submit a proposal for a national collective agreement.”
Senior Royal Mail management have told the union that they want a collective agreement to resolve this matter and our DGSP insists that the company leadership “must now put their words into action.”
In the absence of such an agreement, the number of early conciliation claims from our members is “continuing to multiply,” he continues, adding that, until an appropriate agreement is reached, “we continue to encourage every member to make a claim if they are not in receipt of their average pay whilst on annual leave.”
Another big annual leave-related complaint from branches is the difficulty faced by members trying to book leave – and associated problems arising from the company’s recent change to a calculation of leave based on hours rather than days, and also issues that can arise when rest days coincide with Bank Holidays.
In talks with the company over the past month, CWU Postal Executive members have been aiming to reach an agreement that allows all members’ leave requests to be granted, providing that their leave application has been made with sufficient forward notice.
While this substantive work is ongoing, the union has achieved an agreement from the business to a joint statement which seeks to resolve all of the outstanding annual leave through unit reps and unit managers sitting down together and working out all annual leave that is currently outstanding.
Source : https://www.cwu.org/news
To mark centenary of first transatlantic airmail flight Royal Mail Launches Special Postbox, Postmark and Online Gallery
June 15, 2019
Royal Mail is launching a commemorative postbox, special postmark and online gallery to mark the centenary of the first transatlantic airmail flight.
The commemorative postbox is being unveiled on Harlington High Street, close to Heathrow Airport, the home of Royal Mail’s Worldwide Distribution Centre.
The postmark is appearing on stamped mail from June 14 to June 15, while the online gallery marking the event can be found at https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/insights-innovation/heritage/100-years-since-alcock-browns-first-ever-transatlantic-flight/
On 14 June 1919, pioneering aviators Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten-Brown completed the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic, carrying with them hundreds of letters in a mail bag, the first transatlantic mail. The mailbag also contained a letter written by Alcock to his sister Elsie prior to the flight.
The aviators took off from Newfoundland, the nearest point — in transatlantic terms — to the British Isles, at around 1.45pm. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber.
The flight to Ireland was beset with challenges including mechanical failures, heavy snow and blinding fog. The flyers wore electrically heated clothing, overalls, fur gloves and fur-lined helmets, but the battery failed soon into the journey.
The team crash landed near Clifden in County Galway at 8:40 a.m. on 15 June 1919, after around sixteen hours' flying time. The average speed during the Atlantic crossing was around 120 miles per hour.
When incredulous locals were unable to believe that the pair had flown across the Atlantic in less than a day, Alcock handed them the sealed bag of mail as proof, all of it stamped in St John’s, Newfoundland the day before. News of their success quickly spread.
Back in 1913, the Daily Mail, offered a prize for £10,000 - £1 million in today’s money - to “the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland in 72 continuous hours”. The prize was put up by Lord Northcliffe, the aviation-loving owner of the Daily Mail.
Alcock and Brown were feted as heroes on completion of their flight receiving the £10,000 reward from the Daily Mail, 2,000 guineas (£2,100) from the Ardath Tobacco Company and £1,000 from Lawrence Phillips for being the first British subjects to fly the Atlantic Ocean.
The then Secretary of State for Air, Winston Churchill, presented the men with the Daily Mail prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by aeroplane. In his speech, Churchill hailed these exemplars of ‘the audacity, the courage, the physical qualities of the old heroic bygone times’.
The two aviators were a week later awarded the honour of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) by King George V at Windsor Castle.
Sadly John Alcock was killed during December 1919, whilst performing at the Paris Air show. Scottish born Brown was later employed by Metropolitan-Vickers, and by 1923 he was appointed as chief representative in the Swansea area.
In 1969 Royal Mail produced stamps to immortalise Alcock and Brown.
“Royal Mail is proud to pay tribute to the first transatlantic airmail flight. The bravery of Alcock and Brown in pushing these boundaries will never be forgotten, and their legacy lives on in today’s postal service,” said David Gold, Director of Public Affairs & Policy at Royal Mail.
Source : https://www.royalmailgroup.com/enPOSTAL NEWS
No 49 -2019
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
DPD’s fifth UK hub starting to take shape. June 20, 2019.
USPS stakeholders consider postal reform amid congressional inaction. June 19, 2019.
Italian same-day market continues to grow. June 18, 2019.
Dollar General and FedEx to Offer Convenient Package Drop-off and Pickup Solutions. June 17, 2019.
Two great successes in the subsidiaries. June 17, 2019.
DPD’s fifth UK hub starting to take shape
June 20, 2019
Work on DPD’s new £150 million state-of-the-art parcel hub in Hinckley, Leicestershire is well underway.
Aerial footage shows the giant footprint of the 276,454 sq ft main hub building and infrastructure work taking place on the rest of the 39 acre site.
The new hub will be DPD’s fifth in the UK and the largest domestic parcel hub in Europe. It will be located close to J1 of the M69, as part of the 82 acre Hinckley Park development, being delivered by IM Properties.
The new facility will be just 2 miles from two other key DPD sites in the area; Hub 4 and the firm’s International Gateway, both of which opened in Sketchley in 2015.
Contractors Winvic Construction Ltd commenced building work in January of this year and the main build should be complete by February 2020. The engineering fit-out will then run until December 2021 with the facility operational in 2022. On an average day, there will be around 200 construction workers on site during the build.
The Hub 5 site is the size of 22 football pitches and the main hub building is 502 metres long and 40 metres wide. It will be DPD’s most secure and technologically advanced hub, fitted out with the very latest fully automated sortation technology, the optical character recognition software to automatically scan address information, over 300 security cameras and more than 3,000 metres of conveyor. When fully operational, the giant hub will be able to sort 72,000 parcels per hour.
Dwain McDonald, DPD’s CEO, commented; “It is fantastic to see our fifth hub starting to take shape. Hinckley is already a strategically key location for us but having two giant hubs there in future, separate from our West Midlands hubs, gives us a huge amount of operational flexibility to cope with major volume peaks or traffic issues on the network.
“When Hub 5 opens we will have three of the largest fully automated parcel hubs in Europe and the overnight sorting capacity to support our retail customers for many years to come. In the last seven years we’ve also invested in over 30 purpose built regional depots and larger distribution centres around the country to ensure that we have the best and most efficient network infrastructure in the industry.”
Source : https://postandparcel.info/106441/news
USPS stakeholders consider postal reform amid congressional inaction
June 19, 2019
With email and digital communications eating into the Postal Service’s business model, Congress passed a landmark bill in 2006 that reshaped USPS for the 21st century. But more than 13 years later, after the 2008 recession and the boom in e-commerce, current and former lawmakers say it’s time to revisit postal reform.
And with the Postal Service on course to run out of cash by 2024, stakeholders say the status quo won’t be enough. But despite the urgency of the situation, members of Congress appear no closer to a compromise with the Trump administration on a postal reform solution.
Faced with the reality that postal reform legislation hasn’t gained momentum in Congress, USPS stakeholders have outlined what they can do without Congress to keep the country’s mail and package business afloat.
Former USPS Inspector General David Williams, currently one of two confirmed members on the USPS Board of Governors, said Postal Service remains at work on a long-term business plan aimed at turning annual net losses into profits over the next 10 years.
“We’ve tried to identify every possible lever we could pull to meet the challenges that present themselves each year,” Williams said at the recent PostalVision 2020 conference. “We are busy, and we can’t wait for the legislation, but there’s plenty to do until then.”
Those improvements include making the Postal Service more of a data-driven enterprise that can help USPS streamline its operations and simplify its pricing structure.
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnews
Italian same-day market continues to grow
June 18, 2019
Poste Italiane is deepening its ties with Amazon and will offer same-day delivery. It’s part of a deal that is driving innovation at the post. Analysis from Ian Kerr (Postal Hub Podcast) and Marek Różycki (Last Mile Experts).
Poste Italiane has deepened its relationship with Amazon, unveiling a same-day delivery service for Amazon customers in the cities of Rome, Bari, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Padova, Posties will deliver same-day orders during the late afternoon and early evening.
Poste Italiane has also announced that more cities will soon see posties delivering parcels on Saturdays. Next-day delivery is being expanded to areas – including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – thanks to new air links.
This builds upon last year’s announcements of evening and Saturday delivery, a post point (PUDO) partnership with a national network of 3,000 tobacconists, and a burgeoning network of parcel lockers that offer parcel collection and drop-off.
While the locker network (powered by InPost lockers) is still modest, the population coverage of Poste Italiane’s 12,000 post offices and the 3,000 tobacconists is excellent and far ahead of any competitor offering.
All these initiatives were launched to power Amazon delivery across the peninsula.
Poste Italiane’s SDA courier network and the post’s air cargo subsidiary Mistral Air are also a key part of the deal. Earlier this year, Mistral Air (which incidentally was previously owned by TNT) took delivery of a converted 737-400F freighter. According to reports, this is the third 737-400F to join Mistral Air’s fleet in less than a year – a rapid expansion for a fleet now consisting of 10 airplanes.
The expanded deal with Amazon is part of Poste Italiane’s ‘Deliver 2022’ strategy, which aims to grow parcel revenues by 70% between 2018 and 2022. In 2018, the Poste Italiane Group delivered over 127 million parcels, up 12.6% year-on-year; with B2C volumes recording a 27% increase over 2017.
Amazon Prime Now
Amazon’s same-day timeslot delivery Prime Now service is available in Milan and powered by Amazon Flex gig economy drivers. It looks like the same-day delivery service will differ from Prime Now, and will simply enable faster delivery via Poste Italiane.
The major Italian population centers that will benefit from same-day Amazon via Poste Italiane are all home (or very close) to Amazon fulfilment centers.
A good deal for everyone
Amazon has done well to secure this relationship as although there is sophisticated last-mile competition in major metro markets, Poste Italiane is the only operator with national coverage. Now it’s up to Poste Italiane to raise its game and prove that it can be a player in the last mile, and not just a bank that delivers some mail on the side.
Moreover, the 15,000 access points will be critical for effective same-day service – and the expected level of returns that will follow. Coincidentally, Poste Italiane is refreshing many of its smaller rural post offices – outlets which may have been earmarked for closure previously.
Same-day delivery won’t necessarily be plain sailing for Amazon, as it will need to ensure that stock is localized close enough to the consignee via more fulfilment centers (and in time possibly an extended roll-out of smaller, urban fulfilment centers) if it wishes to offer the service to a wider audience.
The announcement is also good news for Poste Italiane, not just because it will mean more parcels through the delivery network, but the customer-obsessed e-commerce giant will push the postal operator to offer more customer-centric features.
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/analysis
Dollar General and FedEx to Offer Convenient Package Drop-off and Pickup Solutions
June 17, 2019
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and Dollar General (NYSE: DG) announced today a strategic alliance that will offer new, convenient access to FedEx drop-off and pickup services at thousands of Dollar General stores. The effort is designed to increase access for all customers, particularly those living in rural communities.
FedEx and Dollar General plan to begin rolling out the service in more than 1,500 Dollar General stores in late summer 2019, building to a total of more than 8,000 stores by the end of 2020. The Dollar General alliance will increase the FedEx Retail Convenience Network to more than 62,000 retail locations.
FedEx is one of the leading enablers of the rapidly-growing e-commerce market. This is one way FedEx continues to meet demand, and the offering complements the company’s existing portfolio of solutions for online merchants. By leveraging Dollar General’s unique rural store footprint, more than 90 percent of Americans will ultimately live within five miles of a FedEx hold retail location.
“Dollar General is the perfect retailer to help us meet the growing need for convenient, secure drop-off and pickup options in a variety of rural communities,” said Scott Harkins, senior vice president, Customer Experience Marketing, FedEx Services. “We understand customers may not always want packages delivered to a home or office. They want secure, alternate delivery options, and we’re on a mission to make that happen. We are proud to work with Dollar General to make our customers’ lives easier.”
“Dollar General is excited to work with FedEx to offer customers a secure, convenient pickup and drop-off location,” said Jason Reiser, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. “This collaboration furthers Dollar General’s mission of Serving Others and long track record of serving rural communities by combining our expansive store presence with FedEx’s global reach.
We look forward to providing customers with expanded services and accessibility throughout our rural footprint and working with FedEx as we begin the rollout later this year.”
Improving Convenience and Saving Time
By bringing together Dollar General’s vast network of retail locations with the growing FedEx convenience network, this new alliance aims to give customers the advantage of a hassle-free shopping experience and the ability to do more in one store. As part of the FedEx OnSite™ program, customers will be able to drop off pre-packaged and pre-labeled FedEx Express or FedEx Ground shipments at Dollar General stores and pick up packages sent to their neighborhood Dollar General.
Source : https://about.van.fedex.com/newsroom
Two great successes in the subsidiaries
June 17, 2019
Following the establishment of the CSE (Economic Social Committee) in all companies except La Poste, the agents of Chronopost and Docaposte BPO IS had to proceed to new elections representative of staff.
A Chronopost, FO Com collects 22.5% of the vote, which earns us 1 seat in the executives and 1 seat in the Agents of Control.
At Docaposte BPO IS, FO Com goes from 13% to 26%! Participation being less than 50%, a second round will take place.
The FO Com Federation congratulates the union representatives FO Com of these two companies for these results and thanks the agents for their trust.
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr/