POSTAL NEWS
No 96 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
‘Please support brave Isle of Man members’ Terry Pullinger. November 29, 2018.
UPS’s Christmas Wish: A Delivery Surge It Can Handle. November 26, 2018.
Neopost launches automated packaging solution in the UK. November 23, 2018.
Quarterly figures confirm Swiss Post’s forecasts.
November 22, 2018.
One World Express Helps Canada Post Overcome Backlog. November 22, 2018.
‘Please support brave Isle of Man members’ Terry Pullinger
November 29, 2018
Around 200 Isle of Man Post workers are currently voting on potential industrial action in response to what the CWU has described as a “set of proposals that threaten jobs, pensions and the future of the service.”
In a morale-boosting video message this morning, the union’s deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger described the company’s new governing board as “anti-union” and that they want to “slash everything.”
The employer wants to close the existing pension scheme to new entrants and recruit new staff on lower pay rates – plans which would, Terry warns, introduce “two-tier employment” into the business.
But management are also gunning for existing employees too, with proposals to cut the benefits in the current scheme as well, award a below-inflation 1 per cent pay settlement, buy out a range of allowances and move away from long-established voluntary redundancy arrangements.
Against the backdrop of these management plans, members met last month and unanimously resolved to request an industrial action ballot – a request which was endorsed by the full postal executive.
Balloting is due to close within the next few days, and the result is expected to be announced early next week.
Describing the Isle of Man members’ decision to resist this attack as “extremely brave,” Terry urges our CWU branches all across the UK to send messages of support and solidarity.
“Let’s show these members that the whole CWU is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our Isle of Man comrades.”
Source: https://www.cwu.org/news
UPS’s Christmas Wish: A Delivery Surge It Can Handle
November 26, 2018
United Parcel Service Inc. UPS 1.83% is hoping that billions of dollars in system improvements this year will help it avoid shipping problems during the online shopping surge of the holiday season.
The Atlanta-based company expects to handle nearly 800 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas, delivering an average of 31 million each delivery day—more than double the average daily volume. That is up from 762 million packages during last year’s peak period.
UPS is banking on closer collaboration with more commercial customers, automated facilities and new technology that reroutes packages around choke points during high-volume periods.
Both UPS and rival FedEx Corp. have been swamped in the past by a boom in deliveries around the holidays as consumers made more of their purchases online and retailers competed for their business by offering free and discount shipping.
Crunch TimeMarket share of U.S. domestic package deliveries in 2017 Source: SJ Consulting Group.
FedEx has tackled its delivery problems by working more closely with retailers to forecast demand and enforcing limits on how much those companies can put into its network. It managed the surge in 2017 without much trouble.
“FedEx has had relatively flawless peak service for a long time and they’re perceived as relatively riskless compared to UPS,” said Rick Paterson, a transportation analyst at Loop Capital.
UPS’s answer is a bigger, more automated network that can reroute shipments quickly. UPS has added 22 new or retrofitted automated sorting facilities that can sort packages faster with fewer workers. A new “super hub” in Atlanta can sort 100,000 packages an hour.
In all, UPS says it is adding the capacity to handle 350,000 more pieces per hour in the U.S., compared with last year when it added extra hourly capacity for about 50,000 packages. About 70% of all packages will pass through automated facilities this year, up from 50% last year.
UPS is also working closely with more customers to improve their shipping forecasts. The company collaborated with customers that represent 80% of its peak volume increase this year, up from just 13% last year.
“Our goal and commitment is to have this peak be the peak we all want it to be through the eyes of our customers,” UPS Operating Chief Jim Barber said last month on an earnings call.
UPS is also reprising peak surcharges for businesses seeking residential deliveries during the week of and after Thanksgiving, and the week before Christmas. UPS and FedEx are both slapping on additional fees for oversize items.
FedEx expects to double its average daily volume of 14 million on multiple Mondays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has opened new hubs this year in places like Connecticut and Pennsylvania and added two automated sort stations. FedEx has also added more facilities that just handle large packages, which are making up an increasing portion of shipments.
“We’re doing a lot of the same things, just on a larger scale this year,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, FedEx’s senior vice president of marketing and communications. “We don’t really have to dramatically change.”
Retailers also are taking steps to ease the crunch. Some are offering pickups in stores or delivering from them. Amazon.com Inc. continues to build out its own delivery network, which includes thousands of drivers as well as cargo jets and more than 7,000 trailers.
Apparel retailer Gap Inc., which primarily ships through UPS, this year offered the option of delivery as slow as 12 to 15 days around Black Friday. A spokeswoman said the offer aims to spread out the demand on the company’s supply chain during the peak period.
The U.S. Postal Service plans to outpace both FedEx and UPS, with a projection of 900 million packages forecast for delivery. Postmaster General Megan Brennan says the agency has added leased space, opened a new package-processing system and two sorting systems to handle large items.
In areas with high package volume, the Postal Service will send out drivers on parcel routes twice a day. “We are well prepared to handle the surge in volume,” Ms. Brennan said during a recent conference call.
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles
Neopost launches automated packaging solution in the UK
November 23, 2018
Neopost Shipping, a supplier of shipping software, smart parcel lockers and automated packaging machines, has launched its CVP-500 automated packaging solution (APS) in the UK.
The CVP-500 is capable of ‘auto-boxing’ multiple or single items at speeds of up to 450 packages per hour. It also avoids the need for using chips and bubble wrap to fill voids and reduces volume during transport.
The automated solution measures, constructs, tapes, weighs and labels each parcel in one seamless process. Optimizing all steps of package fulfilment, it creates a fit-to-size box for single or multi-item orders of variable dimensions.
By building the optimum size parcel around the order items using its corrugated packaging, the CVP-500 reduces box size by up to 50%. This minimizes shipping costs and the carbon footprint throughout the fulfilment process.
Just one operator is required to produce the high-volume packing throughput, scanning an order item and placing it onto the system. A scanner then captures a 3D image of each unique order to determine the minimum box size required. The corrugated material is cut and folded around the items to create the box. Any waste material falls away onto a conveyor that takes it away for baling and recycling. An optional robotic arm will insert an invoice or promotional material.
“In addition to reducing cost from unnecessary packaging and shipping void fill material, the CVP-500 also addresses growing end customer environmental concerns over excessive wastage in packaging,” said Jo Bradley, business development manager, Neopost UK.
“This has developed into a significant issue for an environmentally aware online shopper, particularly when small item online purchases arrive in large boxes full of void fill.”
Neopost Shipping has already installed its first application of two CVP-500 machines in the UK and has applications across nine counties.
“With the UK being one of the leading e-commerce markets in the world, we see significant potential for bringing this revolutionary packaging technology here,” added Bradley.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/automation
Quarterly figures confirm Swiss Post’s forecasts
November 22, 2018
Swiss Post achieved good results in many units again in the third quarter of 2018. At 317 million francs, Group profit, however, was down 186 million francs year-on-year, confirming Swiss Post’s forecasts. The difficult operating framework at PostFinance and corrections at PostBus are the main factors which continue to impact Group figures. This is also reflected in the operating profit (EBIT) of 384 million francs.
At PostBus, operating profit in the third quarter fell by 47 million francs year-on-year. This was mainly due to the agreement with the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) regarding the reimbursement of compensatory payments received unjustly. There has been no change in the difficult situation at PostFinance seen over several quarters: in a market environment with low and in some cases negative interest rates, revenue from interest operations is continuously declining at PostFinance. The lending prohibition makes it impossible for PostFinance to stabilize its interest margins in this context. “This situation is leading to a slump in profits at PostFinance, which in turn affects the Group result – not only in the third quarter, but on an ongoing basis. Swiss Post therefore welcomes the policy decision taken by the Federal Council to lift the ban on PostFinance issuing its own loans and mortgages”, explains Alex Glanzmann, Head of Finance and a Member of Executive Management.
Contributions by the business units
PostMail recorded an operating profit of 253 million francs for the first three quarters of 2018, exceeding the prior-year figure by 9 million francs. As the volume of addressed letters falls by an average of 3 percent per year, and the number of newspaper subscriptions has also decreased, operating income at PostMail is also declining. Operating profit was exceeded slightly thanks to a more profitable import business and successful efficiency measures. PostMail thereby makes a substantial contribution to the Group result which has remained constant over the years.
Swiss Post Solutions posted operating profit of 22 million francs, which was 1 million francs higher than the previous year’s level. At 429 million francs, operating income was 27 million francs up on the previous year, partly due to very positive new business. Since June 2018 the new business unit HR services and travel expense management acquired via inorganic growth has also contributed to the good result.
PostalNetwork offset the losses in its core business of letters and inpayments through network development and the consistent adaptation of resources, combined with efficiency increases. Although customer frequency and hence over-the-counter transactions in the branches continue to decline, the operating result at PostalNetwork rose significantly by 36 million francs year-on-year to –94 million francs.
In the highly competitive logistics market PostLogistics posted operating profit of 101 million francs, which was 17 million francs higher than the prior-year figure. Parcel volumes carried by PostLogistics rose by 6.7 percent and were therefore largely responsible for this positive profit trend. The freight and warehousing units were also optimized, which had a positive impact.
Ongoing decline in operating profit at PostFinance
PostFinance recorded an operating profit of 218 million francs, representing a decrease of 315 million francs year-on-year. Operating income was down 277 million francs to 1,315 million francs, This is mainly due to non-recurring one-off capital gains of 109 million francs from the sale of shares in the previous year and the current market-related lower interest income, which decreased by 114 million francs. The negative trend in results at PostFinance which has been seen for several quarters therefore continued.
Drop in results at PostBus
At PostBus, the operating result fell by 47 million francs year-on-year. This was mainly due to the agreement with the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) regarding the reimbursement of compensatory payments received unjustly in previous years. An impairment loss on intangible assets (–10 million francs) and property, plant and equipment (–4 million francs) also weighed on the operating result in the first three quarters. Additional expenses were incurred to settle a legal dispute in France (–7 million francs).
Swiss Post is tackling challenges
Swiss Post is tackling the challenges it faces and has introduced a range of effective measures. Good progress has been made in the restructuring of the postal network, and the deficit in the network has been successively reduced. Constant improvements are underway not only in the network, but also in all Swiss Post units. This is essential to enable Swiss Post to continue to finance the universal postal service and its investments from its own resources.
Source : https://www.post.ch/en/about-us/company/media/press-releases/2018
One World Express Helps Canada Post Overcome Backlog
November 22, 2018
One World Express has been chosen as Canada Post’s first Authorised Service Provider in the UK for their Direct to Canada “Expedited Domestic” tracked parcel solution.
Due to the strikes at Canada Post over the last five weeks, there is a massive backlog of mail which is not expected to clear till 2019.
In addition to the current backlog, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will add millions of parcels to the problem and so delivery, even with an Expedited Domestic service, will suffer from severe delays.
Standard UPU Mail has also stopped due to the current situation and global postal operators cannot service Canada through the normal UPU route.
One World is now able to provide cost effective deliveries into Canada via Canada Post.
With the help of One World’s IT System – called Smarttrack – the company can provide shipping almost instantly.
For smaller sellers a simple login will allow them to produce the required labels and start shipping immediately. The system has CSV file upload functionalities for medium size shippers and a single API for larger shippers that opens up over a 100 carriers to ship worldwide.
Atul Bhakta, Group CEO of One World Group stated “We are excited about our relationship with Canada Post and look forward to bringing much needed solutions to Canada to the UK Merchants. We will be working very closely with the executives at Canada Post through this challenging times and endeavor to minimise the delays as best as possible.”
Source: https://postandparcel.info/99071/news
POSTAL NEWS
No 97 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Posti Group completed cooperation negotiations concerning renewal of Posti’s operating model and organization. November 28, 2018.
Russian Post has renewed the postal wagons fleet. November 28, 2018.
APWU Statement in Support of Canadian Postal Workers. November 28, 2018.
Hermes brings back its Christmas delivery promise initiative. November 27, 2018.
China Post and Lufthansa Cargo announce strategic cooperation. November 22, 2018.
Posti Group completed cooperation negotiations concerning renewal of Posti’s operating model and organization
November 28, 2018
Posti is engaged in a renewal of its operating model and organization to better respond to market and customer needs. The goal is to further improve the customer experience and streamline Posti’s operations to bring services as close to customers as possible. This will mean new roles among Posti employees and the discontinuation of some previous positions.
The reorganization has also created new positions, which has significantly reduced the need for dismissals. The final layoff figure is at most 28 persons (original was at most 72). According to current estimates, part of the layoffs can be realized through retirement solutions.
The change will have no effect on mail delivery or Posti’s other services. All customers will be served as usual, without interruptions.
Posti is continuing to make target-oriented changes in line with its strategy
Postal operations are undergoing a historical transformation: e-commerce is experiencing strong growth, while traditional postal operations are moving from paper to electronic format and competition is getting tougher. The new operating model will enable more comprehensive development of the customer experience, faster reaction to changes in our customer needs and even more target-oriented growth in e-commerce and logistics.
Source: https://www.posti.com/en/media/media-news/2018
Russian Post has renewed the postal wagons fleet
November 28, 2018
By the end of the year, Russian Post will receive 107 baggage-postal cars produced by the wagon manufacturer TVZ in Tver.
The new railway equipment is supplied under a trilateral agreement concluded between Russian Post, JSC TVZ and VTB Leasing under the terms of a financial lease. The new cars will be operated both in fast trains and passenger trains, as well as part of the postal train number 990/989 Moscow-Vladivostok. According to the results of a public auction, the cost of purchasing cars amounted to about 3.7 billion rubles, including leasing payments.
According to the terms of the agreement with the lessor, payments will be made in equal shares over 7 years, after which the cars will become the property of Russian Post. This purchase of cars has become the largest since the formation of the FSUE “Russian Post”. In a point of fact, in 2016, the company purchased 10 cars, compared with 45 cars in the last year. The total volume of the car fleet of Russian Post by the end of 2018 will be 819 equipment units.
“The new wagons are distinguished by high manufacturability and increased carrying capacity, which is achieved, among other things, by using the coupling of two cars - they are served by one team of conductors. We are gradually replacing rolling stock that has reached the limit of service life with new equipment units in order to ensure the timely and high-quality delivery of hundreds of millions of postal items. It was one of the reasons, why new cars are being commissioned on the eve of the peak period associated with the New Year holidays,” Igor Chebunin, Russian Post’s Acting Deputy Director General for Logistics said.
The service compartment in the new cars is equipped with air conditioning, a water disinfectant, a microwave oven, besides that in the decoration of the car more modern and environmentally friendly materials are used. The service life of new baggage and postal cars is 40 years, they have an increased volume of the cargo bay and augmented interrepair time, compared to postal cars of earlier construction. After completion of the purchase, the average age of the rolling stock of Russian Post will be 18 years. The cars are equipped with a monitoring system that allows you to track their technical condition in real time, including the state of adjacent coupled cars.
In addition, part of the cars is equipped with a device for lowering the height of the coupler and the option of rolling of bogies with a gauge of 1,435 mm instead of the standard 1,520 mm for Russia, which in the future will make it possible to operate rolling stock on the PRC railway infrastructure.
“In 2015, we delivered to Russian Post the first 50 cars designed and built to meet the most up-to-date requirements for postal and baggage transportation: to deliver more cargo, while reducing operating costs and improving the quality of services provided to consumers,” said Andrei Solovey, general director of TVZ plant.
According to the results of the All-Russian competition “100 Best Products of Russia”, these cars were awarded the title “Winner” in the nomination “Industrial goods”.
Russian Post has completed the construction of a unified corporate data network
Russian Post and Rostelecom have finished the creation of a unified corporate data transmission network, which covered 37,000 postal services, including more than 15,000 Pochta Bank’s points of presence.
Today, the unified corporate data transmission network of Russian Post is a dedicated private network (IP VPN) with the possibility of high-speed Internet access. Equipping 37,000 objects of Russian Post with stable and modern communication channels is an infrastructural foundation that ensures the continuity of key postal services, a significant part of which was switched to digital format. This applies to written correspondence and postal items with goods, logistics, financial services.
In particular, in a short time, a highly popular service of simplified delivery of parcels was launched using a simple electronic signature that allows you to ensure the handing out of postal items without presenting a passport and reduce customer service time. Furthermore, the network infrastructure also supports the work of the Pochta Bank's customer centers that are open at the post offices.
“Stable operation of the corporate network is the basis of modern digital services of Russian Post. The implementation of this project will allow the enterprise to develop effectively, improving the customer service quality, solving a wide range of socially important tasks and expanding the portfolio of online services provided to the public,” Sergey Yemelchenko, Russian Post’s Deputy Director General for Information Technologies and New Product noted.
“Building a data transmission network for Russian Post has become one of the largest Rostelecom’s projects lately. The implementation of this project is another step towards creating a digital economy and increasing the availability of digital services. I am confident that the use of secure data transmission channels and high-speed Internet access will make the services of Russian Post even more attractive to users,” Valery Ermakov, Rostelecom’s Vice President, Corporate and Government Segments commented.
Source: http://www.posteurop.org
APWU Statement in Support of Canadian Postal Workers
November 28, 2018
For 37 days, members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) engaged in militant rotating strikes in the struggle for a new union contract. Canadian postal workers were forced into strike action by the refusal of Canada Post to address the just and urgent demands of the workers, including addressing dangerous work conditions and high injury rates, unequal pay for rural workers, and massive hours of forced overtime.
Yesterday, Nov. 27, the Canadian government, through legislative action, forced Canadian postal workers back to work and into binding mediation and arbitration.
The American Postal Workers Union both applauds the struggle of the Canadian postal workers and our sister union CUPW, and condemns the outrageous act of the Liberal Canadian government – a government that claims to be on the side of working people. This unconstitutional government action strips workers of their legal right to strike under
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and tilts ongoing collective bargaining in management’s favor.
CUPW National President Mike Palecek declared, “Postal Workers are rightfully dismayed and outraged…You cannot legislate labour peace. We are now moving to a different phase of the struggle.”
As the struggle continues, the CUPW is keeping all options open, including switching to a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience and other tactics to press their contract demands.
“‘An Injury to One is an Injury to All.’ Their fight is our fight,” said President Mark Dimondstein. “The APWU salutes the unity and determination of our Canadian sisters and brothers and we have full confidence that the workers, led by the CUPW, will overcome these new obstacles and prevail in their just struggle. We stand in unbreakable union solidarity with Canada’s postal workers.”
Source: https://www.apwu.org/news/web-news-article
Hermes brings back its Christmas delivery promise initiative
November 27, 2018
Hermes will be offering additional support and reassurance to the UK’s retail industry ahead of Christmas 2018 by bringing back its unique money back delivery guarantee.
The initiative, now in its sixth year, helps retailers to avoid disappointing online shoppers by pledging that all purchases will be delivered before Christmas Day.
The terms of the commitment apply to each individual parcel that enters the Hermes network with a UK mainland address by 23.59 on December 20 for standard deliveries and 23:59 on December 21 for next-day delivery.
It guarantees that a minimum of one delivery attempt will be made to ensure purchases are received in time for Christmas; otherwise Hermes will refund the delivery charge.
Martijn De Lange, CEO of Hermes UK, said, “We’re happy to honor our guaranteed Christmas delivery promise for the sixth year running as we want to deliver the best possible service for our clients and their customers at everyone’s busiest time of the year.
“The recent investments across our fleet and network of hubs and depots will drive this, including the use of our new premises in Hemel Hempstead that opened last month. We have also invested throughout the year in ongoing digital updates to improve control, flow of information and trust from our customers.
“We’re looking forward to supporting our clients as we head into peak 2018 to ensure that their customers and ours have the best possible delivery experience.”
Source: https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news
China Post and Lufthansa Cargo announce strategic cooperation
November 22, 2018
China Post and Lufthansa Cargo have reached an agreement on deepening its strategic cooperation. Initially, the agreement has a weekly scope of the cargo capacity of one Boeing 777 freighter on the Shanghai – Frankfurt route.
The joint freight operation furthers the relationship of the companies who have so far focussed on Beijing and Guangzhou. Shanghai, is therefore, an attractive opportunity for the airliners to increase its share in the cross-border post and mail market supported by the rapid growth of e-commerce.
In addition to the capacity agreement, both companies are jointly working on shortening transportation times, improving quality and further developing digitalization.
Li Xiong, Vice President of China Post Group Corporation, commented on the agreement: “Under the concept of the “Joint Freight Operation”, the two sides have reached a further consensus on capacity agreement this time. We will jointly build a more stabilized and comprehensive channel of air mail transportation connecting China and Europe.”
Source: https://www.ti-insight.com
No 96 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
‘Please support brave Isle of Man members’ Terry Pullinger. November 29, 2018.
UPS’s Christmas Wish: A Delivery Surge It Can Handle. November 26, 2018.
Neopost launches automated packaging solution in the UK. November 23, 2018.
Quarterly figures confirm Swiss Post’s forecasts.
November 22, 2018.
One World Express Helps Canada Post Overcome Backlog. November 22, 2018.
‘Please support brave Isle of Man members’ Terry Pullinger
November 29, 2018
Around 200 Isle of Man Post workers are currently voting on potential industrial action in response to what the CWU has described as a “set of proposals that threaten jobs, pensions and the future of the service.”
In a morale-boosting video message this morning, the union’s deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger described the company’s new governing board as “anti-union” and that they want to “slash everything.”
The employer wants to close the existing pension scheme to new entrants and recruit new staff on lower pay rates – plans which would, Terry warns, introduce “two-tier employment” into the business.
But management are also gunning for existing employees too, with proposals to cut the benefits in the current scheme as well, award a below-inflation 1 per cent pay settlement, buy out a range of allowances and move away from long-established voluntary redundancy arrangements.
Against the backdrop of these management plans, members met last month and unanimously resolved to request an industrial action ballot – a request which was endorsed by the full postal executive.
Balloting is due to close within the next few days, and the result is expected to be announced early next week.
Describing the Isle of Man members’ decision to resist this attack as “extremely brave,” Terry urges our CWU branches all across the UK to send messages of support and solidarity.
“Let’s show these members that the whole CWU is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our Isle of Man comrades.”
Source: https://www.cwu.org/news
UPS’s Christmas Wish: A Delivery Surge It Can Handle
November 26, 2018
United Parcel Service Inc. UPS 1.83% is hoping that billions of dollars in system improvements this year will help it avoid shipping problems during the online shopping surge of the holiday season.
The Atlanta-based company expects to handle nearly 800 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas, delivering an average of 31 million each delivery day—more than double the average daily volume. That is up from 762 million packages during last year’s peak period.
UPS is banking on closer collaboration with more commercial customers, automated facilities and new technology that reroutes packages around choke points during high-volume periods.
Both UPS and rival FedEx Corp. have been swamped in the past by a boom in deliveries around the holidays as consumers made more of their purchases online and retailers competed for their business by offering free and discount shipping.
Crunch TimeMarket share of U.S. domestic package deliveries in 2017 Source: SJ Consulting Group.
FedEx has tackled its delivery problems by working more closely with retailers to forecast demand and enforcing limits on how much those companies can put into its network. It managed the surge in 2017 without much trouble.
“FedEx has had relatively flawless peak service for a long time and they’re perceived as relatively riskless compared to UPS,” said Rick Paterson, a transportation analyst at Loop Capital.
UPS’s answer is a bigger, more automated network that can reroute shipments quickly. UPS has added 22 new or retrofitted automated sorting facilities that can sort packages faster with fewer workers. A new “super hub” in Atlanta can sort 100,000 packages an hour.
In all, UPS says it is adding the capacity to handle 350,000 more pieces per hour in the U.S., compared with last year when it added extra hourly capacity for about 50,000 packages. About 70% of all packages will pass through automated facilities this year, up from 50% last year.
UPS is also working closely with more customers to improve their shipping forecasts. The company collaborated with customers that represent 80% of its peak volume increase this year, up from just 13% last year.
“Our goal and commitment is to have this peak be the peak we all want it to be through the eyes of our customers,” UPS Operating Chief Jim Barber said last month on an earnings call.
UPS is also reprising peak surcharges for businesses seeking residential deliveries during the week of and after Thanksgiving, and the week before Christmas. UPS and FedEx are both slapping on additional fees for oversize items.
FedEx expects to double its average daily volume of 14 million on multiple Mondays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has opened new hubs this year in places like Connecticut and Pennsylvania and added two automated sort stations. FedEx has also added more facilities that just handle large packages, which are making up an increasing portion of shipments.
“We’re doing a lot of the same things, just on a larger scale this year,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, FedEx’s senior vice president of marketing and communications. “We don’t really have to dramatically change.”
Retailers also are taking steps to ease the crunch. Some are offering pickups in stores or delivering from them. Amazon.com Inc. continues to build out its own delivery network, which includes thousands of drivers as well as cargo jets and more than 7,000 trailers.
Apparel retailer Gap Inc., which primarily ships through UPS, this year offered the option of delivery as slow as 12 to 15 days around Black Friday. A spokeswoman said the offer aims to spread out the demand on the company’s supply chain during the peak period.
The U.S. Postal Service plans to outpace both FedEx and UPS, with a projection of 900 million packages forecast for delivery. Postmaster General Megan Brennan says the agency has added leased space, opened a new package-processing system and two sorting systems to handle large items.
In areas with high package volume, the Postal Service will send out drivers on parcel routes twice a day. “We are well prepared to handle the surge in volume,” Ms. Brennan said during a recent conference call.
Source : https://www.wsj.com/articles
Neopost launches automated packaging solution in the UK
November 23, 2018
Neopost Shipping, a supplier of shipping software, smart parcel lockers and automated packaging machines, has launched its CVP-500 automated packaging solution (APS) in the UK.
The CVP-500 is capable of ‘auto-boxing’ multiple or single items at speeds of up to 450 packages per hour. It also avoids the need for using chips and bubble wrap to fill voids and reduces volume during transport.
The automated solution measures, constructs, tapes, weighs and labels each parcel in one seamless process. Optimizing all steps of package fulfilment, it creates a fit-to-size box for single or multi-item orders of variable dimensions.
By building the optimum size parcel around the order items using its corrugated packaging, the CVP-500 reduces box size by up to 50%. This minimizes shipping costs and the carbon footprint throughout the fulfilment process.
Just one operator is required to produce the high-volume packing throughput, scanning an order item and placing it onto the system. A scanner then captures a 3D image of each unique order to determine the minimum box size required. The corrugated material is cut and folded around the items to create the box. Any waste material falls away onto a conveyor that takes it away for baling and recycling. An optional robotic arm will insert an invoice or promotional material.
“In addition to reducing cost from unnecessary packaging and shipping void fill material, the CVP-500 also addresses growing end customer environmental concerns over excessive wastage in packaging,” said Jo Bradley, business development manager, Neopost UK.
“This has developed into a significant issue for an environmentally aware online shopper, particularly when small item online purchases arrive in large boxes full of void fill.”
Neopost Shipping has already installed its first application of two CVP-500 machines in the UK and has applications across nine counties.
“With the UK being one of the leading e-commerce markets in the world, we see significant potential for bringing this revolutionary packaging technology here,” added Bradley.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/automation
Quarterly figures confirm Swiss Post’s forecasts
November 22, 2018
Swiss Post achieved good results in many units again in the third quarter of 2018. At 317 million francs, Group profit, however, was down 186 million francs year-on-year, confirming Swiss Post’s forecasts. The difficult operating framework at PostFinance and corrections at PostBus are the main factors which continue to impact Group figures. This is also reflected in the operating profit (EBIT) of 384 million francs.
At PostBus, operating profit in the third quarter fell by 47 million francs year-on-year. This was mainly due to the agreement with the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) regarding the reimbursement of compensatory payments received unjustly. There has been no change in the difficult situation at PostFinance seen over several quarters: in a market environment with low and in some cases negative interest rates, revenue from interest operations is continuously declining at PostFinance. The lending prohibition makes it impossible for PostFinance to stabilize its interest margins in this context. “This situation is leading to a slump in profits at PostFinance, which in turn affects the Group result – not only in the third quarter, but on an ongoing basis. Swiss Post therefore welcomes the policy decision taken by the Federal Council to lift the ban on PostFinance issuing its own loans and mortgages”, explains Alex Glanzmann, Head of Finance and a Member of Executive Management.
Contributions by the business units
PostMail recorded an operating profit of 253 million francs for the first three quarters of 2018, exceeding the prior-year figure by 9 million francs. As the volume of addressed letters falls by an average of 3 percent per year, and the number of newspaper subscriptions has also decreased, operating income at PostMail is also declining. Operating profit was exceeded slightly thanks to a more profitable import business and successful efficiency measures. PostMail thereby makes a substantial contribution to the Group result which has remained constant over the years.
Swiss Post Solutions posted operating profit of 22 million francs, which was 1 million francs higher than the previous year’s level. At 429 million francs, operating income was 27 million francs up on the previous year, partly due to very positive new business. Since June 2018 the new business unit HR services and travel expense management acquired via inorganic growth has also contributed to the good result.
PostalNetwork offset the losses in its core business of letters and inpayments through network development and the consistent adaptation of resources, combined with efficiency increases. Although customer frequency and hence over-the-counter transactions in the branches continue to decline, the operating result at PostalNetwork rose significantly by 36 million francs year-on-year to –94 million francs.
In the highly competitive logistics market PostLogistics posted operating profit of 101 million francs, which was 17 million francs higher than the prior-year figure. Parcel volumes carried by PostLogistics rose by 6.7 percent and were therefore largely responsible for this positive profit trend. The freight and warehousing units were also optimized, which had a positive impact.
Ongoing decline in operating profit at PostFinance
PostFinance recorded an operating profit of 218 million francs, representing a decrease of 315 million francs year-on-year. Operating income was down 277 million francs to 1,315 million francs, This is mainly due to non-recurring one-off capital gains of 109 million francs from the sale of shares in the previous year and the current market-related lower interest income, which decreased by 114 million francs. The negative trend in results at PostFinance which has been seen for several quarters therefore continued.
Drop in results at PostBus
At PostBus, the operating result fell by 47 million francs year-on-year. This was mainly due to the agreement with the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) regarding the reimbursement of compensatory payments received unjustly in previous years. An impairment loss on intangible assets (–10 million francs) and property, plant and equipment (–4 million francs) also weighed on the operating result in the first three quarters. Additional expenses were incurred to settle a legal dispute in France (–7 million francs).
Swiss Post is tackling challenges
Swiss Post is tackling the challenges it faces and has introduced a range of effective measures. Good progress has been made in the restructuring of the postal network, and the deficit in the network has been successively reduced. Constant improvements are underway not only in the network, but also in all Swiss Post units. This is essential to enable Swiss Post to continue to finance the universal postal service and its investments from its own resources.
Source : https://www.post.ch/en/about-us/company/media/press-releases/2018
One World Express Helps Canada Post Overcome Backlog
November 22, 2018
One World Express has been chosen as Canada Post’s first Authorised Service Provider in the UK for their Direct to Canada “Expedited Domestic” tracked parcel solution.
Due to the strikes at Canada Post over the last five weeks, there is a massive backlog of mail which is not expected to clear till 2019.
In addition to the current backlog, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will add millions of parcels to the problem and so delivery, even with an Expedited Domestic service, will suffer from severe delays.
Standard UPU Mail has also stopped due to the current situation and global postal operators cannot service Canada through the normal UPU route.
One World is now able to provide cost effective deliveries into Canada via Canada Post.
With the help of One World’s IT System – called Smarttrack – the company can provide shipping almost instantly.
For smaller sellers a simple login will allow them to produce the required labels and start shipping immediately. The system has CSV file upload functionalities for medium size shippers and a single API for larger shippers that opens up over a 100 carriers to ship worldwide.
Atul Bhakta, Group CEO of One World Group stated “We are excited about our relationship with Canada Post and look forward to bringing much needed solutions to Canada to the UK Merchants. We will be working very closely with the executives at Canada Post through this challenging times and endeavor to minimise the delays as best as possible.”
Source: https://postandparcel.info/99071/news
POSTAL NEWS
No 97 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Posti Group completed cooperation negotiations concerning renewal of Posti’s operating model and organization. November 28, 2018.
Russian Post has renewed the postal wagons fleet. November 28, 2018.
APWU Statement in Support of Canadian Postal Workers. November 28, 2018.
Hermes brings back its Christmas delivery promise initiative. November 27, 2018.
China Post and Lufthansa Cargo announce strategic cooperation. November 22, 2018.
Posti Group completed cooperation negotiations concerning renewal of Posti’s operating model and organization
November 28, 2018
Posti is engaged in a renewal of its operating model and organization to better respond to market and customer needs. The goal is to further improve the customer experience and streamline Posti’s operations to bring services as close to customers as possible. This will mean new roles among Posti employees and the discontinuation of some previous positions.
The reorganization has also created new positions, which has significantly reduced the need for dismissals. The final layoff figure is at most 28 persons (original was at most 72). According to current estimates, part of the layoffs can be realized through retirement solutions.
The change will have no effect on mail delivery or Posti’s other services. All customers will be served as usual, without interruptions.
Posti is continuing to make target-oriented changes in line with its strategy
Postal operations are undergoing a historical transformation: e-commerce is experiencing strong growth, while traditional postal operations are moving from paper to electronic format and competition is getting tougher. The new operating model will enable more comprehensive development of the customer experience, faster reaction to changes in our customer needs and even more target-oriented growth in e-commerce and logistics.
Source: https://www.posti.com/en/media/media-news/2018
Russian Post has renewed the postal wagons fleet
November 28, 2018
By the end of the year, Russian Post will receive 107 baggage-postal cars produced by the wagon manufacturer TVZ in Tver.
The new railway equipment is supplied under a trilateral agreement concluded between Russian Post, JSC TVZ and VTB Leasing under the terms of a financial lease. The new cars will be operated both in fast trains and passenger trains, as well as part of the postal train number 990/989 Moscow-Vladivostok. According to the results of a public auction, the cost of purchasing cars amounted to about 3.7 billion rubles, including leasing payments.
According to the terms of the agreement with the lessor, payments will be made in equal shares over 7 years, after which the cars will become the property of Russian Post. This purchase of cars has become the largest since the formation of the FSUE “Russian Post”. In a point of fact, in 2016, the company purchased 10 cars, compared with 45 cars in the last year. The total volume of the car fleet of Russian Post by the end of 2018 will be 819 equipment units.
“The new wagons are distinguished by high manufacturability and increased carrying capacity, which is achieved, among other things, by using the coupling of two cars - they are served by one team of conductors. We are gradually replacing rolling stock that has reached the limit of service life with new equipment units in order to ensure the timely and high-quality delivery of hundreds of millions of postal items. It was one of the reasons, why new cars are being commissioned on the eve of the peak period associated with the New Year holidays,” Igor Chebunin, Russian Post’s Acting Deputy Director General for Logistics said.
The service compartment in the new cars is equipped with air conditioning, a water disinfectant, a microwave oven, besides that in the decoration of the car more modern and environmentally friendly materials are used. The service life of new baggage and postal cars is 40 years, they have an increased volume of the cargo bay and augmented interrepair time, compared to postal cars of earlier construction. After completion of the purchase, the average age of the rolling stock of Russian Post will be 18 years. The cars are equipped with a monitoring system that allows you to track their technical condition in real time, including the state of adjacent coupled cars.
In addition, part of the cars is equipped with a device for lowering the height of the coupler and the option of rolling of bogies with a gauge of 1,435 mm instead of the standard 1,520 mm for Russia, which in the future will make it possible to operate rolling stock on the PRC railway infrastructure.
“In 2015, we delivered to Russian Post the first 50 cars designed and built to meet the most up-to-date requirements for postal and baggage transportation: to deliver more cargo, while reducing operating costs and improving the quality of services provided to consumers,” said Andrei Solovey, general director of TVZ plant.
According to the results of the All-Russian competition “100 Best Products of Russia”, these cars were awarded the title “Winner” in the nomination “Industrial goods”.
Russian Post has completed the construction of a unified corporate data network
Russian Post and Rostelecom have finished the creation of a unified corporate data transmission network, which covered 37,000 postal services, including more than 15,000 Pochta Bank’s points of presence.
Today, the unified corporate data transmission network of Russian Post is a dedicated private network (IP VPN) with the possibility of high-speed Internet access. Equipping 37,000 objects of Russian Post with stable and modern communication channels is an infrastructural foundation that ensures the continuity of key postal services, a significant part of which was switched to digital format. This applies to written correspondence and postal items with goods, logistics, financial services.
In particular, in a short time, a highly popular service of simplified delivery of parcels was launched using a simple electronic signature that allows you to ensure the handing out of postal items without presenting a passport and reduce customer service time. Furthermore, the network infrastructure also supports the work of the Pochta Bank's customer centers that are open at the post offices.
“Stable operation of the corporate network is the basis of modern digital services of Russian Post. The implementation of this project will allow the enterprise to develop effectively, improving the customer service quality, solving a wide range of socially important tasks and expanding the portfolio of online services provided to the public,” Sergey Yemelchenko, Russian Post’s Deputy Director General for Information Technologies and New Product noted.
“Building a data transmission network for Russian Post has become one of the largest Rostelecom’s projects lately. The implementation of this project is another step towards creating a digital economy and increasing the availability of digital services. I am confident that the use of secure data transmission channels and high-speed Internet access will make the services of Russian Post even more attractive to users,” Valery Ermakov, Rostelecom’s Vice President, Corporate and Government Segments commented.
Source: http://www.posteurop.org
APWU Statement in Support of Canadian Postal Workers
November 28, 2018
For 37 days, members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) engaged in militant rotating strikes in the struggle for a new union contract. Canadian postal workers were forced into strike action by the refusal of Canada Post to address the just and urgent demands of the workers, including addressing dangerous work conditions and high injury rates, unequal pay for rural workers, and massive hours of forced overtime.
Yesterday, Nov. 27, the Canadian government, through legislative action, forced Canadian postal workers back to work and into binding mediation and arbitration.
The American Postal Workers Union both applauds the struggle of the Canadian postal workers and our sister union CUPW, and condemns the outrageous act of the Liberal Canadian government – a government that claims to be on the side of working people. This unconstitutional government action strips workers of their legal right to strike under
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and tilts ongoing collective bargaining in management’s favor.
CUPW National President Mike Palecek declared, “Postal Workers are rightfully dismayed and outraged…You cannot legislate labour peace. We are now moving to a different phase of the struggle.”
As the struggle continues, the CUPW is keeping all options open, including switching to a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience and other tactics to press their contract demands.
“‘An Injury to One is an Injury to All.’ Their fight is our fight,” said President Mark Dimondstein. “The APWU salutes the unity and determination of our Canadian sisters and brothers and we have full confidence that the workers, led by the CUPW, will overcome these new obstacles and prevail in their just struggle. We stand in unbreakable union solidarity with Canada’s postal workers.”
Source: https://www.apwu.org/news/web-news-article
Hermes brings back its Christmas delivery promise initiative
November 27, 2018
Hermes will be offering additional support and reassurance to the UK’s retail industry ahead of Christmas 2018 by bringing back its unique money back delivery guarantee.
The initiative, now in its sixth year, helps retailers to avoid disappointing online shoppers by pledging that all purchases will be delivered before Christmas Day.
The terms of the commitment apply to each individual parcel that enters the Hermes network with a UK mainland address by 23.59 on December 20 for standard deliveries and 23:59 on December 21 for next-day delivery.
It guarantees that a minimum of one delivery attempt will be made to ensure purchases are received in time for Christmas; otherwise Hermes will refund the delivery charge.
Martijn De Lange, CEO of Hermes UK, said, “We’re happy to honor our guaranteed Christmas delivery promise for the sixth year running as we want to deliver the best possible service for our clients and their customers at everyone’s busiest time of the year.
“The recent investments across our fleet and network of hubs and depots will drive this, including the use of our new premises in Hemel Hempstead that opened last month. We have also invested throughout the year in ongoing digital updates to improve control, flow of information and trust from our customers.
“We’re looking forward to supporting our clients as we head into peak 2018 to ensure that their customers and ours have the best possible delivery experience.”
Source: https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news
China Post and Lufthansa Cargo announce strategic cooperation
November 22, 2018
China Post and Lufthansa Cargo have reached an agreement on deepening its strategic cooperation. Initially, the agreement has a weekly scope of the cargo capacity of one Boeing 777 freighter on the Shanghai – Frankfurt route.
The joint freight operation furthers the relationship of the companies who have so far focussed on Beijing and Guangzhou. Shanghai, is therefore, an attractive opportunity for the airliners to increase its share in the cross-border post and mail market supported by the rapid growth of e-commerce.
In addition to the capacity agreement, both companies are jointly working on shortening transportation times, improving quality and further developing digitalization.
Li Xiong, Vice President of China Post Group Corporation, commented on the agreement: “Under the concept of the “Joint Freight Operation”, the two sides have reached a further consensus on capacity agreement this time. We will jointly build a more stabilized and comprehensive channel of air mail transportation connecting China and Europe.”
Source: https://www.ti-insight.com