POSTAL NEWS
No 43-2021
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
1. USPS Flats Sequencing System: The end of an era? June 04, 2021.
2. DHL increases investment in warehouse robotics. June 03, 2021.
3. Royal Mail launches same-day delivery for medication and healthcare products. June 03, 2021.
4. PostNord invests substantially in parcel boxes in the Nordic region. June 01, 2021.
5. Result of vote in principle agreement CEVA. June 01, 2021.
1. USPS Flats Sequencing System: The end of an era?
June 04, 2021
In February 2007, the USPS contracted to purchase the next generation of automatic delivery point sequencing equipment designed to reduce processing costs of flat mail. “Flats,” as they are called, include large envelopes, magazines and other types of widely distributed mail.
The Flats Sequencing System (FSS) is a massive system approximately the length of and one-half the width of a football field. It consists of several vital subsystems and required
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extensive preparation of USPS mail processing plants before its deployment to the field. The FSS was part of the USPS’ then five-year transformation plan.
This project had a pre-production price tag of $1.3 billion from the manufacturer. The USPS worked to reduce the system’s scope and price. Ultimately, a firm, fixed price of $874 million was agreed on for the production and deployment of 100 FSS units at 32 sites around the country and an additional two FSS units at the Postal Service’s training facility in Norman, OK.
Source : https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnew
2. DHL increases investment in warehouse robotics
June 03, 2021
DHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics leader within Deutsche Post DHL Group, has announced a framework agreement expanding its collaboration with Locus Robotics. The company says that initial investments in assisted picking robots have proved effective in commercially scaled operations, and the new multi-million-dollar agreement will enhance its wider Accelerated Digitalization Strategy.
By 2022, the Supply chain specialist plans to take on up to 2,000 robots, making it by far the largest customer of Locus Robotics worldwide. The assisted picking robots are mostly used in e-commerce or consumer warehouses to help with picking and inventory replenishment, thereby increasing efficiency and accelerating delivery processes.
“It is particularly important for us to be able to consistently optimize our Supply chains; assisted picking robots are very effective in this respect,” said Markus Voss, global CIO and COO at DHL Supply Chain. “So far, more than 500 assisted picking robots are already in industrial use in our warehouses in the USA, Europe and the UK. By the end of 2021, another 500 robots are to be added in a total of more than 20 locations. The collaborative picking technology has clearly proven its effectiveness and reliability in modern warehousing. More locations have already been identified with concrete
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implementation roadmaps for the remaining robots, which we will deploy in 2022. However, the overall potential for assisted picking robots in our DHL warehouses is much bigger, so we are confident that we will meet the targets we have set ourselves together with Locus Robotics.”
Implementing these robots is one step in DHL Supply Chain’s Accelerated Digitalization Strategy. The company notes that assisted picking robots help reduce time spent on maneuvering pushcarts through warehouses, eases the physical strain on employees and increases picking efficiency. Assisted picking robots display images of goods to be picked, calculate optimal navigation routes and reduce required training time. Furthermore, they can be swiftly integrated into the warehouse system landscape via DHL Supply Chain’s Robotics Hub and have been well received by staff. In addition, during peak operational periods the robots provide an optimal solution for capacity expansion as they can be swiftly scaled with minimal onboarding effort to the existing fleet.
“Our expanded partnership with DHL reflects the increasing demand for warehouse digitalization worldwide to meet today’s exploding fulfillment challenges,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Locus is proud to be a valued technology resource that is helping DHL realize their strategic vision of digital transformation.”
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/automation
3. Royal Mail launches same-day delivery for medication and healthcare products
June 03, 2021
Royal Mail is launching same-day deliveries for some Pharmacy2U medication and healthcare products – initially via the Chemist Direct brand – in an initial trial in Yorkshire.
Royal Mail research reveals that since the start of the pandemic 4.3 million adults across the UK have ordered medication online to be delivered to their homes for the first time.
The company announced it was working with Echo, LloydsPharmacy’s online NHS prescription service to trial faster deliveries of prescriptions to a selection of residents in London and the south east in March to eventually offer a same-day service for urgent medication.
Royal Mail’s study showed that around 39% of those who ordered medication online to be delivered by post in the past 12 months did so for the first time. One in eight adults (12%) currently have medication regularly delivered in the post and a further 9% have previously had medication delivered through the post. Of these people, 57% currently receive prescription medicine compared to 43% currently receiving non-prescription medicine. Four in five (81%) of these prescriptions are repeat.
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The main reasons for people getting medication delivered include: for ease and convenience (59%), to avoid making journeys to the pharmacy (37%) and to avoid the risk of infection from COVID-19 (24%). Other drivers include to avoid queueing in the pharmacy and due to shielding.
Looking ahead, just under a quarter (22%) of UK adults would be likely to order any type of medication online to be delivered in the post in the next year. Of these, three in five (59%) would be likely to use a same-day delivery service for medication.
In the coming months, Royal Mail and Pharmacy2U will extend their partnership to continue improving the patient experience and innovate in the delivery space.
Mark Livingstone, CEO at Pharmacy2U, said: “The Coronavirus pandemic has shifted people’s behaviours drastically and brought forward digital uptake for many. At Pharmacy2U we are doing all we can to remain at the forefront of consumer demand and bringing medicines straight to your front door is part of that.
Through this partnership with Royal Mail, we’re hopeful that repeat prescriptions will become even more accessible and it will lead to more people adhering to their doctor’s orders.”
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: “We’re working with Pharmacy2U to deliver medicines on the same day they are ordered and look forward to significantly expanding this service in the future. The last year has reset many of our expectations for delivery and coupled with the convenience of home delivery, no queues and a reduced risk of infection we think this service is just what the doctor .
Source : https://edelivery.net/2021/06
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4. PostNord invests substantially in parcel boxes in the Nordic region
June 01, 2021
PostNord works continuously to make everyday life easier for everyone who lives and works in the Nordic region. And a part of this involves providing convenient delivery options. The Group’s objective is to have more than 12,500 of its own parcel boxes in the Nordic region before the end of 2022 – with investments in additional parcel boxes planned for 2023.
The number of e-commerce consumers is rising steadily throughout the Nordic region, so a convenient, versatile delivery set-up is crucial. The opportunity to collect what you have purchased from a parcel box that is available 24/7, week in and week out, and which is located close to where you live, work or pass by almost every day, is a highly appreciated UPSplement to home and service point deliveries.
“We’re convinced that this form of delivery is set to become increasingly popular as more and more people discover the benefits of e-commerce, and more parcels are sent by mail. We at PostNord consider it only natural to strive to live up to consumer demands for flexibility and convenience.
That’s why we’re ramping up the pace of development and investing heavily in expanding our own network of parcel boxes in the Nordic region,” explains Annemarie Gardshol, CEO of the PostNord Group.
As a part of its expansive strategy, PostNord has now acquired SwipBox’s share of the Danish Nærboks network of parcel boxes. Nærboks was originally launched by PostNord and SwipBox in 2019 and encompasses fully 2,550 parcel boxes in Denmark. Through today’s acquisition, PostNord has become the sole owner.
The boxes have become particularly popular in the wake of the pandemic, as they allow deliveries to be made without any physical contact at all. PostNord’s goal is to have more than 12,500 of its own parcel boxes in the Nordic region before the end of 2022 and is already planning to invest in additional parcel boxes in 2023.
Consumers can already choose a parcel box as the delivery option in the checkout phase where boxes are already available in the immediate area. The parcel boxes can easily be set up outdoors and need neither electricity UPSply nor any other connection.
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“We evaluate appropriate locations to ensure that the parcel boxes are installed in the most convenient place for parcel recipients; we also take into account aspects such as sustainability and the working environment for PostNord employees. Once the boxes are installed, this delivery option is added to the e-retailers’ checkout phase,” says Annemarie Gardshol.
Facts and figures
• PostNord currently has around 330 parcel boxes in Sweden, primarily in the large cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. In July, the network will be expanded to encompass 620 boxes in approx. 350 locations all over the country, and the plan is to have a total of 4,500 boxes in Sweden by the end of 2022, covering not only the 30 largest towns in the country, but also rural areas.
• In Denmark, PostNord has 2,950 boxes of its own following the acquisition of SwipBox’s share of the previously jointly owned Nærboks network. By the end of 2021, the plan is to have 3 100 parcel boxes as part of Nærboks in Denmark.
• As regards Norway, PostNord currently has around 310 boxes in the capital, Oslo. The ambition is to have a total of 1,500 parcel boxes in the country by the end of 2022, with locations in Bergen and Trondheim in use as well.
• In Finland, PostNord currently delivers to shared network boxes, but a pilot project involving 100 own boxes in Turku and Tampere is planned for later this year. The long-term ambition is to improve the customer experience by establishing 600 own boxes over the course of 2022, primarily in the vicinity of PostNord’s terminals in the metropolitan areas around Helsinki, Turku, and Tampere.
Source : https://www.postnord.com/media/press-releases/2021
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5. Result of vote in principle agreement CEVA
June 01, 2021
On 4 May we informed you about the agreement in principle for a new collective labor agreement CEVA. We presented this agreement to our members with a positive advice and asked everyone to vote. The votes have now been counted and all voters have voted in favor of the agreement in principle. This is unique!
Stefan Klein, BVPP negotiator: “ It is great to see that we have been able to conclude an agreement that the members unanimously want to support. Especially since the negotiations took place in the difficult time of corona, which is sometimes associated with a lot of uncertainty for both employers and employees. Thanks to the new collective labor agreement, employees are now assured of a nice salary increase, as a result of which their purchasing power (according to the predictions of CBS) will improve. ”
Source : https://bvpp.nl/sectors/overige/nieuws/2021-06-01
POSTAL NEWS
No 44-2021
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
1. NZ Post invests millions as delivery business grows in pandemic. June 04, 2021.
2. Omniva opens new international sorting hub in Kaunas. June 04, 2021.
3. Universal Postal Service: what to remember from the Launay report. June 03, 2021.
4. SingPost Group CEO resigns. June 02, 2021.
5. Post-IPO, JD Logistics launches Asia Pacific charter flight, with more to come. June 01, 2021.
1. NZ Post invests millions as delivery business grows in pandemic
June 04, 2021
NZ Post to rebrand and bring its courier companies Pace and CourierPost under the main banner, to try to cement its position as a market leader in parcel distribution.
The effect of the pandemic on New Zealanders' online shopping habits is evident in new spending numbers.
NZ Post's annual report on e-commerce trends shows online spending grew 25 percent in 2020 with the total dollar figure at $5.8 billion.
First-time online shoppers totalled 306,000 and online spend for the 60-plus age group rose 30 percent.
NZ Post chief executive David Walsh said local retailers benefited hugely from the push to "buy local" but the challenge ahead of them now was maintaining the growth.
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"If you think about New Zealand, where about 11 percent of all retail shopping is now done online – in parts of Europe and the UK that's getting close to 20 percent."
Walsh said New Zealand retailers were starting to improve their websites, their click -and-collect options and working on their distribution.
"NZ Post has been keeping pace with that growth, but we know we have to invest significantly to keep up with it," he said.
"In the next three years, we're spending about $170 million on increasing our processing and information capacity, just so we can keep UPSporting those businesses as they grow."
The company would also bring its parcel brands – Pace and CourierPost – under the one NZ Post banner to try to cement its position as a market leader in parcel distribution. The NZ Post brand's look would also change in a refresh in June.
"The history has been posting traditional letters and communications. What we're evolving into is a delivery business," Walsh said.
Source : https://www.newsroom.co.nz/
2. Omniva opens new international sorting hub in Kaunas
June 04, 2021
Estonian postal service Omniva has opened an international transit sorting center in Kaunas, based in the closed customs zone of the Estonian city’s airport. It says the center will start sorting international e-commerce shipments that predominantly come from China and move on to various countries around the world.
Omniva notes its international transit department operates in five important hubs: Tallinn, Estonia; London, UK; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Hachenburg, Germany; and now
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Kaunas. Its contact center for international transit and e-commerce customers is in Bangladesh.
“The new sorting center will handle more than 10 million shipments a year,” said Omniva head of international transit area, Sven Kukemelk. “For this facility, we have developed our own sorting software that is tailored to the sorting needs of international transit.”
Omniva will continue its international transit sorting in Tallinn. “Baltics is the home market for Omniva. Thus, operating simultaneously in Kaunas and Tallinn is efficient. Alongside the new hub, Tallinn will surely remain as an important logistics hub,” Kukemelk added.
The Kaunas hub will be developed in cooperation with Hoptrans Logistics, an international transport and logistics provider. The company’s main activity is road transportation, but it also offers versatile logistics solutions combining different freight modes, and organizes projects for e-commerce business.
“We appreciate that such a market player as Omniva evaluated our long-term experience working in Kaunas Airport and has chosen us as a reliable partner to develop this project, which is significant for the whole Baltic region,” said Rimvydas Melkūnas, Hoptrans Logistics chief executive officer.
Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/sorting-systems
3. Universal Postal Service: what to remember from the Launay report
June 03, 2021
Why this report on the Universal Postal Service (UPS)?
Since 2018, the UPS no longer compensates for the 3 other public service missions entrusted to La Poste by the postal law of 2010. The deficit now stands at € 1.3 billion. As the rapporteur, Jean Launay, former deputy, commissioned by the Minister of the Economy who commissioned this report, writes: “No company can include in its economic model an annual deficit approaching 1 billion euros for missions. of public service
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entrusted to it ” . This deficit, which has become chronic, necessarily has causes that must be analyzed, impacts that must be measured and requires actions and compensation levers.
On the causes
What does the report say? The last 10 years have seen an accelerated drop in mail volumes of 39% and an induced drop in Mail turnover which fell over the same period from 41% to 18.7% of Group turnover. Concretely, this translates into a loss of turnover of half a billion euros per year which, in the end, makes the UPS in deficit from 2018. It is mainly the modification of the uses of professionals and individuals and emergence of digital technology which explains this underlying trend.
What does FO say? This decline was largely predictable, well before 2010, with the emergence of “digital”, NICT (New Information and Communication Technologies) and the digitization of trade. The 2015-2020 strategic plan “Conquer the future” moreover provided for a share of Mail turnover of less than 20% of Group turnover in 2020. La Poste has not been able to transform itself to become a leading digital player . The Digital branch generated only a turnover of 102 million euros, or 2.2% of the Group's turnover .
On the impacts
What does the report say? Despite this continuous decline, the content of the Universal Service has not been called into question: maintenance of the collection and distribution of Mail 6 days a week. In addition, the other public service missions have been maintained: distribution of mail. press, banking accessibility mission and regional planning mission with the maintenance of 17,000 points of contact. “Cost control” has had an impact on employment: reduction of the workforce by 47,000 people since 2013. Impacts on the cost of the letter for customers with a continuous increase of 3% per year from 2009 to 2017 and 5 % per year since 2018!
What does FO say? These "optimization efforts" have represented around € 600 million per year. These measures have had a strong impact on postal workers in terms of employment, working conditions and purchasing power.
On a daily basis, these are only continuous reorganizations with productivity, increased job insecurity and stagnation of wages. La Poste urgently looks for external compensation levers, elsewhere than in the pockets of postal workers.
On actions and compensation levers
What measures does the rapporteur propose for today and for tomorrow? The rapporteur sets out the principle of maintaining the UPS and its content, with adjustments (hybrid mail, D + 3, etc.), and other public service missions which demonstrated the need for relational excellence embodied by postal workers during the period. health crisis. It also proposes the creation of a fifth public service mission around personal service and digital inclusion. In doing so, it proposes a series of levers to compensate for the structural
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deficit which will represent around 900 million euros per year, or cumulatively, between 4 and 5 billion euros in 2025. Immediate budgetary leverage (via a finance law corrigendum submitted to Parliament) to compensate for the deficit of universal service as are compensated for the deficits of other carriers of public service mission (audio-visual, energy, rail).
A fiscal lever through the tax deduction on the payroll tax for the remuneration paid to postal workers who operate on the UPS, which remains in line with European directives and which would represent savings of € 270 million for La Poste. Another fiscal lever through the broadening of the tax base on digital operators who “take advantage” of new uses of digital technology by consumers to the detriment of postal services.
Finally, a budgetary lever which would consist of an additional annual budgetary allocation to finance the UPS and regional planning.
What does FO say? FO calls for the restoration of a relationship of trust between the State and La Poste with the adoption of sustainable, fair fiscal and budgetary measures, which offset the real cost of all the public service missions entrusted to it by the State . This is the case for other French companies entrusted with public service missions. This is also the case for other European postal operators who benefit from compensation measures by their State, in accordance with European texts.
FO also wonders about La Poste's wait-and-see attitude towards tax possibilities (payroll tax reductions) and in dialogue with the State. Finally, for FO, the pursuit of “cost control efforts” must not lead to further job cuts, the deterioration of working conditions and wage scarcity.
Through this lack of compensation, it is the economic model that is in difficulty. For FO, it is also and above all the social model that is under attack. The State must take the measure of societal, social and economic issues. As the rapporteur writes, “the treatment of the deficit of public service missions cannot be postponed until the following year. The sincerity of the company's accounts and the sincerity of the State are at stake ”.
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr/
4. SingPost Group CEO resigns
June 02, 2021 Singapore Post‘s group chief executive officer Paul Coutts has resigned after four years to “pursue other opportunities”, reports The Strait Times.
While his resignation as a director took place with immediate effect from Monday, he will remain as group CEO until Aug 31 this year or earlier to UPSport a handover.
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The group’s board chairman Simon Israel will provide guidance to, and exercise oversight of, the senior management leadership team in the interim.
In the media statement, it was noted that the SingPost Board and Mr Coutts agreed that a leadership renewal would happen in 2021, a process that had already begun with the Board considering internal and external candidates to replace Mr Coutts.
The group said it would announce the appointment of a new group CEO in due course. In the meantime, it noted that it will “continue to execute its strategic road map, and the board has confidence in the remaining leadership team to do so”.
Source : https://postandparcel.info/138266/news/e-commerce
5. Post-IPO, JD Logistics launches Asia Pacific charter flight, with more to come
June 01, 2021
Newly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, JD Logistics has launched a self-operated charter flight between Shenzhen and Bangkok.
The e-commerce logistics giant said the flight would be its first in the Asia Pacific region, running three times a week and catering for SMEs in China and Thailand, with 48-hour deliveries.
Stard Huang, head of JD’s international logistics business, said: “Cross-border e-commerce between the two countries has huge potential for expansion, and this is just the first step.
Bilateral trade between China and Thailand stood at $80bn last year, up 0.2% year on year. JD said Chinese exports would mainly include daily necessities, small household
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appliances, consumer electronics and other e-commerce goods; while exports from Thailand would consist of fresh produce and industrial products such as auto parts.
Coming fresh off the back of a $3.1bn IPO in Hong Kong last week, JD has ammunition for additional freighter routes, perhaps following in the footsteps of rival Cainiao.
That Alibaba logistics unit recently struck a deal with Hong Kong Air Cargo for South-east Asian e-commerce shipments, and plans to add 3,000 more charter flights to its network.
At JD’s post-IPO press conference in Hong Kong, CEO Rui Yu said the company would build its global logistics network, infrastructure and supply chain solutions to “better serve cross-border sellers to China, mainly from North America and Europe, and explore new markets in line with Chinese brands’ globalisation destinations, such as South-east Asia, South America and other regions.”
Furthermore, Mr Yu is eyeing “some business breakthroughs in cargo flights in the foreseeable future.”
JD Logistics launched over a decade ago, handling in-house e-com shipments for parent company JD.com. Since then, the company has diversified to serve external clients, which now account for 47% of business revenue. Mr Yu said external clients would continue to grow “at a fast rate” this year, and the company would continue to diversify its services.
“Changing business models and technologies, such as social and live-streaming e-commerce, will bring serious implications to supply chains,” he said. “We continuously iterate our supply chain services, dive deep into supply chain processes and study timely feedback, so that we can help our clients to shorten their distance to customers, and create more sales opportunities with less inventory.”
Source : https://theloadstar.com/