World Postal News.
POSTAL NEWS
No 85 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
CUPW Issues Strike Notices to Canada Post.
October, 16 2018.
Yamato bounces back to profitability as price hikes take effect. October 16, 2018.
Royal Mail Group starts its annual Christmas recruitment campaign for around 23,000 temporary workers across the UK. 15 October 15, 2018.
Russia Post to deliver e-commerce goods for IKEA.
October 15, 2018.
Deutsche Post DHL research shows 75% of companies believe investment in ground transportation will directly support their company growth. October 12, 2018.
CUPW Issues Strike Notices to Canada Post
October, 16 2018
If deals cannot be reached over the weekend, service will be disrupted as of next Monday
For Immediate Release
Ottawa – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) today gave notices to Canada Post that job action will begin next week if agreements cannot be reached for the Urban Postal Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) bargaining units.
If job action is necessary, rotating strikes will begin at 12:01 am, Monday, October 22. Locations have yet to be determined.
“Our members gave us a clear mandate to take job action if Canada Post refused to address our major issues – health and safety, gender equality and preserving full-time, middle class jobs,” says Mike Palecek, CUPW National President. “Our goal is still negotiated settlements with no postal disruption. This week is Canada Post’s chance to make that happen.”
Key demands for postal workers during this round of bargaining are job security, an end to forced overtime and overburdening, better health and safety measures, service expansion and equality for RSMCs.
The working conditions of postal workers have deteriorated over the last decade in part because Canada Post has failed to properly address the massive increase in parcel volumes and the burden it has placed on members.
Canada Post also needs to address workplace injuries, which over the last two years, have increased by 43 percent. Today, the disabling injury rate for a letter carrier is eight times the average of the rest of the federal sector, which includes longshoring, mining, road transport and railways.
“A Crown Corporation should do better and can do better. Our members deserve better,” says Palecek.
Source : https://www.cupw.ca/en
Yamato bounces back to profitability as price hikes take effect
October 16, 2018
Courier succeeds in curbing orders, but moving unit scandal remains a risk
Yamato Holdings looks to have generated close to 20 billion yen ($178 million) in operating profit for the April-September half, as the Japanese logistics company boosted margins through price increases for its package delivery service.
The estimated figure tops Yamato's forecast of 15 billion yen and marks a turnaround from the loss of 12.8 billion yen incurred in the year-ago period, when the company spent heavily on labor and outsourcing to keep up with rising demand.
Sales for the six months look to have grown 10% to around 800 billion yen, compared with Yamato's projection of 780 billion yen. Price hikes enacted in October 2017 buoyed revenue, even though the company handled 6% fewer packages on the year.
Yamato raised its target price for an average package delivery by about 10%, to 659 yen, from the end of fiscal 2017. The business appears to have surpassed that benchmark in the first half.
The company curbed orders, looking to minimize outsourcing of its deliveries. The outsourcing costs that squeezed profit a year ago declined as a result.
The profit increase from the price hikes has been greater than expected, which may prompt Yamato to upgrade its full-year earnings projection for a second time this fiscal year. The company currently forecasts a 71% increase in operating profit to 61 billion yen. The QUICK Consensus of analysts projects profit of 67.3 billion yen.
However, an overcharging scandal at a moving service subsidiary may erode annual profit by billions of yen, depending on how soon the unit resumes taking new orders.
Source : https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies
Royal Mail Group starts its annual Christmas recruitment campaign for around 23,000 temporary workers across the UK
October 15, 2018
Royal Mail has started its drive this year to recruit around 23,000 temporary workers to help sort the Christmas post and the increasing amount of online Christmas shopping.
Temporary positions across a variety of shifts will be available, from late October through to early January 2019. The peak of the additional temporary work will be in the busiest month of December. Parcelforce Worldwide is also looking for drivers and indoor workers as the whole organisation gears up to deliver parcels this Christmas.
Royal Mail has been recruiting festive temporary workers since the Second World War.
Helping to sort the post
Over 13,300 people are needed to work in mail centres, distribution centres and data centres across England. There are also around 1,100 posts in Scotland, 470 jobs in Wales and another 445 roles in Northern Ireland. The temporary recruits will help to sort Christmas parcels and cards as well as the growing amount of online shopping orders before they are taken to around 1,400 Delivery Offices for postmen and women to take out on their rounds.
Royal Mail Group’s express parcels business, Parcelforce Worldwide, is also looking for around 2,250 sorting staff and drivers across the UK.
There are also around 1,900 sorting and driving jobs in Royal Mail’s logistics arm, 1,100 data inputting roles in three sites in the UK and 740 roles at its international hub at Heathrow.
Dedicated website
Royal Mail has set up a dedicated website for people to apply for the Christmas positions, https://christmasrecruitment.royalmailgroup.com/ or by emailing Christmas_helpline@royalmail.com or by calling the automated helpline on 0345 600 1785.
Royal Mail post and parcels CEO, Sue Whalley,
said: “Christmas continues to be our busiest time of year. We plan all year round to ensure we deliver the best possible service for UK consumers and businesses before, during and after the Festive Season.
“We continue to make this substantial commitment in additional resources, including the recruitment of thousands of temporary workers, to ensure we can continue to deal with the huge amount of festive parcels, cards and online shopping orders, which we will be asked to deliver for our customers in every part of the country.”
Royal Mail also has a year-round recruitment drive where it recruits postmen and women into its Delivery Offices around the UK. There are a range of permanent and temporary delivery roles in sites across England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland. More information is available at www.royalmailgroup.com/careers
Source : https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/press-centre/press-releases
Russia Post to deliver e-commerce goods for IKEA
October 15, 2018
Russia Post has signed a memorandum of intent with Swedish retailer IKEA to deliver e-commerce good across Russia. The document was signed by Nikolay Podguzov, general director of the Russian Post Office, and Pontus Erntell, general director of the IKEA retail network in Russia, at the E-Commerce 2018 conference.
The parties are currently negotiating the terms and parameters of future cooperation, the launch of which is scheduled for 2019. The type and volume of IKEA product categories delivered by Russian Post as well as the delivery time will be detailed later.
“IKEA products are very popular all over the world, including in Russia. I am sure that cooperation in the field of delivery of IKEA products ordered online will increase their availability for residents of our country and will increase the turnover of Russian digital commerce. Considering Russia’s largest route network, which Russian Post operates, as well as the recent launch of a large-scale project for the construction of 38 logistics centers across the country, we see our partnership has great prospects,”said Podguzov.
“Cooperation with the Russian Post is an important step for our company on the way to creating an effective multi-channel sales system. The wide network that the federal operator has will ensure the availability of our offer to all residents of Russia,” added Erntell.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/e-commerce
Deutsche Post DHL research shows 75% of companies believe investment in ground transportation will directly support their company growth
October 12, 2018
The report reveals that the fast-paced evolution underway in the sector is changing the way that shippers think when purchasing a transportation solution.
An evolution in the transport sector is being driven by trends such as the rapid growth of e-commerce, the continued urbanization of markets, and technologies such as big data analytics and digitalization
Advanced technologies and service options are changing the way shippers and 3PLs manage their global transport flows
Service expectations, new markets, new ground transportation solutions have all increased as a result
DHL today launched its latest research report on ground transportation logistics. The report reveals that the fast-paced evolution underway in the sector is changing the way that shippers think when purchasing a transportation solution. The global survey of transport buyers and operations professionals found that 83% of businesses are willing to pay more for better and value-added services as long as they provide a measureable return on their investment.
"The Logistics Transport Evolution: The Road ahead" is a report by DHL Supply Chain, using data from research by Lieberman Research Worldwide, LLC (LRW) that was commissioned by DHL to identify the factors that are impacting ground transportation logistics and how industry is adapting to the new frontier of solutions available. The report found that across sectors and regions, companies are increasingly viewing ground transportation as being more than a tactical commodity, with 71% now considering it to be a strategic component of their businesses. Companies agree there is a direct correlation between ground transportation and business performance with three quarters (75%) believing investing time and resources in ground transportation will directly help their company sales.
Javier Bilbao, Global Transport Lead & CEO Latin America, DHL Supply Chain said: "Transport is undoubtedly a critical aspect of the global business environment, and these findings indicate that companies across sectors and markets are now recognizing its strategic value. We undertook this study to gain an insight into exactly what companies expect from their transportation service providers, both today and tomorrow. Our research has shown us that customers are increasingly looking for complete solutions with a global reach as they have the capability to solve a wide range of transportation issues and requirements."
Global shifts in the business environment were identified as disrupting the ground transportation landscape. In particular, the exponential growth of e-commerce and its implications on service was identified by 65% of companies as having a significant impact on their supply chain in the next 1-2 years.
Bilbao added: "Echoing the findings of our digitalization research, technology will be central to navigating this new era for ground transportation. The capability of AI and data analytics to manage the order profile and shipping patterns of customers' increasingly complex and demanding operating models while optimizing cost and service, means that they are now viewed as essential services, rather than added benefits."
Although these changing dynamics are being witnessed across regions, variations can also be identified depending on the maturity of the market and the demands placed on shippers from their consumer base. In Latin America, the priority consideration in selecting a ground transportation provider is on time delivery while in Europe, where the market is more mature, optimization of networks is the key focus for shippers.
Broader societal factors were also highlighted as presenting associated challenges, with 61% of companies referencing the increase in urbanization as a factor that will significantly impact their future business. Technology and its ability to help manage this complex environment is increasingly seen as a standard requirement of 3PLs: more than two thirds (67%) of companies believe that big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are services that are essential for 3PLs to offer their shipper customers.
Source : https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/press-releases
POSTAL NEWS
No 84 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Swiss Post’s evolving post office network. October 16, 2018.
NAB, Westpac sign Australia Post bank deal.
October 15, 2018.
UPS/GreenBiz study identifies motivators and barriers to electric fleets. October 15, 2018.
USPS Proposes Shipping Fee Increase To Amazon. October 12, 2018.
An allowance for the bike. October 12, 2018.
Going postal: how Donald Trump is threatening the international mail system. September 15, 2018
Swiss Post’s evolving post office network
October 16, 2018
Swiss Post is tackling the deficit in its post office network by changing the structure of the network - while increasing public access to postal services.
A Four-Year Expansion Plan
In the autumn of 2016, Swiss Post announced its plans for the postal network up until 2020, including increasing the number of access points to at least 4,200.
Swiss Post has already reached its target of 4,200 access points - two years ahead of schedule.
In the last year or so the benefits to Swiss Post are starting to become apparent. The deficit in the postal network has been reduced by CHF 28 million compared to the same period in the previous year.
How Did Swiss Post Do It?
A key factor was transforming self-operated post offices (that is, owned and staffed by Swiss Post) into partner post offices.
Swiss Post opened its thousandth partner-operated branch in May, and there are currently 1,033 such branches. In the next two years other access points will be added and further self-operated branches will be transformed into partner-operated branches.
Consultation
At the beginning of the transformation programme back in 2016, Swiss Post promised open dialogue with the cantons and municipalities.
Since then, Swiss Post has held over 550 discussions with the cantons and municipalities across Switzerland, as well as consulting with citizens. Over 270 information events for the general public have been held since 2016.
“We’re aware of the fact that the restructuring of the postal network is a sensitive issue − especially in rural areas.” - Thomas Baur, Head of PostalNetwork and a Member of Executive Management, Swiss Post.
Post Office Modernisation
Like some other national postal operators, Swiss Post is investing in modernising its post office network.
“By investing some CHF 40 million, Swiss Post is sending out a clear message in this respect and is modernising some 300 self-operated branches across Switzerland.” - Thomas Baur.
Swiss Post is growing its range of services which are available 24/7. By 2020, some 200 My Post 24 terminals will be set up. Swiss Post is also testing self-service stations.
Postal Network Deficit Declining
In recent years, Swiss Post has posted deficits of up to around CHF 200 million in the postal network. Swiss Post’s objective of restructuring the postal network is not to lead to a break even, but to stabilise the deficit and pay for the universal service without public subsidy.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, PostalNetwork made an important contribution in this respect by reducing the deficit in the half-year results by CHF 28 million to -CHF 60 million.
Over-The-Counter Business Decline
Falling letter volumes might usually grab the headlines in the postal world, but over-the-counter transactions are in decline at Swiss post offices. Since 2000, payment transactions at the counter have fallen by 44%. This decline, and the associated deficit, are driving network renewal.
Access At The Doorstep
Swiss Post has been trialling a new service where customers can request postal services at the doorstep.
The Post Home Button is a small device that sends Swiss Post a signal via a wireless network at the push of a button. Customers can request predefined products and services, such as mail collection or A and B Mail stamps.
During a recent trial, customers could also order from Migros Aare, Qualipet and Domino’s Pizza.
Some interesting developments in how customers will interact with the post.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com/blog
NAB, Westpac sign Australia Post bank deal
October 15, 2018
Three of the big four banks have now agreed to boost investment in banking services at local Australia Post offices, with only ANZ yet to sign the deal.
Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate has heaped pressure on ANZ to join its other big four competitors and support the survival of personal banking services at Australia Post offices.
Ms Holgate said on Monday Westpac and NAB had agreed to pitch in the requested $22 million per year for three years in order to keep Bank@Post operating, with the deal potentially rising to match the five-year agreement signed by CBA last week.
Bank@Post lets people do basic banking - including deposits and withdrawals - at more than 3,500 post offices nationwide.
About 1,500 communities - mainly in rural and regional areas - have no local bank branch.
Ms Holgate said ANZ had "chosen at this time not to give a long-term commitment".
"We continue to communicate with ANZ - they are an important partner to us - but this fee is not even 0.2 per cent, of one per cent, of their profit," she told AAP.
"They've got 6000 customers using (Bank@Post) every day. They use 99 per cent of the network."
Ms Holgate said Bank@Post currently runs at a "significant" loss from the cost of transaction fees and technology required to maintain the service.
Last week she said CBA's $110 million deal would allow the postal service to increase base transaction payments to post office licensees by about 50 per cent from January, along with a 25 per cent increase in their annual minimum payment for carrying the brand.
Money from NAB and Westpac would help improve IT and security systems at local post offices, she said.
"Historically the licensed post office owner would have been responsible for paying a fee to Australia Post for IT services, or providing their own security," she said.
"But we need to recognise these are very small businesses - people have mortgaged their homes to be able to run these businesses."
Last week Ms Holgate admitted Australia Post has been struggling, blaming a plummeting number of letters sent.
There has, however, been a three-fold increase in packages, up 11 per cent up to record a revenue of $3.5 billion, as Australians increasingly embrace online shopping.
Source : https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news
UPS/GreenBiz study identifies motivators and barriers to electric fleets
October 15, 2018
A new report by UPS and GreenBiz has revealed that attaining environmental benefits and lower cost of ownership is driving more commercial fleets to electrify.
In the Curve Ahead: The Future of Fleet Electrification report, industry leaders identify the main motivations and barriers to electrification, as well as strategies to move the commercial electric vehicle market from niche to mainstream.
The top motivation to go electric for 83% of large businesses surveyed is sustainability and environmental goals. A lower total cost of ownership – factoring in both direct and indirect costs and savings over the life of the vehicle – is the second biggest driver, cited by 64% of respondents.
In addition to the fuel savings, electric vehicles (EVs) typically require less maintenance than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, which means lower maintenance costs.
Despite an appetite for electrification, many fleet operators face challenges. In the report, 55% of respondents cited the initial purchase price of electric commercial vehicles as the top barrier; 44% view inadequate on-site charging infrastructure as a barrier, and 92% advise their facility is not “very well equipped” to accommodate commercial charging needs.
However, the study found less than half of the companies surveyed are working with governments or utilities to address charging infrastructure.
“The challenges of cost and infrastructure requirements can be daunting, but we’ve begun to see solutions emerge,” said Scott Phillippi, UPS senior director of automotive maintenance and engineering.
“In the USA, we recently ordered 50 electric-powered delivery trucks that we anticipate will be at cost parity with conventional diesel-powered vehicles. And in London, we were able to find a solution for our charging needs through a collaboration between government and private organizations.
“The business case, combined with growing preference for EVs from cities and national governments, will help us to reach a tipping point to large-scale EV fleet adoption.”
Fleet managers and industry experts interviewed suggested strategies to overcome such challenges, including starting small. Instead of undertaking a large-scale fleet overhaul, many companies will prioritize electric options when replacing vehicles and even consider electric leasing options to mitigate the initial purchase price.
Converting from internal combustion engines to electric depends on specific vehicle uses, the size and distribution of fleets across regions, the costs of electricity and access to charging infrastructure.
“Despite the complexity of transitioning commercial fleets to an electric future, the vehicle technologies and options to upgrade infrastructure are quickly improving,” said Paul Carp, GreenBiz Group’s director of research and senior analyst. “Continued industry collaboration will be critical to accelerate fleet electrification across a wide range of use cases.”
As the market for electric commercial vehicles matures, 70% of companies report working closely with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to identify the latest electric vehicle technologies and features. This communication is important given that 32% of survey respondents cited inadequate product availability as a barrier.
The 2018 UPS and GreenBiz Curve Ahead study presents the findings of qualitative research, along with an online survey conducted by GreenBiz Group in June 2018 among more than 200 respondents within the GreenBiz Intelligence Panel.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news
USPS Proposes Shipping Fee Increase To Amazon
October 12, 2018
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants Amazon to pay 9 to 12 percent more for its shipping services.
According to CNBC, the USPS proposed a 9.3 percent increase on this service for packages weighing over one pound and a 12.3 percent increase on lighter packages.
The recommendation comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April to set up a task force to look at how to improve the postal service, claiming that it was on an “on an unsustainable financial path and must be restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout.”
A USPS spokesperson said these proposed changes are not a response to Trump’s criticism.
“The price increases reflect the best judgment of the Postal Service Governors, who are seeking to establish new rates that will keep the Postal Service competitive, while also providing the Postal Service with much needed revenue,” the spokesperson said.
The USPS also proposed a 3.9 percent increase on priority mail express, a 5.9 percent increase on priority mail and a 10 percent increase on first-class stamps.
These changes, if approved by regulators, will go into effect on Jan. 27, 2019.
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98589/news
An allowance for the bike
October 12, 2018
In 2015, an annual kilometric allowance (optional) for bicycle employees was set up in companies… Except in the state civil service, except at Ministry of Ecology !
As part of the "Bike Plan", the government has just validated the assumption of expenses incurred by public officials or employees of the private sector to make their commute to work by bicycle. The state will set up an allowance of 200 euros per year, from 2020. In companies, the amount can go up to 400 euros.
This management should make the agents aware of the environmental impact on their choice of means of travel.
FO Com asks La Poste to set up this allowance which could concern a large number of postal workers and favored the use of the bicycle.
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr
Going postal: how Donald Trump is threatening the international mail system
September 15, 2018
David Dodwell says the US president’s gripes that the American postal service is subsidising other countries’ trade – and singling out China – may be justified but here, as elsewhere, unilateralism is not the way forward
The blogger was furious: “I bought an item from a seller in Hong Kong for US$6 and US$1.50 shipping. The item was broken so the seller told me to return it for a refund. But to ship it back to Hong Kong with delivery confirmation using the US Postal Service will cost US$34.87. Without tracking it will cost US$11.48.
“How in the world did the China seller pay for the product, for eBay and PayPal fees, for packing material, and ship it to me WITH TRACKING for 1/4 of what it would cost me just in shipping costs alone to send the item back?”
Welcome to the weird, wonderful and voluptuously monopolised world of international mail, and the quirks of an international treaty that goes back to Bern in 1874, the birthplace of the 22 countries that created the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
As the organisation admits on its website: “Major changes in the international postal environment have brought a certain complexity to the system because of the need to prevent it from being circumvented and exploited to the prejudice of designated operators.” But it seems our irate blogger was venting about something more substantial than simple “complexity”.
For most of us, the idea of mailing a letter or parcel overseas seems simple. Wrap it, weigh it, stick on the stamps, and sit back confident that, in a few days, it will drop through a letterbox in time for your great aunt’s birthday.
Nearly 150 years ago, the original UPU agreement was simple: the sender would pay the cost of getting the letter or parcel to the foreign country, and that country’s (government monopoly) postal service promised to get it to your aunt for free.
Simple – it has led to 83 per cent of the world’s population getting mail delivered to their door – but sadly not sustainable. As costs of delivery rose, and with the volume of international mail being an estimated 320 billion letter-post items a year, sending mail across borders could not stay so straightforward.
The solution agreed upon in 1969, and a root cause of the “certain complexity” that confounded our blogger, was “terminal dues” – the money paid by the sending country’s postal service to the delivering country’s postal service to cover the cost of delivering the package to your aunt’s doorstep.
All might be well if everyone’s monopoly postal services charged the same, and if the terminal dues were the same. But of course, they are not. As you wade into the volumes of spread sheets that lay out what dues one country should pay to another, you enter a quagmire of different charges.
Terminal dues are linked to local postal rates, and developing countries tend to offer cheap postal rates. So the terminal dues they pay to rich countries are much lower than when the situation is reversed.
These Alice-in-Wonderland postal economics might have remained a matter of little consequence to most of us had it not been for four developments. First, many of the traditional postal services are losing money as letter volumes decline by 3 to 5 per cent a year.
Second, a fast growth in parcel services — currently about 17 per cent a year, according to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index — has not compensated them because here they do not have monopolies and face fierce competition from private sector companies like DHL or FedEx.
Third, the e-commerce revolution has created a fresh explosion in parcel services being competed over by the likes of Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and Tencent.
And fourth – perhaps most important – US President Donald Trump has noticed injustices here, and has decided that these are being exploited unacceptably by his trading bogeyman China.
Trump has become particularly sensitive because the US Postal Service lost an uncomfortable US$2.7 billion last financial year, and has not made a profit in the past decade. Apart from ruthless Chinese exporters exploiting unfair terminal dues rules set by the UPU, Trump also blames Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, which he sees as eating the US Postal Service’s lunch.
While there can be no question that the quirks of an ancient byzantine international treaty is making life tough for his cherished postal service, which delivers nearly half the world’s mail, the service’s challenges lie elsewhere – in bloated labour costs, strident unions, a costly network of sorting centres, a struggle to compete outside its monopoly areas and huge costs in pre-funding its pension obligations.
Satisfying though it may be to demonise China’s exporters for exploiting the UPU’s quirky rule book, and tag the issue onto his trade war with China, Trump has decided to attack the root of the problem: on August 23, ahead of a UPU conference in Addis Ababa in early September, he issued a memo to the US postmaster general and other officials. In it, he demanded a radical overhaul of the terminal dues system and threatened to adopt “self-declared rates” if the meeting “fail(s) to yield reforms that satisfy the criteria set forth”. The UPU has until November 1 to satisfy the Trump administration.
Now that the UPU meeting has come and gone, a train wreck seems possible. The press release at the end of the meeting committed to continue modernising and rationalising the terminal dues system, gave no details, but added: “On the topic of pay, which has been the subject of much discussion and debate in recent months, there was an agreement to use the Integrated Remuneration Plan as a road map for a sound proposal … to be presented at the 2020 Congress.” So much for Trump’s November 1 deadline.
Trump has a good case for complaining about the complex and distorted rules that are shaping the global traffic of e-commerce parcels, but another “America first” temper tantrum may not be the best way of finding a solution. Setting “self-declared rates” can only trigger a cascade of similar unilateralism among the UPU’s other members, and a wholly new tangle to replace terminal dues. This is not the art of the deal.
Source : ttps://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2164172/going-postal-how-donald-trump-threatening
POSTAL NEWS
No 85 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
CUPW Issues Strike Notices to Canada Post.
October, 16 2018.
Yamato bounces back to profitability as price hikes take effect. October 16, 2018.
Royal Mail Group starts its annual Christmas recruitment campaign for around 23,000 temporary workers across the UK. 15 October 15, 2018.
Russia Post to deliver e-commerce goods for IKEA.
October 15, 2018.
Deutsche Post DHL research shows 75% of companies believe investment in ground transportation will directly support their company growth. October 12, 2018.
CUPW Issues Strike Notices to Canada Post
October, 16 2018
If deals cannot be reached over the weekend, service will be disrupted as of next Monday
For Immediate Release
Ottawa – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) today gave notices to Canada Post that job action will begin next week if agreements cannot be reached for the Urban Postal Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) bargaining units.
If job action is necessary, rotating strikes will begin at 12:01 am, Monday, October 22. Locations have yet to be determined.
“Our members gave us a clear mandate to take job action if Canada Post refused to address our major issues – health and safety, gender equality and preserving full-time, middle class jobs,” says Mike Palecek, CUPW National President. “Our goal is still negotiated settlements with no postal disruption. This week is Canada Post’s chance to make that happen.”
Key demands for postal workers during this round of bargaining are job security, an end to forced overtime and overburdening, better health and safety measures, service expansion and equality for RSMCs.
The working conditions of postal workers have deteriorated over the last decade in part because Canada Post has failed to properly address the massive increase in parcel volumes and the burden it has placed on members.
Canada Post also needs to address workplace injuries, which over the last two years, have increased by 43 percent. Today, the disabling injury rate for a letter carrier is eight times the average of the rest of the federal sector, which includes longshoring, mining, road transport and railways.
“A Crown Corporation should do better and can do better. Our members deserve better,” says Palecek.
Source : https://www.cupw.ca/en
Yamato bounces back to profitability as price hikes take effect
October 16, 2018
Courier succeeds in curbing orders, but moving unit scandal remains a risk
Yamato Holdings looks to have generated close to 20 billion yen ($178 million) in operating profit for the April-September half, as the Japanese logistics company boosted margins through price increases for its package delivery service.
The estimated figure tops Yamato's forecast of 15 billion yen and marks a turnaround from the loss of 12.8 billion yen incurred in the year-ago period, when the company spent heavily on labor and outsourcing to keep up with rising demand.
Sales for the six months look to have grown 10% to around 800 billion yen, compared with Yamato's projection of 780 billion yen. Price hikes enacted in October 2017 buoyed revenue, even though the company handled 6% fewer packages on the year.
Yamato raised its target price for an average package delivery by about 10%, to 659 yen, from the end of fiscal 2017. The business appears to have surpassed that benchmark in the first half.
The company curbed orders, looking to minimize outsourcing of its deliveries. The outsourcing costs that squeezed profit a year ago declined as a result.
The profit increase from the price hikes has been greater than expected, which may prompt Yamato to upgrade its full-year earnings projection for a second time this fiscal year. The company currently forecasts a 71% increase in operating profit to 61 billion yen. The QUICK Consensus of analysts projects profit of 67.3 billion yen.
However, an overcharging scandal at a moving service subsidiary may erode annual profit by billions of yen, depending on how soon the unit resumes taking new orders.
Source : https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies
Royal Mail Group starts its annual Christmas recruitment campaign for around 23,000 temporary workers across the UK
October 15, 2018
Royal Mail has started its drive this year to recruit around 23,000 temporary workers to help sort the Christmas post and the increasing amount of online Christmas shopping.
Temporary positions across a variety of shifts will be available, from late October through to early January 2019. The peak of the additional temporary work will be in the busiest month of December. Parcelforce Worldwide is also looking for drivers and indoor workers as the whole organisation gears up to deliver parcels this Christmas.
Royal Mail has been recruiting festive temporary workers since the Second World War.
Helping to sort the post
Over 13,300 people are needed to work in mail centres, distribution centres and data centres across England. There are also around 1,100 posts in Scotland, 470 jobs in Wales and another 445 roles in Northern Ireland. The temporary recruits will help to sort Christmas parcels and cards as well as the growing amount of online shopping orders before they are taken to around 1,400 Delivery Offices for postmen and women to take out on their rounds.
Royal Mail Group’s express parcels business, Parcelforce Worldwide, is also looking for around 2,250 sorting staff and drivers across the UK.
There are also around 1,900 sorting and driving jobs in Royal Mail’s logistics arm, 1,100 data inputting roles in three sites in the UK and 740 roles at its international hub at Heathrow.
Dedicated website
Royal Mail has set up a dedicated website for people to apply for the Christmas positions, https://christmasrecruitment.royalmailgroup.com/ or by emailing Christmas_helpline@royalmail.com or by calling the automated helpline on 0345 600 1785.
Royal Mail post and parcels CEO, Sue Whalley,
said: “Christmas continues to be our busiest time of year. We plan all year round to ensure we deliver the best possible service for UK consumers and businesses before, during and after the Festive Season.
“We continue to make this substantial commitment in additional resources, including the recruitment of thousands of temporary workers, to ensure we can continue to deal with the huge amount of festive parcels, cards and online shopping orders, which we will be asked to deliver for our customers in every part of the country.”
Royal Mail also has a year-round recruitment drive where it recruits postmen and women into its Delivery Offices around the UK. There are a range of permanent and temporary delivery roles in sites across England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland. More information is available at www.royalmailgroup.com/careers
Source : https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/press-centre/press-releases
Russia Post to deliver e-commerce goods for IKEA
October 15, 2018
Russia Post has signed a memorandum of intent with Swedish retailer IKEA to deliver e-commerce good across Russia. The document was signed by Nikolay Podguzov, general director of the Russian Post Office, and Pontus Erntell, general director of the IKEA retail network in Russia, at the E-Commerce 2018 conference.
The parties are currently negotiating the terms and parameters of future cooperation, the launch of which is scheduled for 2019. The type and volume of IKEA product categories delivered by Russian Post as well as the delivery time will be detailed later.
“IKEA products are very popular all over the world, including in Russia. I am sure that cooperation in the field of delivery of IKEA products ordered online will increase their availability for residents of our country and will increase the turnover of Russian digital commerce. Considering Russia’s largest route network, which Russian Post operates, as well as the recent launch of a large-scale project for the construction of 38 logistics centers across the country, we see our partnership has great prospects,”said Podguzov.
“Cooperation with the Russian Post is an important step for our company on the way to creating an effective multi-channel sales system. The wide network that the federal operator has will ensure the availability of our offer to all residents of Russia,” added Erntell.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news/e-commerce
Deutsche Post DHL research shows 75% of companies believe investment in ground transportation will directly support their company growth
October 12, 2018
The report reveals that the fast-paced evolution underway in the sector is changing the way that shippers think when purchasing a transportation solution.
An evolution in the transport sector is being driven by trends such as the rapid growth of e-commerce, the continued urbanization of markets, and technologies such as big data analytics and digitalization
Advanced technologies and service options are changing the way shippers and 3PLs manage their global transport flows
Service expectations, new markets, new ground transportation solutions have all increased as a result
DHL today launched its latest research report on ground transportation logistics. The report reveals that the fast-paced evolution underway in the sector is changing the way that shippers think when purchasing a transportation solution. The global survey of transport buyers and operations professionals found that 83% of businesses are willing to pay more for better and value-added services as long as they provide a measureable return on their investment.
"The Logistics Transport Evolution: The Road ahead" is a report by DHL Supply Chain, using data from research by Lieberman Research Worldwide, LLC (LRW) that was commissioned by DHL to identify the factors that are impacting ground transportation logistics and how industry is adapting to the new frontier of solutions available. The report found that across sectors and regions, companies are increasingly viewing ground transportation as being more than a tactical commodity, with 71% now considering it to be a strategic component of their businesses. Companies agree there is a direct correlation between ground transportation and business performance with three quarters (75%) believing investing time and resources in ground transportation will directly help their company sales.
Javier Bilbao, Global Transport Lead & CEO Latin America, DHL Supply Chain said: "Transport is undoubtedly a critical aspect of the global business environment, and these findings indicate that companies across sectors and markets are now recognizing its strategic value. We undertook this study to gain an insight into exactly what companies expect from their transportation service providers, both today and tomorrow. Our research has shown us that customers are increasingly looking for complete solutions with a global reach as they have the capability to solve a wide range of transportation issues and requirements."
Global shifts in the business environment were identified as disrupting the ground transportation landscape. In particular, the exponential growth of e-commerce and its implications on service was identified by 65% of companies as having a significant impact on their supply chain in the next 1-2 years.
Bilbao added: "Echoing the findings of our digitalization research, technology will be central to navigating this new era for ground transportation. The capability of AI and data analytics to manage the order profile and shipping patterns of customers' increasingly complex and demanding operating models while optimizing cost and service, means that they are now viewed as essential services, rather than added benefits."
Although these changing dynamics are being witnessed across regions, variations can also be identified depending on the maturity of the market and the demands placed on shippers from their consumer base. In Latin America, the priority consideration in selecting a ground transportation provider is on time delivery while in Europe, where the market is more mature, optimization of networks is the key focus for shippers.
Broader societal factors were also highlighted as presenting associated challenges, with 61% of companies referencing the increase in urbanization as a factor that will significantly impact their future business. Technology and its ability to help manage this complex environment is increasingly seen as a standard requirement of 3PLs: more than two thirds (67%) of companies believe that big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are services that are essential for 3PLs to offer their shipper customers.
Source : https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/press-releases
POSTAL NEWS
No 84 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Swiss Post’s evolving post office network. October 16, 2018.
NAB, Westpac sign Australia Post bank deal.
October 15, 2018.
UPS/GreenBiz study identifies motivators and barriers to electric fleets. October 15, 2018.
USPS Proposes Shipping Fee Increase To Amazon. October 12, 2018.
An allowance for the bike. October 12, 2018.
Going postal: how Donald Trump is threatening the international mail system. September 15, 2018
Swiss Post’s evolving post office network
October 16, 2018
Swiss Post is tackling the deficit in its post office network by changing the structure of the network - while increasing public access to postal services.
A Four-Year Expansion Plan
In the autumn of 2016, Swiss Post announced its plans for the postal network up until 2020, including increasing the number of access points to at least 4,200.
Swiss Post has already reached its target of 4,200 access points - two years ahead of schedule.
In the last year or so the benefits to Swiss Post are starting to become apparent. The deficit in the postal network has been reduced by CHF 28 million compared to the same period in the previous year.
How Did Swiss Post Do It?
A key factor was transforming self-operated post offices (that is, owned and staffed by Swiss Post) into partner post offices.
Swiss Post opened its thousandth partner-operated branch in May, and there are currently 1,033 such branches. In the next two years other access points will be added and further self-operated branches will be transformed into partner-operated branches.
Consultation
At the beginning of the transformation programme back in 2016, Swiss Post promised open dialogue with the cantons and municipalities.
Since then, Swiss Post has held over 550 discussions with the cantons and municipalities across Switzerland, as well as consulting with citizens. Over 270 information events for the general public have been held since 2016.
“We’re aware of the fact that the restructuring of the postal network is a sensitive issue − especially in rural areas.” - Thomas Baur, Head of PostalNetwork and a Member of Executive Management, Swiss Post.
Post Office Modernisation
Like some other national postal operators, Swiss Post is investing in modernising its post office network.
“By investing some CHF 40 million, Swiss Post is sending out a clear message in this respect and is modernising some 300 self-operated branches across Switzerland.” - Thomas Baur.
Swiss Post is growing its range of services which are available 24/7. By 2020, some 200 My Post 24 terminals will be set up. Swiss Post is also testing self-service stations.
Postal Network Deficit Declining
In recent years, Swiss Post has posted deficits of up to around CHF 200 million in the postal network. Swiss Post’s objective of restructuring the postal network is not to lead to a break even, but to stabilise the deficit and pay for the universal service without public subsidy.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, PostalNetwork made an important contribution in this respect by reducing the deficit in the half-year results by CHF 28 million to -CHF 60 million.
Over-The-Counter Business Decline
Falling letter volumes might usually grab the headlines in the postal world, but over-the-counter transactions are in decline at Swiss post offices. Since 2000, payment transactions at the counter have fallen by 44%. This decline, and the associated deficit, are driving network renewal.
Access At The Doorstep
Swiss Post has been trialling a new service where customers can request postal services at the doorstep.
The Post Home Button is a small device that sends Swiss Post a signal via a wireless network at the push of a button. Customers can request predefined products and services, such as mail collection or A and B Mail stamps.
During a recent trial, customers could also order from Migros Aare, Qualipet and Domino’s Pizza.
Some interesting developments in how customers will interact with the post.
Source : http://www.thepostalhub.com/blog
NAB, Westpac sign Australia Post bank deal
October 15, 2018
Three of the big four banks have now agreed to boost investment in banking services at local Australia Post offices, with only ANZ yet to sign the deal.
Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate has heaped pressure on ANZ to join its other big four competitors and support the survival of personal banking services at Australia Post offices.
Ms Holgate said on Monday Westpac and NAB had agreed to pitch in the requested $22 million per year for three years in order to keep Bank@Post operating, with the deal potentially rising to match the five-year agreement signed by CBA last week.
Bank@Post lets people do basic banking - including deposits and withdrawals - at more than 3,500 post offices nationwide.
About 1,500 communities - mainly in rural and regional areas - have no local bank branch.
Ms Holgate said ANZ had "chosen at this time not to give a long-term commitment".
"We continue to communicate with ANZ - they are an important partner to us - but this fee is not even 0.2 per cent, of one per cent, of their profit," she told AAP.
"They've got 6000 customers using (Bank@Post) every day. They use 99 per cent of the network."
Ms Holgate said Bank@Post currently runs at a "significant" loss from the cost of transaction fees and technology required to maintain the service.
Last week she said CBA's $110 million deal would allow the postal service to increase base transaction payments to post office licensees by about 50 per cent from January, along with a 25 per cent increase in their annual minimum payment for carrying the brand.
Money from NAB and Westpac would help improve IT and security systems at local post offices, she said.
"Historically the licensed post office owner would have been responsible for paying a fee to Australia Post for IT services, or providing their own security," she said.
"But we need to recognise these are very small businesses - people have mortgaged their homes to be able to run these businesses."
Last week Ms Holgate admitted Australia Post has been struggling, blaming a plummeting number of letters sent.
There has, however, been a three-fold increase in packages, up 11 per cent up to record a revenue of $3.5 billion, as Australians increasingly embrace online shopping.
Source : https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news
UPS/GreenBiz study identifies motivators and barriers to electric fleets
October 15, 2018
A new report by UPS and GreenBiz has revealed that attaining environmental benefits and lower cost of ownership is driving more commercial fleets to electrify.
In the Curve Ahead: The Future of Fleet Electrification report, industry leaders identify the main motivations and barriers to electrification, as well as strategies to move the commercial electric vehicle market from niche to mainstream.
The top motivation to go electric for 83% of large businesses surveyed is sustainability and environmental goals. A lower total cost of ownership – factoring in both direct and indirect costs and savings over the life of the vehicle – is the second biggest driver, cited by 64% of respondents.
In addition to the fuel savings, electric vehicles (EVs) typically require less maintenance than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, which means lower maintenance costs.
Despite an appetite for electrification, many fleet operators face challenges. In the report, 55% of respondents cited the initial purchase price of electric commercial vehicles as the top barrier; 44% view inadequate on-site charging infrastructure as a barrier, and 92% advise their facility is not “very well equipped” to accommodate commercial charging needs.
However, the study found less than half of the companies surveyed are working with governments or utilities to address charging infrastructure.
“The challenges of cost and infrastructure requirements can be daunting, but we’ve begun to see solutions emerge,” said Scott Phillippi, UPS senior director of automotive maintenance and engineering.
“In the USA, we recently ordered 50 electric-powered delivery trucks that we anticipate will be at cost parity with conventional diesel-powered vehicles. And in London, we were able to find a solution for our charging needs through a collaboration between government and private organizations.
“The business case, combined with growing preference for EVs from cities and national governments, will help us to reach a tipping point to large-scale EV fleet adoption.”
Fleet managers and industry experts interviewed suggested strategies to overcome such challenges, including starting small. Instead of undertaking a large-scale fleet overhaul, many companies will prioritize electric options when replacing vehicles and even consider electric leasing options to mitigate the initial purchase price.
Converting from internal combustion engines to electric depends on specific vehicle uses, the size and distribution of fleets across regions, the costs of electricity and access to charging infrastructure.
“Despite the complexity of transitioning commercial fleets to an electric future, the vehicle technologies and options to upgrade infrastructure are quickly improving,” said Paul Carp, GreenBiz Group’s director of research and senior analyst. “Continued industry collaboration will be critical to accelerate fleet electrification across a wide range of use cases.”
As the market for electric commercial vehicles matures, 70% of companies report working closely with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to identify the latest electric vehicle technologies and features. This communication is important given that 32% of survey respondents cited inadequate product availability as a barrier.
The 2018 UPS and GreenBiz Curve Ahead study presents the findings of qualitative research, along with an online survey conducted by GreenBiz Group in June 2018 among more than 200 respondents within the GreenBiz Intelligence Panel.
Source : https://www.postalandparceltechnologyinternational.com/news
USPS Proposes Shipping Fee Increase To Amazon
October 12, 2018
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants Amazon to pay 9 to 12 percent more for its shipping services.
According to CNBC, the USPS proposed a 9.3 percent increase on this service for packages weighing over one pound and a 12.3 percent increase on lighter packages.
The recommendation comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April to set up a task force to look at how to improve the postal service, claiming that it was on an “on an unsustainable financial path and must be restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout.”
A USPS spokesperson said these proposed changes are not a response to Trump’s criticism.
“The price increases reflect the best judgment of the Postal Service Governors, who are seeking to establish new rates that will keep the Postal Service competitive, while also providing the Postal Service with much needed revenue,” the spokesperson said.
The USPS also proposed a 3.9 percent increase on priority mail express, a 5.9 percent increase on priority mail and a 10 percent increase on first-class stamps.
These changes, if approved by regulators, will go into effect on Jan. 27, 2019.
Source : https://postandparcel.info/98589/news
An allowance for the bike
October 12, 2018
In 2015, an annual kilometric allowance (optional) for bicycle employees was set up in companies… Except in the state civil service, except at Ministry of Ecology !
As part of the "Bike Plan", the government has just validated the assumption of expenses incurred by public officials or employees of the private sector to make their commute to work by bicycle. The state will set up an allowance of 200 euros per year, from 2020. In companies, the amount can go up to 400 euros.
This management should make the agents aware of the environmental impact on their choice of means of travel.
FO Com asks La Poste to set up this allowance which could concern a large number of postal workers and favored the use of the bicycle.
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr
Going postal: how Donald Trump is threatening the international mail system
September 15, 2018
David Dodwell says the US president’s gripes that the American postal service is subsidising other countries’ trade – and singling out China – may be justified but here, as elsewhere, unilateralism is not the way forward
The blogger was furious: “I bought an item from a seller in Hong Kong for US$6 and US$1.50 shipping. The item was broken so the seller told me to return it for a refund. But to ship it back to Hong Kong with delivery confirmation using the US Postal Service will cost US$34.87. Without tracking it will cost US$11.48.
“How in the world did the China seller pay for the product, for eBay and PayPal fees, for packing material, and ship it to me WITH TRACKING for 1/4 of what it would cost me just in shipping costs alone to send the item back?”
Welcome to the weird, wonderful and voluptuously monopolised world of international mail, and the quirks of an international treaty that goes back to Bern in 1874, the birthplace of the 22 countries that created the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
As the organisation admits on its website: “Major changes in the international postal environment have brought a certain complexity to the system because of the need to prevent it from being circumvented and exploited to the prejudice of designated operators.” But it seems our irate blogger was venting about something more substantial than simple “complexity”.
For most of us, the idea of mailing a letter or parcel overseas seems simple. Wrap it, weigh it, stick on the stamps, and sit back confident that, in a few days, it will drop through a letterbox in time for your great aunt’s birthday.
Nearly 150 years ago, the original UPU agreement was simple: the sender would pay the cost of getting the letter or parcel to the foreign country, and that country’s (government monopoly) postal service promised to get it to your aunt for free.
Simple – it has led to 83 per cent of the world’s population getting mail delivered to their door – but sadly not sustainable. As costs of delivery rose, and with the volume of international mail being an estimated 320 billion letter-post items a year, sending mail across borders could not stay so straightforward.
The solution agreed upon in 1969, and a root cause of the “certain complexity” that confounded our blogger, was “terminal dues” – the money paid by the sending country’s postal service to the delivering country’s postal service to cover the cost of delivering the package to your aunt’s doorstep.
All might be well if everyone’s monopoly postal services charged the same, and if the terminal dues were the same. But of course, they are not. As you wade into the volumes of spread sheets that lay out what dues one country should pay to another, you enter a quagmire of different charges.
Terminal dues are linked to local postal rates, and developing countries tend to offer cheap postal rates. So the terminal dues they pay to rich countries are much lower than when the situation is reversed.
These Alice-in-Wonderland postal economics might have remained a matter of little consequence to most of us had it not been for four developments. First, many of the traditional postal services are losing money as letter volumes decline by 3 to 5 per cent a year.
Second, a fast growth in parcel services — currently about 17 per cent a year, according to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index — has not compensated them because here they do not have monopolies and face fierce competition from private sector companies like DHL or FedEx.
Third, the e-commerce revolution has created a fresh explosion in parcel services being competed over by the likes of Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and Tencent.
And fourth – perhaps most important – US President Donald Trump has noticed injustices here, and has decided that these are being exploited unacceptably by his trading bogeyman China.
Trump has become particularly sensitive because the US Postal Service lost an uncomfortable US$2.7 billion last financial year, and has not made a profit in the past decade. Apart from ruthless Chinese exporters exploiting unfair terminal dues rules set by the UPU, Trump also blames Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, which he sees as eating the US Postal Service’s lunch.
While there can be no question that the quirks of an ancient byzantine international treaty is making life tough for his cherished postal service, which delivers nearly half the world’s mail, the service’s challenges lie elsewhere – in bloated labour costs, strident unions, a costly network of sorting centres, a struggle to compete outside its monopoly areas and huge costs in pre-funding its pension obligations.
Satisfying though it may be to demonise China’s exporters for exploiting the UPU’s quirky rule book, and tag the issue onto his trade war with China, Trump has decided to attack the root of the problem: on August 23, ahead of a UPU conference in Addis Ababa in early September, he issued a memo to the US postmaster general and other officials. In it, he demanded a radical overhaul of the terminal dues system and threatened to adopt “self-declared rates” if the meeting “fail(s) to yield reforms that satisfy the criteria set forth”. The UPU has until November 1 to satisfy the Trump administration.
Now that the UPU meeting has come and gone, a train wreck seems possible. The press release at the end of the meeting committed to continue modernising and rationalising the terminal dues system, gave no details, but added: “On the topic of pay, which has been the subject of much discussion and debate in recent months, there was an agreement to use the Integrated Remuneration Plan as a road map for a sound proposal … to be presented at the 2020 Congress.” So much for Trump’s November 1 deadline.
Trump has a good case for complaining about the complex and distorted rules that are shaping the global traffic of e-commerce parcels, but another “America first” temper tantrum may not be the best way of finding a solution. Setting “self-declared rates” can only trigger a cascade of similar unilateralism among the UPU’s other members, and a wholly new tangle to replace terminal dues. This is not the art of the deal.
Source : ttps://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2164172/going-postal-how-donald-trump-threatening