New Market Flash Issue 397 | 22 September 2009 print next/media/documents/public/market-flash/... · 2009. 10. 30. · Issue 397 | 22 September 2009 print next 15 Years of Service

Market Flash Issue 397 | 22 September 2009

EUROPE

Possible Buyers for Sandd UK Postal Workers Vote on National Strike Verdi Threatens Strike Deutsche Post Tests B2C Parcels Swiss Post Board Takes on Strategic Role Itella Rebrands for International Expansion USO Funding Needs Reviewed by Itella An Post Service Quality Improves Direct Mail Remains a Key Marketing Tool Arcandor Collapse Forces DHL Job Cuts Correos Bill Payment Service Grows Swiss Post Supports Apprenticeships PostBus Enjoys Good First Half Itella Wins Outsourcing Contract Same Evening Delivery from Swiss DPD SEUR Cuts Prices for eBay Delivery Tatex Moves into French Home Delivery Same Day Fashion Delivery in the UK TNT Grows its Business in the Middle East

AMERICAS

Potter Tells Mailers the Law Must Change FedEx Adds Returns to SmartPost Greene Continues to Lead Canada Post 413 Post Offices Under Review FedEx Has Better-than-Expected Quarter UPS Wins Government Contract UPS Stores Offer Online Printing to SMEs FedEx 10th in Innovative IT Listing

ASIA-PACIFIC

Japan Post Privatisation Postponed Toll Moves into NZ Express Parcels

In this issue

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Possible Buyers for Sandd

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Talks on the sale of Dutch private mail operator Sandd are under-

stood to be in process with prospective buyers that include

Deutsche Post DHL and Groupe La Poste.

Sandd is majority-owned by Dutch investment firm Trimoteur, with

NIBC and Fortis Private Equity holding minority stakes. All are said

to be interested in selling their shares.

The company increased its volume by ten percent to EUR 226

million items in the first half of the year, achieving revenue of EUR

43 million. It aims to increase its full year revenue by five percent

year-on-year and to achieve a full year operating profit margin of

seven percent.

Deutsche Post already competes with TNT Post in the Dutch

market through its wholly owned subsidiary Selektmail. Its chief

executive officer, Frank Appel, is on record saying the company is

open to selective, low-risk entries to domestic mail markets.

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Issue 397 | 22 September 2009 print next


Europe

UK Postal Workers Vote on National Strike

The United Kingdom postal union, the Communication Workers

Union (CWU), sent out ballot papers to its 121,000 members on

September 17 for a vote on a national strike.

Royal Mail again condemned the union’s action saying it was

totally unjustified, damaging to customers and a clear attempt

to undermine modernisation that was essential in the face of a

rapidly changing marketplace.

In a statement issued on September 17, Royal Mail managing

director, Mark Higson said: “The CWU leadership is well aware

that it has already agreed to all the changes Royal Mail is making.

We urge them to recognise the tough economic conditions faced

by all our customers and Royal Mail itself, and to live up to their

claims to support modernisation and to focus, as the company

is doing, on delivering the postal service on which so many

customers depend.”

He said the CWU was determined to go back on its commitment

in the existing 2007 agreement on pay and modernisation.

Royal Mail stressed its “absolute need” to change and modernise

to improve its efficiency and ensure its continuing universal

service.

The company has seen its mail volumes decline by about ten

percent year-on-year. It has been experiencing industrial action in

London, where workers have been instructed by the CWU not to

cooperate with the introduction of new equipment and changes

in working practices.

Verdi Threatens Strike

German postal union Verdi is opposing plans by Deutsche Post

to delay an agreed pay increase and is warning of possible strike

action if the two parties fail to reach agreement.

Deutsche Post wants to delay a three percent pay increase, due in

December, and to extend working hours from 38.5 to 40 hours a

week. It is also seeking to pay new employees lower basic salaries

than the salaries paid to current staff.

Chief executive officer Frank Appel has said that Deutsche Post

needs to combat the current and expected decline in mail volumes

by reducing costs, while the mail business is still profitable, in

order to avoid compulsory redundancies.

Andrea Kocsis, deputy chairwoman of Verdi and head of its

postal and logistics section, said Deutsche Post was not a case for

restructuring. Management warnings that the mail division could

be insolvent in four years’ time had “absolutely no factual basis”,

she said.

The union and management had initial talks in the week

beginning September 14. Verdi will make known its demands

in early October. It has terminated a “rationalisation protection

agreement” from November 6, to make ready for conflict after

that date if necessary.

Deutsche Post agreed a contract with the union in April 2008 to

run until June 2010. This included a four percent pay increase

in November 2008 and a further three percent in December

2009. The agreement also provided for a 38.5 hour week and a

commitment to no compulsory redundancies before June 2011.

EuropeAmericasAsia-Pacific

THE NATURAL PARTNER FOR THE POSTAL INDUSTRY PAGE 2 - Issue 397


PAGE 3 - Issue 397THE NATURAL PARTNER FOR THE POSTAL INDUSTRY


Deutsche Post Tests B2C Parcels

Deutsche Post DHL is testing international business-to-consumer

parcel services from Germany to neighbouring countries.

In August, the company launched a three-month pilot in Austria,

working with Austria Post and DHL Express to deliver parcels

ordered from German internet and mail order retailers. Last

spring, a similar trial in Switzerland was conducted in association

with Swiss Post and DHL Express.

Boris Mayer, B2C manager at DHL Parcel Germany, said the

company would seek the best service partner for its B2C network

in each country, pointing out that deliveries are handled by DHL@

home in the UK and by Deutsche Post subsidiary Selektvracht

(Selektmail) in the Netherlands.

Mr. Mayer believes the European cross-border market has

potential to grow from the current 90 million to 300 to 400

million parcels a year. He said growth is being held back by a

lack of return services; Deutsche Post is talking with all European

postal operators regarding the creation of a returns system.

Swiss Post Board Takes on Strategic Role

Swiss Post’s supervisory board is to take a more active role in

developing the company’s strategy and will set up a specialist

team, reporting to the chairman, to coordinate and analyse stra-

tegic issues.

Joint management/board teams will take responsibility for specific

areas of improvement. These will include: organisational devel-

opment through management development, successor planning

and employee engagement; PostFinance and financial investment;

the post office network; cost reduction in letter mail, and interna-

tional development.

A board committee will develop new rules of corporate gover-

nance, and will decide how responsibilities will be divided

between the board and executive management.

Itella Rebrands for International Expansion

Itella Corporation is rebranding its parcel and transport services

with English names as part of its expansion beyond Finland into

Nordic and Baltic countries.

Existing services are now branded Itella Express Morning, Itella

Express Business Day, Itella Express Flex and Itella Express City.

Two new services are launching from September. Itella Express

Point is targeted at online retailers, providing recipients with an

option to collect parcels delivered to a local Itella outlet. Itella

Green offers a carbon-neutral option, whereby revenue from a

premium charged for the service is allocated to climate projects to

offset the emissions generated.

The rebranding does not apply to EMS, foreign freight, or cash-

on-delivery services offered in Finland.





USO Funding Needs Reviewed by Itella

Itella Corporation says it might seek state subsidies to finance

unprofitable parts of the universal service.

It is conducting a review into how the universal service could be

funded in future in the light of impending full market opening.

As part of the review, Itella is looking at different models for the

organisation of its domestic business.

The company said in a statement that domestic mail services could

be transferred to an independent subsidiary so that accounting

for its postal business would be more clearly separated.

An Post Service Quality Improves

An Post is improving its quality of service for domestic mail,

achieving 85 percent next working day delivery performance in

the second quarter from April to June.

The result represents a two percentage point improvement on the

first quarter and an improvement of five percentage points on the

same period last year when quality of service was 80 percent.

“Quality and competitiveness have never been more important,”

said An Post chief executive Donal Connell. “We are investing

EUR 150 million in quality improvement through better logistics

planning, facilities, scanning and tracking technology, staff

training, route design and fleet improvement.”

Direct Mail Remains a Key Marketing Tool Direct mail and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) will be the two

most important marketing tools deployed in the UK in the coming

months.

Around half the top UK marketing directors, who participated

in a survey conducted by the Marketing Society in partnership

with Royal Mail, said direct mail would play an important role in

achieving their objectives.

The survey found that new customer acquisition was the most

important objective with 28 percent of respondents making it

their key focus over the next six months.

Only 19 percent of respondents said they would use the majority

of their budget on customer retention. That runs contrary to much

advice in the past year promoting the importance of customer

retention in a recession.

Generating sales to boost profitability was the top priority for 34

percent of respondents - only eight percent of respondents placed

brand building first.

Almost half the marketing directors surveyed believed their overall

budgets would remain the same until the New Year; 25 percent

felt their budgets would be squeezed while 26 percent had an

optimistic outlook, believing their budgets would increase before

January.

Mark Thomson, media director at Royal Mail commented that

customer acquisition provided a timely route out of the recession.

He suggested, however, that an equal focus on cross-selling and

up-selling would be needed once new customers have been

acquired. “It is here that mail has a proven pedigree,” he said.

The full results of the survey are available at www.mmc.co.uk.





Arcandor Collapse Forces DHL Job Cuts

Deutsche Post is cutting some 560 jobs due to the insolvency

of its major customer, Arcandor, the parent of department store

Karstadt and mail order operator, Quelle.`

Buyers are being sought for both Karstadt and Quelle, each of

which had contracts worth about EUR 500 million with Deutsche

Post DHL. About 3,000 DHL workers are involved in the Karstadt

logistics operation and 1,000 are employed in handling brochure

and parcel shipping for Quelle.

Correos Bill Payment Service Grows

Spaniards paid 5.5 million utility bills from 21 companies at post

offices in the first half of 2009, according to figures released by

Correos.

The Correos bill payment service was launched in 2003, providing

individuals an opportunity to pay their bills at any of the country’s

2,250 post offices.

Since its initial launch, Correos has introduced technologies to

enhance the service, including a facility for customers of Telefónica

to pay by providing only their phone number, Spanish National ID

number and bill amount.

Selected Spanish post offices open from 08.30 until 20.30 and

those located in shopping centres remain open as long as the

centre itself is open, including public holidays.

Swiss Post Supports Apprenticeships

Swiss Post will be taking on about 30 more apprentices than in

previous years, offering a total of 750 new apprentice training

positions in logistics, sales/communications, IT and maintenance.

By 2010, apprentices are expected to account for 4.7 percent

of total headcount. Currently, 1,850 apprentices are in training

on twelve different courses. This year, with 469 successful final

exams, Swiss Post apprentices achieved a 99 percent success rate.





PostBus Enjoys Good First Half

Swiss Post subsidiary PostBus increased its sales by CHF 17 million

to CHF 314 million in the first half of 2009. Operating profit

was 84 percent higher at CHF 24 million compared with CHF 13

million.

The company said that positive effects on operating results

included the launch of additional services in Switzerland, more

contracts in France, higher passenger demand owing to more

holidays being taken at home, and lower fuel prices.

Operating expenses stood at CHF 290 million at the end of June,

two percent higher than the same period last year. Costs rose at

a lower rate than sales and pension fund obligations were lower

than the same period last year.

Itella Wins Outsourcing Contract

Itella Information has won an outsourcing contract from Läns-

försäkringar AB to establish a resource-efficient and rational

document management system.

The company said it would be able to streamline and develop

services for Länsförsäkringar offering flexibility and scalable

production. Itella has an international network of scanning units.

Meanwhile, Itella Information in Denmark is taking over output

management for knowledge management company Traen A/S.

Denmark is in the process of digitising communications between

municipalities and citizens in a programme due for completion in

2012.

Itella Information director Kim Høgskilde said: “As part of the

agreement, strategic cooperation has been established within the

municipal sector in Denmark, where Traen is the market leader.”


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Same Evening Delivery from Swiss DPD

DPD Switzerland is offering same evening deliveries to customers

of the online supermarket, coop@home.

Orders placed by 17.00 Monday to Friday will be delivered

between 18.00 and 21.00 the same evening in two north Swit-

zerland cantons with a combined 130,000 households.

SEUR Cuts Prices for eBay Delivery

Spanish express delivery company SEUR says it has broadened its

cooperation with eBay by reducing delivery prices.

It has not disclosed the size of the reduction, but stated that

shipment of a single item, including collection and next day

delivery, starts at EUR 7.70 up to one kilo and EUR 0.87 for every

additional kilo.

SEUR has been eBay’s delivery partner since 2006. As part of

its service enhancement, it has set up a dedicated hotline for

enquiries from eBay users.

Tatex Moves into French Home Delivery

French express delivery company Tatex is moving into the busi-

ness-to-consumer sector with Tatex@home, a service for mail

order and online retailers.

Recipients can select a delivery day and a time in one of three

periods between 08.00 and 21.00, or on Saturday morning.

Tatex is also offering added value services including next day

delivery, removal of packaging, assembly and installation.

The privately owned business parcels company has 35 depots and

more than 650 vehicles and is the French partner in the Eurodis

network.

Same Day Fashion Delivery in the UK UK express company CitySprint has won a same day delivery

contract with online fashion and beauty retailer ASOS.com.

It will deliver the same day within an 80 km radius of the ASOS

warehouse in Hemel Hempstead, North West London.

Separately, CitySprint has a new three-year contract with

Cambridgeshire County Council to provide same day services,

including the delivery of literature to schools.

Issue 397 | 22 September 2009EuropeAmericasAsia-Pacific




TNT Grows its Business in the Middle East

TNT Express has increased its revenue in the United Arab Emirates

(UAE) in the first half of 2009.

Much of the growth came from outbound business to Saudi

Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. The company said it also won “a few

great contracts”, including a two-year contract from Volvo Middle

East to provide express road and air distribution across the region.

TNT has invested in the region, setting up a dedicated facility in

Jebel Ali Free Zone and is preparing to expand its Middle East

road network with more day-definite services to Syria, Lebanon

and Jordan.

In addition, TNT claims that investment in daily freight uplift from

Germany has attracted an increased share of customer spend.


GLS Upgrades in Austria and BelgiumG L S i s r e - e q u i p p i n g i t s Austrian depots with video security systems and a new customer service telecommu-nications system. In Belgium it is offering customers the option to receive invoices electronically.

HDN Strengthens its NetworkUK company Home Delivery Network (HDN) has acquired its Scottish delivery partner, G&M distribution and has formed a partnership with Fastway Couriers in order to extend its network to the Republic of Ireland.

Ciblex Expands in BrusselsBeginning in January 2010, express company Ciblex is to operate from a larger ware-house in Brussels equipped with Truxorter parcel sorting to increase i t s handl ing capacity.

GO! to Open a Centre in AugsburgGermany’s GO! Express & Logistics is investing EUR 900,000 in a new sorting c e n t r e i n A u g s b u r g , south -eas t Germany, to extend its national network. The facility will provide over-n ight , warehous ing and contract logistics services.

DPD Has a New Belg ian DepotDPD has a new depot in northern Belgium handling about 10,000 parcels a day and operating 60 collection and delivery routes. A first-phase expansion provides for the addition of a further 30 routes.

Gerdes Appointed for Three More YearsT h e D e u t s c h e P o s t D H L s u p e r v i s o r y b o a r d h a s appointed Jürgen Gerdes to the corporate board of management for another three years. Mr. Gerdes will continue as chief executive of the mail division in charge of national and international mail, Parcel Germany and retail outlets.

S w i s s P o s t A p p l i e s i t s K n o w - H o w t o H e a l t h DossiersSwiss Post will use its expertise in security technology as contractor for a programme to build a network allowing doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and other health profes-sionals to access electronic patient dossiers.

Profex Signs ATS in France Time-critical specialist Profex has s igned up ATS as i ts French partner, plus four new partners in its home territory of Germany. The company has a presence in nine European countries through partner-ships and it aims to complete its national German network by the end of this year.

>>In Brief - Europe




Americas

Potter Tells Mailers the Law Must Change

United States Postmaster General John E. Potter has told repre-

sentatives of the mailing industry that the Postal Service must

have the ability to manage its business and adapt quickly to the

needs of customers and the marketplace.

Giving his annual state of the business address, Mr. Potter said

the Postal Service’s business model had to change to reflect the

volatile economy and the profound transformation taking place in

the communications market.

He listed three key areas where the Postal Service is seeking legis-

lation.

First, changes to the accelerated payment schedule to pre-fund

retiree health benefits that currently requires an annual payment

of more than USD 5 billion (Congress is considering legislation

that would ease financial pressure on the Postal Service).

Second, the Postal Service must be able to adjust its network

in line with reduced mail use – Mr. Potter said that eliminating

Saturday delivery could save up to USD 3.5 billion a year.

Third, the Postal Service seeks flexibility to expand product

offerings into new areas that leverage the scope, reach and

presence of Postal Service distribution, transportation and retail

networks.

Mr. Potter reminded mailers, industry partners and customers

listening to his National Postal Customer Council (PCC) Day

broadcast that the Postal Service has already cut spending by

USD 6 billion in 2009 while maintaining record levels of customer

service.

Aggressive marketing campaigns had promoted ways for busi-

nesses and consumers to simplify shipping by using the Postal

Service’s flat-rate boxes.

The summer sale and saturation mail incentives had helped busi-

nesses to continue with results-driven direct marketing campaigns

during an economic downturn.

Mr. Potter announced that the Postal Service is implementing a

new customer experience measurement system to replace the

current customer satisfaction measurement. The new system

would provide insights and information allowing the Postal Service

to pinpoint areas of improvement and to adjust to changing

customer needs.

FedEx Adds Returns to SmartPost

FedEx is adding the United States Postal Service parcel return

service to its economy SmartPost business-to-consumer service

which already utilises USPS for final mile delivery.

It will offer the returns service to shippers with high volumes of

returns. These will include a prepaid label in their original parcels

with return instructions. Parcels picked up by USPS will be consoli-

dated at local post offices for collection by FedEx and return to

the original shipper.





Greene Continues to Lead Canada Post

Moya Greene is to remain as president and chief executive of

Canada Post until May 2012 following her reappointment by

Canada’s transport minister, John Baird.

Announcing the reappointment, Marc Courtois, chairman of the

board of directors, said Ms. Greene’s original five-year mandate

was being extended to ensure that crucial progress would

continue towards postal transformation.

“We are delighted that the Government of Canada has demon-

strated in this way that it shares our confidence in the direction

and leadership that Moya has brought to Canada Post,” Mr.

Courtois said. “Some of the most specific achievements include

the modernisation plan, which will ensure continued excellent

service for Canadians at the same time as ensuring a strong and

financially sustainable company.”

413 Post Offices Under Review

The number of post offices in line for possible closure in the

United States has been reduced to 413, according to the US

Postal Service, which says it is focusing on offices in close prox-

imity to each other.

Previously, the Postal Service said it was reviewing the future

of 677 post offices while the regulator, the Postal Regulatory

Commission, had stated that some 3,200 outlets would be

reviewed for closure or cutback.

FedEx Has Better-than-Expected Quarter

FedEx surprised the stock market by announcing that its first

quarter financial performance was better than expected thanks

to higher volume for its international priority service, strict cost

management and “solid execution of our strategy”.

Chief financial officer, Alan B. Graf Jr. warned, however, that it is

difficult to predict the timing and pace of any economic recovery.

“Revenue per shipment declined year over year in each of our

transportation segments as fuel surcharges declined significantly,

and we continue to face a very competitive pricing environment

combined with significant overcapacity in the LTL freight market,”

Mr. Graf said.

UPS Wins Government Contract

UPS has gained a major United States Government (GSA) contract

which aims to save more than USD 1 billion over the next five

years through lower shipping costs.

The US General Services Administration ( managed more than

eleven percent of total government procurement spending. It has

awarded UPS the express and ground domestic delivery services

contract for an undisclosed sum.

To develop the contract, a team of government agency repre-

sentatives produced a consolidated set of requirements for their

pooled shipping volume.





UPS Stores Offer Online Printing to SMEs

UPS expects to go straight to market leadership with its new

online printing service for small businesses, delivered through its

4,400 UPS Stores.

Claiming to answer a market need, the company says it has

developed an online printing platform that is functional and

easy to use. A one-page view eliminates the need for customers

to navigate back and forth to choose printing options. Instead,

customers can select options by paging through a document

view.

Printing can be arranged at point of need to reduce environ-

mental impact.

FedEx 10th in Innovative IT Listing

FedEx has been included in the InformationWeek list of most

innovative information technology organisations for the 13th year

running.

To gain its 10th place in the list of 500 companies, FedEx

completed an application involving quantitative and qualitative

assessments that were reviewed by a panel of InformationWeek

editors.





Asia-Pacific

Japan Post Privatisation Postponed

The new Japanese Government will postpone the planned priva-

tisation of Japan Post, freezing the sale of government-owned

shares in the holding company and two subsidiaries, due to take

place next year.

The new government is said to be concerned that splitting off the

banking and insurance subsidiaries via a sale of shares could lead

to post offices no longer acting as the sales channels for the two

businesses. Banking and insurance account for about 80 percent

of post office revenue.

In addition, a planned merger of parcel operations between Japan

Post and Nippon Express has been delayed at the wish of the

outgoing government owing to insufficient preparation for inte-

gration before the October 1 deadline.

The incoming coalition will now review the overall structure of the

Japanese Post Group.

Toll Moves into NZ Express Parcels

Australia’s Toll Group is to enter the New Zealand express parcel

market with the national launch of Toll IPEC which will operate

from the company’s 30 existing depots.

Toll IPEC will offer next day delivery between towns and cities

within each of New Zealand’s two islands and two to three day

delivery for inter-island shipments. It will have an initial fleet of

55 delivery vans while the existing freight network will undertake

inter-city line-haul transportation.

Toll said it had trained 900 employees to handle small parcels and

had installed parcel handling facilities in its existing branches.


Issue 397 | 22 September 2009



ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

IPC Market Flash is a bi-weekly newsletter providing a comprehensive look at new developments emerging in the international postal marketplace. It is published by the Markets and Communication Department of the International Post Corporation.

IPC Market Flash is sent out exclusively to IPC member posts. If you would like to contribute an article or photograph to this publication please contact us via email at [email protected] or send your submissions to : IPC Head of CommunicationAvenue du Bourget, 441130, Brussels Belgium

While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this report, the facts and estimates stated are based on information and sources which, while we believe them to be reliable, are not guaranteed. No liability can be accepted by International Post Corporation, its directors or employees, for any loss occasioned to any person or entity acting or failing act as a result of anything contained in or omitted from this report.

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