POSTAL NEWS
No.22 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Swiss Post acquires a majority stake in Swiss technology company “notime” March 15, 2018.2
Deutsche Post AG: ver.di rejects joint operation. March 12, 2018.
POSTNL and Trade Unions Reach Agreement In Principle For CLA Mail Deliverers. March 12, 2018.
Fedex Tops List of US Postal Service Supplier.
March 12,2018.
LA POSTE Opens “Innovative” Post Offices In Paris Airports. March 9, 2018.
mARC018
Swiss Post acquires a majority stake in Swiss technology company “notime”2018
March 15, 2018
Swiss Post has acquired a 51 percent stake in the start-up “notime” – a technology company providing bicycle courier services.
With “notime”, consignments are delivered on the same day or within a few hours. By means of this investment, Swiss Post is positioning itself in a fast-growing market and is thus meeting customers’ needs for ever faster and more flexible delivery in urban areas.
With its majority stake, Swiss Post is occupying a current niche that will develop into a relevant market in the foreseeable future. Customers, especially those living in urban areas, increasingly want to receive the goods they have ordered on the same day. It is vital for Swiss Post to invest early in this growth market in the very competitive logistics sector and take a leading role.
Retaining Swiss Post’s competitive edge
In Switzerland, the percentage of priority consignments has increased sharply. And the demand for even faster and more flexible delivery continues to rise. “With our majority stake in 'notime', we want to play a leading role in shaping this business segment in Switzerland,” explains Dieter Bambauer, Head of PostLogistics. “We can already see in cities and conurbations that providing fast and eco-friendly delivery will give us a key competitive advantage. That’s why we are investing in a model that fulfils the wishes of online customers perfectly.”
Local distribution over the last mile
Swiss Post has already worked successfully with “notime” in the past. The Swiss technology company has developed a platform to which online sellers can easily connect. This means that everything from placing an order to route planning and delivery of goods on the same day can be automated. The goods ordered online through “notime” are then delivered directly to the customer’s front door in an environmentally friendly way via bike courier.
The company “notime” is Switzerland’s leading provider for this service: so Swiss Post is not just investing in logistics, but also in the successful IT platform used by “notime”. The Swiss technology company “notime” was founded in December 2014 and its headquarters are in Zurich. The parties have agreed not to disclose the amount of Swiss Post’s investment in “notime”.
Source: http://www.posteurop.org
Deutsche Post AG: ver.di rejects joint operation
March 12, 2018
"If Deutsche Post AG realizes after two years of operating experience that the double structure of regional companies and Deutscher Post AG is a wrong path, it is only advisable to advise the management to completely dissolve them and to transfer the employees of the regional companies to the existing company tariff of Deutsche Post AG "Said Deputy Chairman of the United Services Union (ver.di) Andrea Kocsis.
The union is reacting to media reports, according to which Deutsche Post AG plans to run the 46 regional DHL Delivery GmbHs, which were founded in 2015 for parcel delivery, as so-called joint operations under the umbrella of Deutsche Post AG.
"Regional collective agreements with different working and payment conditions are not part of Deutsche Post AG. The joint operation is tariff politically extremely explosive. We reject that, "Kocsis said.
Source: http://psl.verdi.de
POSTNL and Trade Unions Reach Agreement In Principle For CLA Mail Deliverers
Mar 12, 2018
PostNL and the trade unions Bond van Post Personeel, FNV Publiek Belang and CNV Publieke Diensten have reached an agreement in principle regarding a new collective labour agreement (CLA) for the company’s 18,500 mail deliverers.
In a statement issued today (12 March), PostNL said: “The agreement includes pay increases in five steps during the of duration of the CLA, 5 percent in total. It also includes a one-time bonus and the adjustment of the pension scheme to the tax requirements. During the next coming weeks the trade unions will submit this agreement in principle positively to their members.”
The CLA runs from 1 October 2017 (back dated) to 30 September 2019. Salaries of mail deliverers in the first, second and third pay tiers will be increased in five steps of 1% (making 5% in total). The increases will be applied at 1 October 2017, 1 January 2018, 1 July 2018, 1 January 2019 and 1 September 2019. Alongside this, a one-time bonus will be paid in July 2019.
The trade unions will submit the agreement in principle to their members over the coming weeks. The results of the member council meetings are expected by 6 April at the latest.
Source: Post & Parcel
Fedex Tops List of US Postal Service Supplier
March 12,2018
FedEx has again topped the list of US Postal Service Suppliers, earning $1.61 billion in revenue – about a $68 million drop from the previous year.
Law firm Husch Blackwell has released its annual list of the top 150 US Postal Service Providers, which looks at the companies with the largest USPS supplier relationships. USPS spent $13.9 billion on outside purchases and rental payments in FY 2017, an increase of $181 million over the previous year. About half of the total was on transportation-related purchases.
FedEx carries package and letter mail for the USPS. FedEx’s air cargo network contract with the Postal Service has been extended several times, and the latest extension takes it to September 29, 2024.
The Postal Service has 17,000 suppliers; however, many of them are smaller companies with contracts to deliver mail. Only 81 suppliers collected revenues exceeding $25 million in 2017.
The top 10:
FedEx
Hoovestol Inc. and its affiliated company Eagle Express Lines - $452 million in revenue. Much of this increase was due to Eagle absorbing the mail transportation contracts of Beam Bros. Inc.
EnergyUnited Electric Membership Corporation, which provides telecommunication and energy billing services - $402 million in revenue, though its revenue declined by $12 million decline from last year.
Salmon Companies, a mail hauler - $314 million in revenue.
Victory Packaging - $221 million in revenue. Victory is responsible for fulfilment, distribution, warehousing, call centre, and outbound transportation of USPS branded packaging products to Post Offices.
Accenture Federal Services - $204 million in revenue, an increase of $14 million from last year.
HP Enterprise Services a provider of computer equipment - $198 million in revenue
Northrop Grumman Corporation, which operates the Postal Service’s central repair facility in Topeka, Kansas, rose to eighth place with $183 million in revenue.
Wheeler Bros
United Parcel Service, which provides air transportation and related services - $171 million in revenue.
Passenger airlines were outside the top 10. United Airlines earned $164 million revenue; American Airlines $92 million. Both companies earned greater revenue from USPS than the previous year.
Source : The Postal Hub.com
LA POSTE Opens “Innovative” Post Offices In Paris Airports
March 9, 2018
La Poste and Paris Aéroport have teamed up to open two post offices in Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle that will offer passengers and employees of the Paris airports a range of “innovative” services alongside the traditional postage and parcel postage offerings.
In a statement issued yesterday (8 March), La Poste said that it has “rethought” its services to meet the specific needs of travelers.
The airport post offices will offer round-the-clock access to ATMs which will peform a range of functions: postage, simple or recommended mail delivery, purchase of postage loans, colissimo packaging and stamps, reshipment, check deposit and cash dispenser (at Paris-Orly).
Alongside the self-service area there will be a private work or meeting space which will be available for hire; a Post Office gift shop; and a Peeksprint terminal which customers can use to make postcards with a personal photo. Customers will also be able to buy/sign up for mobile telephony and phone accessories.
Source: Post & Parcel
POSTAL NEWS
No.23 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
The More Management Imposes New Organizations, The More Postmen In Gironde Are Fed Up!. March 16, 2018.
Deutsche Post's DHL expands U.S. delivery service in swipe at FedEx, UPS. March 16, 2018.
Austrian Post Revenues “Driven By Dynamic Parcel Growth”March 15, 2018.
Inter.PAL and Saloodo! digitising the interchange of loading equipment. March 14, 2018.1
Blockchain has “exciting potential”, says DHL.
March 12, 2018.
The More Management Imposes New Organizations, The More Postmen In Gironde Are Fed Up!
March 16, 2018
It has been several weeks since the factors of different communes of the Gironde department express their anger by declaring themselves strikes and gathering. The discontent started on Monday, March 12 in Bordeaux, then spread to the cities of Cenon, Begles, Villenace d'Ornon, Mériadeck, Pessac and Gradignan.
The factors are thus opposed to new work organizations including an imposed meridian cut. The new work organizations are making them work on a larger daily scale with a loss of the paid break of 20 minutes, related to the presence of the meridian cut.
On some sites, the factors will have to work "in bag", ie by carrying out only external works, with all the hazards related to the climatic conditions (rain, heat wave ....). The factors, mainly, are opposed to the meridian cut and bagged tours. La Poste opposes the requests of the factors. The strike is renewed.
FO Com requires the Gironde factors to be heard. The economic performance of these new organizations must not supplant the health and quality of life of the factors.
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr
Deutsche Post's DHL expands U.S. delivery service in swipe at FedEx, UPS
March 16, 2018
Deutsche Post AG’s DHL said on Thursday it was launching a delivery service for online retailers in eight U.S. cities, as the German logistics company takes a swipe at dominant players UPS and FedEx.
Through DHL eCommerce’s Parcel Metro service, first reported by Reuters, contractors will make same-day or next-day deliveries from retailers and fulfillment centers directly to homes, the company said.
“This sector (e-commerce) offers a tremendous amount of opportunity to the logistics space,” DHL eCommerce Americas Chief Executive Officer Lee Spratt said when announcing the service at an event in San Francisco.
Cowen & Co analyst Helane Becker said she believes Amazon is working with DHL to expand its presence in the United States.
“Amazon is growing 35+ percent per year, and they need to figure out a way to get stuff to the buyers. FedEx and UPS have told Amazon they won’t scale with them, meaning that Amazon has to figure out a way to support their delivery network themselves,” Becker said.
Amazon and FedEx did not immediately respond to requests for comment. UPS said it does not comment on competitor business strategies.
DHL has been testing Parcel Metro in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York for the last two years, the company said. It will roll out in Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. by end-2018 and look to add other global cities in the years ahead, it said.
Parcel Metro relies on third-party contract couriers and app-based driver pools to pick up products like books, shoes, shampoo, and electronics from retailers or warehouses and deliver the items directly to households, Spratt said.
Parcel Metro will offer delivery windows ranging from two hours, to same-day, and next day, and could add a Saturday delivery option, Spratt said.
For less-urgent e-commerce orders, DHL will continue its years-long practice of handing off packages to the U.S. Postal Service for “final-mile” delivery, it said.
DHL's move is a gamble. The company lost billions of dollars on a failed U.S. expansion a decade ago. tinyurl.com/y9wu42dt
Parcel Metro follows DHL’s plans, announced in summer 2016, to spend $137 million on seven new or expanded e-commerce fulfillment centers in the United States, where DHL currently delivers roughly 500 million pieces annually.
By comparison, UPS delivered 750 million packages during last year’s holiday season alone.
Source : www.reuters.com
Austrian Post Revenues “Driven By Dynamic Parcel Growth”
March 15, 2018
Austrian Post has reported that its group revenues for 2017 were up by 2.3% to €1,938.9m, “driven by dynamic parcel growth”.
The Mail & Branch Network Division’s revenues dipped 2.1% to €1,447.8m, but Austrian Post said this was “more than offset” by the 17.7 % increase in Parcel & Logistics divisional revenue to €495.6m.
Austrian Post’s parcel volumes were up 20%, increasing its overall market share from 45 % to 47 %.
Georg Pölzl, Austrian Post’s CEO, commented: “This proves that the services provided by Austrian Post meet the highest standards with respect to quality and delivery speed. We are striving in both the mail and the parcel segment to improve our high quality level and steadily develop our products on the basis of current customer needs even further.”
With the growth in the parcels market set to continue, Austrian Post said that “measures are being taken to double sorting capacities over the next four years to more than 100,000 parcels/hour”.
“Our objective is to expand existing sorting capacities as quickly as possible,” said Pölzl. “We want to maintain our positioning as a reliable company in the future, and continue to keep the focus of our operations geared to quality and reliability”, concludes CEO Georg Pölzl.
Source: Post & Parcel
Inter.PAL and Saloodo! digitising the interchange of loading equipment1
March 14, 2018
The digital freight platform Saloodo! is a pioneer in digitising the transport and logistics sector, a claim now reinforced with its cooperating, inter.PAL. This Berlin-based company operates across Europe and specializes in digitising pallet exchanges,
depositing and pooling solutions for Euro pallets as well as other interchangeable loading equipment. The benefits of block chain technology are now coming forward, enabling the digitisation of up to 100% of pallet transport operations - an innovation that benefits all Saloodo! customers, starting right away.
In practice, this means the possibility to continue to set up senders' shipments on the Saloodo! platform and for transport service providers to use the same platform to submit their bids for those jobs. Once this type of transaction is complete, the sender can decide whether to use inter.PAL to exchange the loading equipment or to handle it himself.
The easiest option by far is to exchange loading equipment with the Saloodo! partner, inter.PAL. To do this, the sender and the recipient each open a free-of-charge online pallet account on inter.PAL. They can do this separately, or the sender can simply send the recipient an invitation via their inter.PAL account. On receipt of the goods, the recipient can use inter.PAL to settle the receivables incurred. At a later date, the credit balance can be paid out, physically settled or carried forward with regular online payment systems, or with a cash card. This way, they are able to store the payment method for future transport operations.
All in all, inter.PAL and Saloodo! customers save on invoicing time, the costs for transferring pallets or other load carriers, and no longer having to run separate pallet accounts for every customer. As a result, your pallet costs drop at 100% transparency.
Source: Deutsche Post DHL /International Post Corporation
Blockchain has “exciting potential”, says DHL
March12 , 2018
DHL and technology consultant Accenture have produced a report regarding the potential of blockchain technology in logistics – including initial findings on a working prototype the companies have developed together, which tracks pharmaceuticals from point of origin to consumer and prevents tampering or errors.
Blockchain maintains, records and authenticates data and transactions, DHL explained. In supply chains, it enables users to track products using a unique identifier. Information is validated in real time – and attempts to alter, erase or otherwise tamper with records are also logged.
“The experiments with blockchain in finance are well known, but we believe logistics is an area where the new technology will have a truly profound impact,” said Matthias Heutger, senior vice president DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation.
Keith Turner, chief information officer Chief Development Office at DHL Supply Chain, believes there is “especially exciting potential” for blockchain in pharmaceuticals, hence the work with Accenture on tracking healthcare shipments using a blockchain ledger accessible to all stakeholders, including manufacturers, warehouses, distributors, pharmacies, hospitals, and doctors.
“By utilising the inherent irrefutability within blockchain technologies, we can make great strides in highlighting tampering, reducing the risk of counterfeits and actually saving lives,” he said.
Lab-simulations show how blockchain could handle more than 7bn unique serial numbers and 1,500 transactions per second, DHL said.
The technology could also be used for asset management, to improve transparency and traceability, and to automate commercial processes with ‘smart contracts’, which facilitate and verify the performance of contracts without involving third parties.
Source : http://www.aircargonews.net
No.22 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
Swiss Post acquires a majority stake in Swiss technology company “notime” March 15, 2018.2
Deutsche Post AG: ver.di rejects joint operation. March 12, 2018.
POSTNL and Trade Unions Reach Agreement In Principle For CLA Mail Deliverers. March 12, 2018.
Fedex Tops List of US Postal Service Supplier.
March 12,2018.
LA POSTE Opens “Innovative” Post Offices In Paris Airports. March 9, 2018.
mARC018
Swiss Post acquires a majority stake in Swiss technology company “notime”2018
March 15, 2018
Swiss Post has acquired a 51 percent stake in the start-up “notime” – a technology company providing bicycle courier services.
With “notime”, consignments are delivered on the same day or within a few hours. By means of this investment, Swiss Post is positioning itself in a fast-growing market and is thus meeting customers’ needs for ever faster and more flexible delivery in urban areas.
With its majority stake, Swiss Post is occupying a current niche that will develop into a relevant market in the foreseeable future. Customers, especially those living in urban areas, increasingly want to receive the goods they have ordered on the same day. It is vital for Swiss Post to invest early in this growth market in the very competitive logistics sector and take a leading role.
Retaining Swiss Post’s competitive edge
In Switzerland, the percentage of priority consignments has increased sharply. And the demand for even faster and more flexible delivery continues to rise. “With our majority stake in 'notime', we want to play a leading role in shaping this business segment in Switzerland,” explains Dieter Bambauer, Head of PostLogistics. “We can already see in cities and conurbations that providing fast and eco-friendly delivery will give us a key competitive advantage. That’s why we are investing in a model that fulfils the wishes of online customers perfectly.”
Local distribution over the last mile
Swiss Post has already worked successfully with “notime” in the past. The Swiss technology company has developed a platform to which online sellers can easily connect. This means that everything from placing an order to route planning and delivery of goods on the same day can be automated. The goods ordered online through “notime” are then delivered directly to the customer’s front door in an environmentally friendly way via bike courier.
The company “notime” is Switzerland’s leading provider for this service: so Swiss Post is not just investing in logistics, but also in the successful IT platform used by “notime”. The Swiss technology company “notime” was founded in December 2014 and its headquarters are in Zurich. The parties have agreed not to disclose the amount of Swiss Post’s investment in “notime”.
Source: http://www.posteurop.org
Deutsche Post AG: ver.di rejects joint operation
March 12, 2018
"If Deutsche Post AG realizes after two years of operating experience that the double structure of regional companies and Deutscher Post AG is a wrong path, it is only advisable to advise the management to completely dissolve them and to transfer the employees of the regional companies to the existing company tariff of Deutsche Post AG "Said Deputy Chairman of the United Services Union (ver.di) Andrea Kocsis.
The union is reacting to media reports, according to which Deutsche Post AG plans to run the 46 regional DHL Delivery GmbHs, which were founded in 2015 for parcel delivery, as so-called joint operations under the umbrella of Deutsche Post AG.
"Regional collective agreements with different working and payment conditions are not part of Deutsche Post AG. The joint operation is tariff politically extremely explosive. We reject that, "Kocsis said.
Source: http://psl.verdi.de
POSTNL and Trade Unions Reach Agreement In Principle For CLA Mail Deliverers
Mar 12, 2018
PostNL and the trade unions Bond van Post Personeel, FNV Publiek Belang and CNV Publieke Diensten have reached an agreement in principle regarding a new collective labour agreement (CLA) for the company’s 18,500 mail deliverers.
In a statement issued today (12 March), PostNL said: “The agreement includes pay increases in five steps during the of duration of the CLA, 5 percent in total. It also includes a one-time bonus and the adjustment of the pension scheme to the tax requirements. During the next coming weeks the trade unions will submit this agreement in principle positively to their members.”
The CLA runs from 1 October 2017 (back dated) to 30 September 2019. Salaries of mail deliverers in the first, second and third pay tiers will be increased in five steps of 1% (making 5% in total). The increases will be applied at 1 October 2017, 1 January 2018, 1 July 2018, 1 January 2019 and 1 September 2019. Alongside this, a one-time bonus will be paid in July 2019.
The trade unions will submit the agreement in principle to their members over the coming weeks. The results of the member council meetings are expected by 6 April at the latest.
Source: Post & Parcel
Fedex Tops List of US Postal Service Supplier
March 12,2018
FedEx has again topped the list of US Postal Service Suppliers, earning $1.61 billion in revenue – about a $68 million drop from the previous year.
Law firm Husch Blackwell has released its annual list of the top 150 US Postal Service Providers, which looks at the companies with the largest USPS supplier relationships. USPS spent $13.9 billion on outside purchases and rental payments in FY 2017, an increase of $181 million over the previous year. About half of the total was on transportation-related purchases.
FedEx carries package and letter mail for the USPS. FedEx’s air cargo network contract with the Postal Service has been extended several times, and the latest extension takes it to September 29, 2024.
The Postal Service has 17,000 suppliers; however, many of them are smaller companies with contracts to deliver mail. Only 81 suppliers collected revenues exceeding $25 million in 2017.
The top 10:
FedEx
Hoovestol Inc. and its affiliated company Eagle Express Lines - $452 million in revenue. Much of this increase was due to Eagle absorbing the mail transportation contracts of Beam Bros. Inc.
EnergyUnited Electric Membership Corporation, which provides telecommunication and energy billing services - $402 million in revenue, though its revenue declined by $12 million decline from last year.
Salmon Companies, a mail hauler - $314 million in revenue.
Victory Packaging - $221 million in revenue. Victory is responsible for fulfilment, distribution, warehousing, call centre, and outbound transportation of USPS branded packaging products to Post Offices.
Accenture Federal Services - $204 million in revenue, an increase of $14 million from last year.
HP Enterprise Services a provider of computer equipment - $198 million in revenue
Northrop Grumman Corporation, which operates the Postal Service’s central repair facility in Topeka, Kansas, rose to eighth place with $183 million in revenue.
Wheeler Bros
United Parcel Service, which provides air transportation and related services - $171 million in revenue.
Passenger airlines were outside the top 10. United Airlines earned $164 million revenue; American Airlines $92 million. Both companies earned greater revenue from USPS than the previous year.
Source : The Postal Hub.com
LA POSTE Opens “Innovative” Post Offices In Paris Airports
March 9, 2018
La Poste and Paris Aéroport have teamed up to open two post offices in Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle that will offer passengers and employees of the Paris airports a range of “innovative” services alongside the traditional postage and parcel postage offerings.
In a statement issued yesterday (8 March), La Poste said that it has “rethought” its services to meet the specific needs of travelers.
The airport post offices will offer round-the-clock access to ATMs which will peform a range of functions: postage, simple or recommended mail delivery, purchase of postage loans, colissimo packaging and stamps, reshipment, check deposit and cash dispenser (at Paris-Orly).
Alongside the self-service area there will be a private work or meeting space which will be available for hire; a Post Office gift shop; and a Peeksprint terminal which customers can use to make postcards with a personal photo. Customers will also be able to buy/sign up for mobile telephony and phone accessories.
Source: Post & Parcel
POSTAL NEWS
No.23 -2018
Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector
The More Management Imposes New Organizations, The More Postmen In Gironde Are Fed Up!. March 16, 2018.
Deutsche Post's DHL expands U.S. delivery service in swipe at FedEx, UPS. March 16, 2018.
Austrian Post Revenues “Driven By Dynamic Parcel Growth”March 15, 2018.
Inter.PAL and Saloodo! digitising the interchange of loading equipment. March 14, 2018.1
Blockchain has “exciting potential”, says DHL.
March 12, 2018.
The More Management Imposes New Organizations, The More Postmen In Gironde Are Fed Up!
March 16, 2018
It has been several weeks since the factors of different communes of the Gironde department express their anger by declaring themselves strikes and gathering. The discontent started on Monday, March 12 in Bordeaux, then spread to the cities of Cenon, Begles, Villenace d'Ornon, Mériadeck, Pessac and Gradignan.
The factors are thus opposed to new work organizations including an imposed meridian cut. The new work organizations are making them work on a larger daily scale with a loss of the paid break of 20 minutes, related to the presence of the meridian cut.
On some sites, the factors will have to work "in bag", ie by carrying out only external works, with all the hazards related to the climatic conditions (rain, heat wave ....). The factors, mainly, are opposed to the meridian cut and bagged tours. La Poste opposes the requests of the factors. The strike is renewed.
FO Com requires the Gironde factors to be heard. The economic performance of these new organizations must not supplant the health and quality of life of the factors.
Source : http://www.focom-laposte.fr
Deutsche Post's DHL expands U.S. delivery service in swipe at FedEx, UPS
March 16, 2018
Deutsche Post AG’s DHL said on Thursday it was launching a delivery service for online retailers in eight U.S. cities, as the German logistics company takes a swipe at dominant players UPS and FedEx.
Through DHL eCommerce’s Parcel Metro service, first reported by Reuters, contractors will make same-day or next-day deliveries from retailers and fulfillment centers directly to homes, the company said.
“This sector (e-commerce) offers a tremendous amount of opportunity to the logistics space,” DHL eCommerce Americas Chief Executive Officer Lee Spratt said when announcing the service at an event in San Francisco.
Cowen & Co analyst Helane Becker said she believes Amazon is working with DHL to expand its presence in the United States.
“Amazon is growing 35+ percent per year, and they need to figure out a way to get stuff to the buyers. FedEx and UPS have told Amazon they won’t scale with them, meaning that Amazon has to figure out a way to support their delivery network themselves,” Becker said.
Amazon and FedEx did not immediately respond to requests for comment. UPS said it does not comment on competitor business strategies.
DHL has been testing Parcel Metro in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York for the last two years, the company said. It will roll out in Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. by end-2018 and look to add other global cities in the years ahead, it said.
Parcel Metro relies on third-party contract couriers and app-based driver pools to pick up products like books, shoes, shampoo, and electronics from retailers or warehouses and deliver the items directly to households, Spratt said.
Parcel Metro will offer delivery windows ranging from two hours, to same-day, and next day, and could add a Saturday delivery option, Spratt said.
For less-urgent e-commerce orders, DHL will continue its years-long practice of handing off packages to the U.S. Postal Service for “final-mile” delivery, it said.
DHL's move is a gamble. The company lost billions of dollars on a failed U.S. expansion a decade ago. tinyurl.com/y9wu42dt
Parcel Metro follows DHL’s plans, announced in summer 2016, to spend $137 million on seven new or expanded e-commerce fulfillment centers in the United States, where DHL currently delivers roughly 500 million pieces annually.
By comparison, UPS delivered 750 million packages during last year’s holiday season alone.
Source : www.reuters.com
Austrian Post Revenues “Driven By Dynamic Parcel Growth”
March 15, 2018
Austrian Post has reported that its group revenues for 2017 were up by 2.3% to €1,938.9m, “driven by dynamic parcel growth”.
The Mail & Branch Network Division’s revenues dipped 2.1% to €1,447.8m, but Austrian Post said this was “more than offset” by the 17.7 % increase in Parcel & Logistics divisional revenue to €495.6m.
Austrian Post’s parcel volumes were up 20%, increasing its overall market share from 45 % to 47 %.
Georg Pölzl, Austrian Post’s CEO, commented: “This proves that the services provided by Austrian Post meet the highest standards with respect to quality and delivery speed. We are striving in both the mail and the parcel segment to improve our high quality level and steadily develop our products on the basis of current customer needs even further.”
With the growth in the parcels market set to continue, Austrian Post said that “measures are being taken to double sorting capacities over the next four years to more than 100,000 parcels/hour”.
“Our objective is to expand existing sorting capacities as quickly as possible,” said Pölzl. “We want to maintain our positioning as a reliable company in the future, and continue to keep the focus of our operations geared to quality and reliability”, concludes CEO Georg Pölzl.
Source: Post & Parcel
Inter.PAL and Saloodo! digitising the interchange of loading equipment1
March 14, 2018
The digital freight platform Saloodo! is a pioneer in digitising the transport and logistics sector, a claim now reinforced with its cooperating, inter.PAL. This Berlin-based company operates across Europe and specializes in digitising pallet exchanges,
depositing and pooling solutions for Euro pallets as well as other interchangeable loading equipment. The benefits of block chain technology are now coming forward, enabling the digitisation of up to 100% of pallet transport operations - an innovation that benefits all Saloodo! customers, starting right away.
In practice, this means the possibility to continue to set up senders' shipments on the Saloodo! platform and for transport service providers to use the same platform to submit their bids for those jobs. Once this type of transaction is complete, the sender can decide whether to use inter.PAL to exchange the loading equipment or to handle it himself.
The easiest option by far is to exchange loading equipment with the Saloodo! partner, inter.PAL. To do this, the sender and the recipient each open a free-of-charge online pallet account on inter.PAL. They can do this separately, or the sender can simply send the recipient an invitation via their inter.PAL account. On receipt of the goods, the recipient can use inter.PAL to settle the receivables incurred. At a later date, the credit balance can be paid out, physically settled or carried forward with regular online payment systems, or with a cash card. This way, they are able to store the payment method for future transport operations.
All in all, inter.PAL and Saloodo! customers save on invoicing time, the costs for transferring pallets or other load carriers, and no longer having to run separate pallet accounts for every customer. As a result, your pallet costs drop at 100% transparency.
Source: Deutsche Post DHL /International Post Corporation
Blockchain has “exciting potential”, says DHL
March12 , 2018
DHL and technology consultant Accenture have produced a report regarding the potential of blockchain technology in logistics – including initial findings on a working prototype the companies have developed together, which tracks pharmaceuticals from point of origin to consumer and prevents tampering or errors.
Blockchain maintains, records and authenticates data and transactions, DHL explained. In supply chains, it enables users to track products using a unique identifier. Information is validated in real time – and attempts to alter, erase or otherwise tamper with records are also logged.
“The experiments with blockchain in finance are well known, but we believe logistics is an area where the new technology will have a truly profound impact,” said Matthias Heutger, senior vice president DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation.
Keith Turner, chief information officer Chief Development Office at DHL Supply Chain, believes there is “especially exciting potential” for blockchain in pharmaceuticals, hence the work with Accenture on tracking healthcare shipments using a blockchain ledger accessible to all stakeholders, including manufacturers, warehouses, distributors, pharmacies, hospitals, and doctors.
“By utilising the inherent irrefutability within blockchain technologies, we can make great strides in highlighting tampering, reducing the risk of counterfeits and actually saving lives,” he said.
Lab-simulations show how blockchain could handle more than 7bn unique serial numbers and 1,500 transactions per second, DHL said.
The technology could also be used for asset management, to improve transparency and traceability, and to automate commercial processes with ‘smart contracts’, which facilitate and verify the performance of contracts without involving third parties.
Source : http://www.aircargonews.net