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Rise In UK Postal Operator Licences - November 20, 2009
[Press Release.]The first Northern Ireland-based operator, Regional Mail Services Limited, has been granted a postal operators licence and is one of two new licences granted this month by Postcomm, the UK postal regulator.
The second was granted to Enerco2 Limited in Hull, delivering mail and packets to business and residential addresses with a forthcoming Green Prepay service where customers are supplied with recycled envelopes at a pre-paid price.
Also this month, Postcomm received four new licence applications from Pedal Post, Greatbatch Limited, Cambridge Postal Services, and Fully Franked Local.
The last licence issued was to Product Corporation UK, in early October. Currently 32 licenced operators operate in the UK including:
Citipost AMP Limited, City Cycle Couriers, CFH Total Document Management Limited, City Link Post, CMS, Cycle 4 U, DHL Express Limited, DHL Global Mail (UK) Limited, Document Outsourcing Limited, DX Network Services, Enerco2 Limited, FedEx UK Limited, First Scottish Group Limited, Intercity Communications, LDS Cambridge Limited, Lynx Mail, Nothern Mail, Peoplepost Limited, Post 123, Product Development Corporation, Racer Consultancy Management Services Ltd, Regional Mail Services Limited, Royal Mail Group Limited, Scotpost, Secure Mail Services, Secured Mail Limited, Securipost Limited, TNT Post UK Limited, UK Mail, Wightpost, Yellow Jersey Delivery Limited, and Zip Mail Ltd.
CRRI Workshop “The Future of the Postal Service” held on November 20, 2009, Washington, DC - November 20, 2009
Selected presentations:
- "Public/Private Relationships - Creating a Successful Postal Alliance" by Carl W. Asmus, Vice President, International Market Development
[Presentation]
- "The Great Recession and the Electricity Industry - Lessons Learned and a Tentative Look Ahead" by Dr. John Caldwell, Director of Economics, EEI
[Presentation]
- "The Future of the Postal Sector: the Elephant in the Room" by Michael A. Crew, CRRI Professor of Regulatory Economics and Director CRRI (Based on WIP with Paul Kleindofer, INSEAD)
[Presentation]
- "New Business Models for Tough Problems" by Alan Robinson, Direct Communications Group
[Presentation]
USPS Energy Use Down 9 percent From 2005 to 2008 - November 19, 2009
[Press Release.]In its first-ever sustainability report, the U.S. Postal Service showed a decrease in total energy use of 9 percent from 2005 to 2008. In 2008 the agency used 123 million gigajoules, compared to 131 million GJ in 2007, 134 million GJ in 2006 and 136 million GJ in 2005.
The USPS reduced energy use at its facilities by 18 percent from 2005 to 2008, or about 14 percent per piece of mail delivered, according to the 2008 Sustainability Report: “Delivering a Greener Tomorrow.”
Overall vehicle energy use, however, rose by 5 percent during the period, while the agency’s use of alternative fuel rose by 61 percent.
The USPS did not release 2008 GHG emissions from Scope 1, 2 or 3 sources.
Last year, the agency generated 455,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste, while recycling 232,000 metric tons.
The agency succeeded in increasing by 79 percent the metric tons of electronics reused or recycled from 2005 to 2008. Last year, the agency reused or recycled 1,348 metric tons of electronics, compared to 755 metric tons in 2005.
The agency is also increasing opportunities for the public to recycle junk mail and other paper. The agency now has nearly 4,000 post offices with lobby recycling, up from about 3,250 in 2005.
In October, USPS released an inventory of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to establish a baseline for future annual evaluations to help meet its goal to reduce GHG emissions 20 percent by 2020. The Postal Service also has set goals to reduce energy use 30 percent and petroleum fuel use 20 percent by 2015.
According to the report, based on an analysis of emissions in 2007, the Postal Service’s direct GHG emissions totaled 5.3 million tons, which is 1 twentieth of 1 percent of the total GHG emissions in the U.S.
Direct Marketing Stands Up Well In Recession - November 19, 2009
[Press Release.]Direct mail has stood up well to the challenges posed by the recession and the channel carries weight in the boardroom, according to Marketing Week’s Direct Mail Attitudes survey.
The survey found that 56% of marketers believe that direct mail has influence with the top executives or board members at their companies.
Just 5% report that the recession has had a “very bad” effect on the channel, while 7% claim the downturn has had no effect at all.
Despite the board-level support for direct mail, marketers themselves are torn on what is the optimum response from a “successful” direct mail campaign.
Forty-two per cent say a 5-10% rate of response is acceptable, but in practice only a fifth (22%) actually see this result, with more than half (52%) saying that their response rates fall below 5%.
Elsewhere, there is evidence that indicates that the recent postal strikes could have caused a shift from physical mail to email. ?Nearly half (45%) of respondents say that they are using interactive methods compared with 33% using physical direct mail, while 22% use both together.
Environmental concerns could also have accelerated the move towards online with over half (54%) claiming that green issues do affect the amount of mail they send out, while 46% say that it has no impact.
The survey polled several hundred readers of Marketing Week magazine and users of MarketingWeek.co.uk in October this year.
UK Mail Releases Interim Results - November 19, 2009
[Press Release.]Highlights:
. Group revenues down 3.2% to £188.2m (2008: £194.5m)
. UK Mail revenues up 5.6% to £84.6m (2008: £80.1m)
. Group profit before tax up 18.6% to £7.0m (2008: £5.9m)
. Net cash at period end of £3.6m (2008: net debt £1.9m)
. Interim dividend of 6.4p per share (2008: 6.4p)
Guy Buswell, Chief Executive of UK Mail, said:
“Our first half performance has been robust, despite the market challenges.
We have taken more cost out of our distribution network, already one of the most efficient in the industry. This, together with new business wins and innovative new products coming on stream, has increased profit by 18.6% despite a slight revenue reduction. Our financial position is also strong, with net cash at the period end.
Our strategy is to leverage our low-cost network in order to build competitive advantage and drive profitable revenue growth. By bringing new products and services to market, we aim to increase both the size of the market available to us and our share of that market.
Whilst market conditions for the balance of the year remain hard to predict, trading in recent weeks has been in line with our expectations, with minimal overall impact from the recent mail strikes. We therefore remain confident about the outcome for the full year, and about UK Mail Group?s longer-term prospects.”
Czech Postal Service Launches Guaranteed International Parcel Service - November 19, 2009
[Hellmail.]Ceska Posta, the Czech Republic postal service, has just launched a new international parcel service.
International Commercial Parcel (EPG) is a new express service offering a fast, safe and favourably priced solution to Czech customers that need to mail parcels abroad.
The postal operator said yesterday that EPG will meet the needs of both individuals and businesses mailing current messages and private correspondence, gifts, documents or goods abroad. Compensation is available from posting to delivery. In particular, the new service offers guaranteed delivery times to France, Germany, Ireland, England or Sweden on a three-day basis, and Norway and, e.g. the island parts of Portugal or Spain, - five days.
Palestine Set To Take Control Of Own Postal System - November 19, 2009
[Ma'an News.]Palestine was allocated a postal code by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) following successful talks with the International Bureau in Berne, Switzerland, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology announced Wednesday.
Head of the Mission to the union Mahmoud Diwan said the move would help guarantee the independence of the Palestinian postal system when it is re-launched, and make it distinct from the Israeli system. Currently, mail destined for the West Bank and Gaza from international locations must be posted “care of” or “via” Israel. Only when couriering packages within the West Bank or from the West Bank to Gaza is labeling “Palestine” acceptable.
“The Universal Postal Union has taken a series of decisions and steps that aim to facilitate the exchange of direct mail between Palestine and other countries,” Diwan said on his return from the meetings.
The UPU, a UN body since 1948, said the adoption of the Palestinian postal codes would give Palestine access to the development funds and expertise of the organization, according to Diwan.
Regulations of the body say “any member of the United Nations may accede to the UPU. Sovereign countries that are not members of the UN may also become members of the UPU provided that their requests are approved by at least two-thirds of the member countries of the Union.”
Being granted a postal code by the UPU is the first step in becoming a full member.
Diwan noted the UPU also approved a technical cooperation program aimed at improving the Palestinian postal services, which will include the training of staff and development of an independent system of mail transport and delivery.
More than the regulation of post and delivery to Palestinian addresses directly from all over the world without Israeli intervention, Diwan said, the development of a Palestinian postal system will generate revenue for the state. Money made by the system for the first several years would be re-invested into the development and expansion of services.
The resolution by the UPU comes in addition to a national track prepared by the ministry, Diwan said, which would see the activation of some sectors of the postal service in the coming weeks.
Officials within the ministry will continue to work with the UPU, Diwan noted.
Magyar Posta to Launch Mobile Service - November 19, 2009
[Trading Markets.]Hungary's state-owned postal services Magyar Posta plans to enter the local mobile market, local newspaper Portfolio reports. Magyar Posta will launch MVNO services using Vodafone's network. Magyar Posta plans to sell handsets and mobile services with pre-paid cards in regions of the country where domestic operators have no sales points. Magyar Posta has already registered the postafon.hu domain and will soon launch the website where users will be able to find info on mobile tariffs, handsets and premium rate SMS. Starting 19 November, nearly 800 Magyar Posta offices and sales points are expected to start selling mobile phones.
New Zealand Post: Securing A Universal Postal Service - November 19, 2009
[NZ Post.]New Zealand Post is ensuring its nationwide letter delivery service remains fair for all New Zealanders through proposed changes to its access framework for other postal operators.
New Zealand Post Acting Group Chief Executive Sam Knowles says the proposed adjustments follow a review of how much other postal operators pay to access New Zealand Post’s network.
The proposal aims to set a fair access price that encourages competition while also maintaining a sustainable universal postal service.
The review found that New Zealand Post is providing postage rate discounts to other operators that are substantially higher than the legal minimum. This is commercially unsustainable and effectively means New Zealand Post is subsidising other operators.
“Given the decline in overall letter volumes due to electronic substitution, this is no longer tenable for New Zealand Post or for our shareholders - the people of New Zealand,” he said. “We can no longer afford to subsidise our competitors at a cost of millions of dollars every year.
“Having undertaken a review, we believe the proposal we are putting to the postal services industry is the only practical option for both retaining the universal postal service for all New Zealanders, and supporting a competitive environment with fair treatment of competitors using the New Zealand Post network.”
Under the Deed of Understanding with the Government, New Zealand Post is required to maintain minimum numbers of delivery points, to deliver six days a week to more than 95 per cent of New Zealanders, to provide competitors with access to its delivery network and to maintain a large PostShop network.
New Zealand Post is a state owned enterprise and has been operating in a competitive postal market since 1998. It has access pricing agreements with six of 27 independent postal operators.
Mr Knowles said New Zealand Post is consulting with the postal services industry on the proposed changes before making final decisions, which are expected prior to Christmas.
UPU CA Meeting Concludes - November 19, 2009
[Press Release.]The UPU Council of Administration (CA) ended its 2009 session on Friday at the organization’s headquarters in Berne.
About 950 delegates attended the meeting of the governing body, whose 41 member countries discuss and approve the work and activities of the Union. Four committees and their respective groups dealt with governance issues, development and cooperation, finance and administration and the UPU strategy.
The UPU director general said the CA plays a major role in preparing the organization’s future. “By integrating the new postal players in its reflections, as well as international trends and factors such as the current financial and economic crisis, the body will be able to draw up the future architecture of the UPU,” said Edouard Dayan to the plenary session.
Indeed, the CA agreed to discuss governance issues around innovative projects such as the top-level Internet domain dot.post. The UPU and ICANN successfully negotiated an agreement in principle recently.
The body also examined different postal regulatory models and held discussions over how to effectively finance the universal postal service in a context of crisis and market liberalization during a one-day conference devoted to the issue.
A two-day workshop on how the postal network can be used to extend financial inclusion to millions of people also drew interest and strong participation.
Other highlights included the Council’s support for developing addressing. The UPU is trying to raise awareness among key stakeholders – governments, regulators and UN and international organizations, among others – of the importance of addresses for providing effective public services and enabling citizens to fully participate in society. The UPU will create a multi-agency working group on the issue and prepare an international summit on the issue in 2011.
With world leaders set to meet in Copenhagen in December to hash out a new international deal on how to curb greenhouse gas emissions and finance initiatives to do so, the CA supported a proposal to create a project group to study the feasibility of setting up a financing mechanism to compensate carbon emissions by postal operators.
Finally, the CA approved a proposal to formalize the relationship between the UPU and the International Organization for Migration. The UPU has been an IOM observer since 2006 and is working with the organization on a project to improve electronic money transfers through the post between Uganda and Tanzania. They want to extend the project to other countries. Other projects to develop electronic money-transfer services in rural areas in Africa are being developed with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a UN sister agency.
Charles Prescott, chairman of the Consultative Committee, qualified the integration and involvement of the UPU in the wider UN system as “a brilliant move”. “With firmer UN roots and a global network of essential providers of cost-effective electronic messaging and money transfers, the worldwide postal system has a chance to thrive, with the UPU at the centre of development efforts.” The Consultative Committee is the voice of stakeholders from the wider postal sector.
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