With APC, Phoenix boosts service levels
Posted:
11/07/2011 18:34:25
To provide next day delivery and “swap out” services of retail technology to stores throughout the UK.Overnight to provide next day delivery and “swap out” services of retail technology to stores throughout the UK, Phoenix IT Services has signed a deal with APC Overnight.
For a number of high street retailers, the Company’s Mobile POS Support division maintains hand-held computers and terminals. The nationwide service is designed to ensure that Phoenix clients always have the equipment they need to deal with customers and maintain service levels.
Senior engineer at Phoenix, David Hargraves said: “Our clients rely on the equipment we supply and maintain. We understand how important it is that they don't suffer system downtime just because they have faulty equipment.
“APC Overnight allows us to respond quickly wherever they are located. For maximum efficiency we swap out the broken device with a replacement, with the faulty unit is being collected by the courier and brought back to Phoenix for repairing”
“The swap out service is very efficient and the local APC Bolton depot helped make it happen. The team developed the APC system to allow for deliveries and returns by the same driver. We couldn’t get this service elsewhere and it is crucial to helping Phoenix maintain its high service levels and customer satisfaction,” he added.
The company books collections over the web using a system installed by the depot. This also prints shipping labels automatically and provides proof of delivery.
|
|
Post of worse class
Posted:
11/07/2011 18:24:50
Lancashire’s posties fear the county is heading for meltdown as they are pushed off their bikes and into vans to make their deliveries.
In Leyland, Morecambe and Carnforth, the new ‘park and loop’ system had already caused chaos at sorting offices and problems are still yet to be resolved at the Preston mail centre, where it was brought in just over two months ago.
The new system sees deliverers drive to the starting point of their round, and then walking round with high-capacity trolleys packed with thousands of letters for more than four hours.
With postal workers predicting a surge in late deliveries as workers struggle to get to grips with the new system, it has still to be rolled out to more than three-quarters of the county.
Today, the Evening Post can also reveal the details of our exclusive survey, which shows Lancashire’s business community supporting the service.
One worker at the Preston Mail Centre, on Pittman Way, Fulwood, said it was already seeing problems caused by the introduction of the system at the end of April.
They said: “There are problems with people not being able to complete their rounds, and in other cases there are letters and packages going in the wrong baskets, because people are not used to the system.
“They are teething problems, but the management do not seem to be learning from the mistakes they are making in other places, and just rolling out ‘park and loop’ everywhere.”
Another postal worker said the introduction of the system at Leyland’s sorting office in December led to Christmas cards still being delivered at the end of January.
They said: “It was ridiculous, it got that out of hand that we had managers from all over the place coming to Leyland, and going out delivering.
“There were people who were not getting any deliveries for days, and after that they said they would not roll this out anywhere else until they had sorted out the problems.
“Now it is going everywhere.”
Stuart Caddy, of postal workers’ Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), said the problems had forced Royal Mail to “back-pedal” on forcing through the roll-out, but said it would return.
|
|
New chairman appointed by Secured Mail
Posted:
11/07/2011 18:09:25
Former chief executive of UK Mail, Paul Carvell, has been appointed chairman of a fast-growing north west business.
He has joined Warrington-based Secured Mail, a national postal operator which shifts 400 million items a year and is backed by private equity fund Next Wave Partners.
In 2010, Secured Mail turned over £32m and is expecting to achieve revenues of £50m this financial year.
It specialises in handling bulk mail and packets such as CDs, DVDs and books. Its customers operate in sectors including retail, utilities, government and financial services.
Mr Carvell is currently executive vice-president at operational improvement specialist Alexander Proudfoot and has extensive experience in the logistics sector. His previous roles have included senior posts at Christian Salvesen and TDG.
Mr Carvell said of his latest role: “The senior management team is young, extremely focused and they do not miss a trick. Secured Mail is a fascinating business and both management and Next Wave share a very clear vision.
“With an impressive customer base, the business is extremely agile in terms of meeting customers' requirements and can be responsive and creative in a way larger postal operators cannot.”
Founder and managing director of Secured Mail, Mark Bigley, said: “Paul knows this sector incredibly well and his experience and calm approach will add enormous value to our business.”
|
|
Retreat of DHL from China domestic express service
Posted:
05/07/2011 19:12:10
To focus on the lucrative international segment, Deutsche Post AG's (DPWGn.DE) courier service has pulled out of its money-losing domestic delivery business in China.
DHL-Sinotrans International, the German company's 50-50 venture with China's Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co Ltd , had sold its entire domestic courier business to Uni-top, a tiny Chinese delivery company, Sinotrans said in a statement late on Wednesday.
"Because of overly fierce competition in the domestic courier service sector, foreign companies lack cost advantage," it said.
In China's outbound courier service sector, DHL, FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc are major players, but have been unable to compete with tiny, privately-owned Chinese companies that are willing to slash their margins to win customers.
As of the end of 2010 DHL-Sinotrans' domestic delivery segment had lost 99.2 million yuan ($15 million) since going into service in 2009, according to the statement. ($1 = 6.463 yuan) (Reporting by Sabrina Mao, Fang Yan and Don Durfee; Editing by Chris Lewis)
|
|
Cloud benefits with local delivery promised by the UK Cloud Alliance
Posted:
05/07/2011 19:07:53
The UK Cloud Alliance, has been launched by a group of 15 service providers which promises businesses the chance of buying cloud computing services delivered by local partners on local infrastructure.
Led by communications reseller Star the initiative, promises to deliver “clarity and confidence” to end users in a confusing market place.
“The objective is to provide medium sized UK businesses with a collection of technology choices that can be delivered via Star’s private cloud platform and serviced by local specialists,” said Star.
The initiative “may well be the right answer for those companies looking for an end-to-end cloud solution from a range of local ‘pre-vetted’ specialist partners,”analyst TechMarketView said.
A range of services from telephony, security hardware migration and virtualization is offered by the 15 founding members. Alliance members have signed up to a code of conduct that promises “transparency and guiding principles to guarantee the customer’s best interests, in addition to Service Level Agreements and any contractual terms.
The move has provoked a cynical response from Andy Burton, Chairman of the Cloud Industry Forum. “In dressing this clearly non-independent commercial offering up as the Cloud Alliance, Star is trying to find a place for itself in the growing cloud computing market,” said Burton.
“Whilst we welcome any advances that assist end users, we do not recognise or support any organisation that risks misleading the market.
“I am sure that it is not Star’s intent to mislead, and therefore we look forward to seeing their claimed Code of Practice and Service Level Agreements, that they talk about, so that we can all understand these claims about how this benefits end users and fulfils their claims of transparency.”
Members of the Alliance include Plan B, Pythagoras, Concentra, Digirati, GlassHouse Technologies, Itica, Modern Networks, NewVoiceMedia, Nexus, Maindec, redstor, Total, Ubertas, LinuxIT and Star.
|
|
Parcel2Go’s New Service from City Link
Posted:
04/07/2011 19:27:19
Bringing an affordable and comprehensive delivery service starting at just £7.99 + VAT to the parcel delivery specialist’s customers, The UK Courier service leader Parcel2Go has added City Link’s Standard service.
A courier service that is familiar to many UK businesses and online shoppers, City Link have become a firm favourite with customers at Parcel2Go.com and the addition of the new Standard delivery service that offers same day parcel collections at an incredibly attractive price has the customer that wants a low cost, high performing parcel delivery solution.
The City Link Standard service is the perfect solution, whether people need to send a parcel to London or anywhere else in the UK, with a quick and reliable home/business collection, parcel tracking throughout the delivery process and confirmation that the delivery has been completed successfully.
Richard Mercer, Marketing Director at Parcel2Go.com commented; “We have added this service to our delivery options based on City Link’s popularity and great reputation with our customers.
“City Link already have their guaranteed next day delivery service available to choose here at Parcel2Go.com but with the City Link Standard service now available our customers can enjoy the reliability and performance of City Link’s delivery service at a great rate, City Link’s cheapest same day collection service to date!”
With free door step collection available when customers order through Parcel2Go’s website customers can get a world class courier service from City Link, who since their inception in 1969 has risen to become one of the UK’s leading premium express delivery solutions for business, handling over 350,000 each night.
|
|
US same-day courier network extends
Posted:
04/07/2011 19:20:17
Across the United States and Canada, the same-day delivery network Courierboard.com is now connecting courier companies with customers in more than 18,000 cities.
The online portal now has more than 1,700 independent courier companies as members, providing rapid delivery with a particular focus on delivering within regions and locally, Just four years on from its launch.
June Hayford, The Florida-based company’s chief operating officer told Post&Parcel today that Courierboard is now the starting point for around 15,000 shipments a month.
It offers a shipping alternative for odd size, high weight items, those with unique handling needs or that are required especially quickly.
When a customer seeks a quote for a shipment through the website, within minutes the request goes to every member courier company within 75 miles of the zip code entered by the customer, who then bid on the job.
For their shipment from among the bids the customer can then choose the best rate.
Hayford said: “My partner Chris had invested in a very small courier company out in New York, and he was seeing how hard it was for them to get new business and how hard it was for a small company to bid for jobs.
“He said wouldn’t it be good if this industry had a web portal like an eBay or a Match.com to go to. And so we created this website.”
|
|
With Business Angels investment deal myParcelDelivery.com™ move up a gear
Posted:
23/06/2011 08:04:46
myParcelDelivery.com™ , the award-winning online parcel delivery website, has announced the completion of a six figure investment deal secured from entrepreneurial investor - Mark O’Brien, through the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s (NWDA) Business Angels investor event.
The Manchester-based company provides businesses, eBay sellers and the general public a cost-effective and reliable means of shipping their parcels worldwide. Partnering with the leading UK courier companies such as UPS, DHL and TNT, users can book and pay for courier services at a much cheaper rate than if they went direct to the brands themselves.
Northwest Business Angels, facilitated by the NWDA, connects young and growing companies, seeking financial assistance, with investors actively looking for profitable business opportunities in the Northwest.
Entrepreneurs are given the chance to pitch their products, services or ideas to the audience made up of successful ‘Business Angels’, to try and secure investment. As part of this, the Northwest Business Link Access to Finance team offer a free service to help entrepreneurs to become ‘investment ready’.
To accelerate their growth plans and diversify into new markets, myParcelDelivery.com™ is going to use the investment funds. Having achieved excellent growth in just 11 months of trading, and creating 14 jobs in Manchester in the process, the cash injection will enable the company to vastly surpass its current trading projections.
|
|
Later Cut-Off for Next Day Deliveries introduced by Hermes
Posted:
23/06/2011 07:59:26
UK's largest home delivery courier network, Hermes, has extended the cut-off time for retailers using its next-day delivery service until 9pm.
Retailers, as a result, will gain added flexibility within their multichannel supply chains and the ability to offer a later order deadline for delivery the following day. The new, later cut-off time will be for parcel traffic entering Hermes' northern and southern hubs that is scheduled for next-day delivery. Using the company's existing nationwide trunking operation, retailers will now be able to send additional volumes up until the 9pm deadline for onward delivery into the Hermes nationwide depot network.
"We are continually looking at ways of enhancing our service to retailers to improve the delivery experience to their customers. The later cut-off time is just one of a number of planned service innovations this year that will add real value to our unique delivery proposition,” commented Jon Tobbell, Commercial Director at Hermes.
|
|
UPS cargo screening at some airports barred by UK
Posted:
23/06/2011 07:55:39
Until United Parcel Service improves its security procedures, Britain has restricted the number of sites at which the courier company can screen air cargo at some airports.
The restrictions were not based on any immediate or specific terrorism threat and stressed it was not stopping the firm moving cargo through airports, the transport ministry said .
"It just means they cannot do their own screening -- they can use a third party for instance (to carry it out), that will be up to them," a spokesman said.
"The safety of the travelling public is paramount and our security regime is kept under constant review," the ministry added in a statement.
UPS was working with the UK government to comply with its request that stemmed from a review of security measures, a UPS spokeswoman at company headquarters in the United States said.
"We've had some delays to packages but we have freight moving in and out of the UK," she said, adding that the firm expected to return to normal service levels next week.
The ministry said for security reasons it would not comment further on the details behind the decision.
The British government, last October, ordered a security review into all incoming international air cargo after the discovery of a bomb found aboard a UPS plane at a regional airport.
|
|
|
|