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MARKET FLASHA fortnightly newsletter covering the latest news from the global postal sector

Issue 518

08 October 2015

2015M

ARKET INTELLIGENCE

IN THIS ISSUE

© 2015 - IPC.be THE NATURAL PARTNER FOR THE POSTAL INDUSTRY MARKET FLASH | ISSUE 518 | TOP STORY | PAGE 2

TOP STORY• Most US online shoppers want more

shipping options for Christmas

AMERICAS• UPS opens facility to offer medical

device replenishment services• Amazon seeks ‘Flex’ consumers to

deliver ultra-fast Prime Now parcels• US delivery start-ups, e-retailers

expand same-day deliveries

ASIA PACIFIC• Australia Post records full-year loss of

$222m• TNT China upgrades its gateway facility

in Shanghai• Alibaba Group and Ant Financial enter

into strategic investment in India’s Paytm

• SingPost enables online retailing for Canon Singapore

• UPS expands services in China• Amazon expands Indian logistics

services and network

EUROPE• TNT launches road service to Georgia,

reduces road transit times to Moscow• DHL and Toyota Material Handling

Europe sign contract for delivery of racking systems

• Omniva to establish joint enterprise with Chinese courier company

• Posti pilots Saturday parcel deliveries• French e-Commerce sales continue

double-digit growth in Q2 2015• DPD lets German consumers track

parcels to their doorstep• DHL Parcel Germany pilots new mobile

parcel box• DHL opens the third life sciences

and healthcare competency centre in Germany

• Zalando pilots same-day delivery in Cologne and Berlin

• An Post makes deliveries simple and secure

• Italian business continues to be part of PostNL

• PostNL trials delivery appointments• TNT awarded five-year contract with

Harding Safety• SEUR targets Spanish consumers with

new Pickup parcel delivery points• Swiss Post makes online shopping

easier• DPD Switzerland launches cross-

border consumer parcel deliveries to 28 EU countries

• Hermes UK upgrades Warrington hub• UPS opens new UK logistics centre for

retail and high-tech sectors• DPD opens Europe’s largest parcel hub

ready for 2015 peak• UK e-retail parcel volumes drop back at

double-digit rate in August

> TOP STORYMOST US ONLINE SHOPPERS WANT MORE SHIPPING OPTIONS FOR CHRISTMASThe majority of US online shoppers want to have more shipping options for this Christmas season, according to a survey by Pitney Bowes. The general trend is that US consumers are willing to do what it takes to get free deliveries, with three out of five respondents admitting to have increased their online spending in the past to qualify for free shipping.

The results of the 2015 Holiday Shipping Survey showed that 93% of US consumers consider shipping options to be an important factor in their overall shopping experience, a 23% increase on 2014. Overwhelmingly, 88% of those surveyed find free shipping with a five- to seven-day delivery to be more attractive than paying a fee for a one- to two- day delivery. Alternatively, 68% of online shoppers have previously used a promotional code or coupon to receive a shipping discount while 80% would also be more willing to purchase online if they had a promotional code or coupon, the survey by the US mailing and shipping technology and services group found.

The third annual Pitney Bowes Holiday Shipping Survey was conducted online by ORC International in August 2015 and polled over 1,000 American adults on their attitudes toward shopping and shipping leading up to the holidays.

Source: CEP-Research

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> AMERICASUPS OPENS FACILITY TO OFFER MEDICAL DEVICE REPLENISHMENT SERVICESAs part of its long-term strategy to support medical device manufacturers, UPS announced the opening of a new healthcare-compliant distribution and warehousing facility in New Jersey to support the growth of its customers. The multi-client hub is the first in UPS’s network to offer medical device companies comprehensive logistics services such as autoclave capabilities, instrument inspection and surgical set replenishment, among other services.

The facility is healthcare-dedicated and strategically located near UPS’s air hub at Philadelphia International Airport. It is fully integrated into UPS’s overall transportation and field stocking location (FSL) network and provides an end-to-end solution for healthcare customers seeking increased inventory visibility and control of their supply chains. This network also makes it possible for healthcare manufacturers and distributors to reach more than 80% of US hospitals within four hours.

Source: UPS

AMAZON SEEKS ‘FLEX’ CONSUMERS TO DELIVER ULTRA-FAST PRIME NOW PARCELSAmazon is launching its latest innovative delivery solution in the USA with the start of ‘Amazon Flex’, a crowd-sourced ‘on demand’ delivery service using consumers to deliver “ultra-fast” Prime Now parcels. The service is now available in Seattle and “coming soon” to Manhattan, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Portland, the e-commerce giant announced.

The service is an Uber-style so-called ‘on demand delivery’ operation using private persons – and their vehicles – to make deliveries, rather than own staff or third-party parcel carriers. This controversial asset-free model has been pioneered by the likes of Uber and Airbnb to disrupt the taxi and accommodation sectors and is the business model for several US start-ups such as Postmates, Instacart, Deliver, and others, experts noted. But there are ongoing legal dispute over the status of ‘on demand’ workers, and whether they should be recognized as part-time staff or not.

Source: CEP-Research

US DELIVERY START-UPS, E-RETAILERS EXPAND SAME-DAY DELIVERIESUS delivery start-ups Postmates, Instacart and Shyp.

Fast-growing Postmates has expanded its delivery network by 25% with the addition of ten more cities, giving it a total of 40 US cities where it now operates. The company has also teamed up with Walgreens, the largest US drugstore chain, to offer on-demand delivery of beauty, household, health and wellness items, initially from 600 stores across the country, at an introductory price of US$4.99 per delivery.

In parallel, online marketplace Etsy is now testing same-day delivery in New York City using the Postmates service. The new ‘Etsy ASAP’ service offers rapid delivery of selected products via an express delivery option.

Meanwhile, retail chain Target has signed up Instacart, the same-day grocery delivery service, for a test programme in Minneapolis. Online shoppers can buy goods online from two Target stores for delivery within an hour or on the same day. The partnership makes Minneapolis into Instacart’s 18th metropolitan area. Separately, start-up rival Shyp has launched in Chicago, its fifth city and first in the Midwest.

Source: CEP-Research

> AMERICAS

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> ASIA PACIFICAUSTRALIA POST RECORDS FULL-YEAR LOSS OF $222MAustralia Post announced a full-year loss after tax of US$222m (US$352m before tax), driven by the continued decline in letter volumes. Despite the full-year loss, Australia Post Managing Director and Group CEO Ahmed Fahour said the business had now made important headway reforming the letters service.

Addressed letter volumes fell by 7.3%, with ordinary stamped letters falling by 10.3%, as Australians continue to switch to digital alternatives, with losses in the mail business growing to US$381m. Group revenue remained stable at US$6.37bn, with parcels revenue up 3.6% to US$3.21bn, for the first time delivering more than half of total revenue.

The parcels business continued to be challenged, despite revenue growing year on year, in a highly competitive market where domestic freight providers are building capacity and international competitors acquiring sorting and last-mile delivery capabilities in Australia.

Source: Australia Post

TNT CHINA UPGRADES ITS GATEWAY FACILITY IN SHANGHAITNT China announced a major upgrade of its international gateway facility (PVG) in Shanghai. Operational since early September, the upgraded PVG facility still located within the Shanghai International Airport Freight Centre is now housed in a new building. The upgrade will allow TNT to process 50% more packages per hour through a €2m investment in state-of-the-art measurement equipment and a well-planned floor layout designed to maximise process flow.

With its higher sorting capacity, pick-up times for express and economy shipments in Shanghai will be pushed back by at least one hour so customers have greater flexibility in shipment preparations.

Source: TNT

ALIBABA GROUP AND ANT FINANCIAL ENTER INTO STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN INDIA’S PAYTMAlibaba Group Holding Limited, Ant Financial Services Group and One97 Communications – the parent company of Paytm, India’s largest mobile payment and commerce platform – announced an agreement under

which Alibaba and Ant Financial have agreed to make a strategic investment in Paytm.

The fresh capital infusion will allow Paytm to achieve scale and develop its vibrant mobile commerce and payment ecosystem in India and invest in marketing, technology and talent. Investing in Paytm will enhance the ability of Alibaba and Ant Financial to tap opportunities in India’s fast-growing mobile e-Commerce marketplace and digital finance industry.

Ant Financial has been developing synergies with Paytm since its initial investment in February of this year. Ant Financial made its initial investment in Paytm in February 2015. Ant Financial’s further investment in Paytm with this transaction demonstrates the company’s confidence in India’s digital payment sector. Ant Financial and Paytm will continue to capitalise on opportunities in mobile wallet to offer Indian consumers comprehensive products and services and to tap the significant potential of the India mobile payment market. Alibaba will become a new investor in Paytm after the completion of the transaction.

Source: Alibaba Group

> ASIA PACIFIC

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> ASIA PACIFICSINGPOST ENABLES ONLINE RETAILING FOR CANON SINGAPORECanon Singapore has collaborated with Singapore to build and support its first official web store, the Canon eShop (shop.canon.com.sg), to digitally extend its retail presence and enhance customer experiences.

This collaboration sees Canon deepening their relationship with SingPost by leveraging SingPost’s growing capabilities in providing end-to-end e-Commerce logistics solutions.

SingPost’s solutions are helping monobrand e-Commerce players like Canon Singapore strengthen their offerings in this part of the world. More and more industry players are jumping onto the bandwagon, especially when the B2C e-Commerce market in Asia Pacific is expected to hit US$175bn by 2016.

Source: CEP-Research

NEW EXPRESS AIRLINE AIMS TO BOOST CHINESE E-COMMERCE BUSINESSChinese and international investors have teamed up to create a new express cargo airline under the name United Star Express to fly domestic and regional routes from next year onwards to support the country’s fast-growing e-Commerce market. United Star Express will provide third-party express and charter aircraft services that cover the country and surrounding Asia regions to domestic and international express companies.

The investors in the joint venture are private Chinese carrier Okay Airlines, US-based ATSG West, Chinese e-retailer Vipshop and five other companies, who signed the joint venture agreement at the Fourth Annual China Air Finance Development Summit in Tianjin. United Star Express will be registered in Tianjin’s free trade zone (Dongjiang Free Trade Port Zone). It will be established pending approval by related government parties and plans to commence flight operations in mid-2016.

The new express airline will initially fly within China and to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and plans to gradually add routes to destinations in Asia, Europe and the Americas, according to its financial backers.

Source: CEP-Research

UPS EXPANDS SERVICES IN CHINAUPS has expanded its presence and services in 13 additional cities as part of its long-term growth strategy in China.

The company announced that it has enhanced its services by improving transit times, extending cut-off times to tender shipments and deploying UPS knowledge and expertise in the 13 cities, located in Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Guangdong provinces, and in Chongqing Municipality.

Customers in these cities will now have direct access to UPS’s full portfolio of services, innovative technology solutions, first-in-class global network, customs brokerage and management services, and logistics expertise to help them better compete in the global marketplace.

Source: CEP-Research

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> ASIA PACIFICAMAZON EXPANDS INDIAN LOGISTICS SERVICES AND NETWORKAmazon is expanding its logistics activities in India with new payment and delivery services and also fulfilment centres to take on local market leaders Flipkart and Snapdeal.

The US e-Commerce giant, which has invested US$2bn to build up its business in India, introduced what it said is India’s first integrated payments and logistics offering for e-Commerce websites, shortly after announcing plans for seven more fulfilment centres around the country. With the new product offering, brands and businesses who want to sell through their own website can use ‘Pay with Amazon’ for order management and ‘Amazon Easy Ship’ for delivery and fulfilment.

Amazon explained that the integrated offering allows Indian businesses to scale and grow their business at low operational costs by leveraging on its investments in payments, logistics, transportation and customer service. Sellers and brands can enable buyers on their website to use their Amazon account, pay through a wide variety of payment methods including COD and get their products delivered using Amazon’s delivery infrastructure.

Source: CEP-Research

US$2BNTHE AMOUNT AMAZON HAS INVESTED INTO INDIA’S ECONOMY

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> EUROPETNT LAUNCHES ROAD SERVICE TO GEORGIA, REDUCES ROAD TRANSIT TIMES TO MOSCOW

TNT has become the first express delivery service provider to offer an economy service to and from Georgia, in the Caucasus, as an alternative to air express services. The line

haul will connect Georgia’s capital Tbilisi with TNT’s European Road Network (ERN) via Istanbul, Turkey. From Istanbul, TNT will connect the Caucasus freight on its ERN lines to more than 40 European countries. The service will offer customers competitive prices and transit times for parcels and palletised freight. It also gives customers the ability to ship larger and heavier items.

Next to this, TNT is reducing European road transit times to and from Moscow by up to 48 hours by changing the route for its trucks. Until now, TNT exclusively connected Russia via Turku in Finland, its northernmost hub within the European Road Network. From now on, TNT will also connect Russia via its Warsaw hub, thereby increasing the speed and capacity of its road service to the Russian capital. Road deliveries from Scandinavia will continue to transit through Turku.

Both improvements are part of TNT’s Outlook strategy to extend its European Road Network and move even more shipments by road.

Source: TNT

DHL AND TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING EUROPE SIGN CONTRACT FOR DELIVERY OF RACKING SYSTEMSDHL Freight has signed a contract with Toyota Material Handling Group to provide transportation of their newly launched line of racking systems from the suppliers to the company’s customers’ sites all across Europe. Starting in September, materials for a wide range of racking solutions, including conventional and high density pallet racking systems, as well as shelving and other non-palletised racking systems, will embark on their journey to new warehouses via various transport solutions provided by DHL Freight’s network. Delivery on the exact agreed day is of critical importance since the development of the project at customer’s site depends upon it.

The solution provided by DHL follows the same set-up as for an automotive production plant. Each shipment may travel through the network as less-than-truckload (LTL), part-truckload (PTL) or full-truckload (FTL) cargo based on a series of criteria, such as the

production date at the supplier site, the agreed delivery day and the nature and size of the goods.

Besides the on-the-day delivery, the extreme diversity of the cargo is also a challenge. The equipment varies from small boxes to full-size 13 m long racks. Material for one single warehouse installation may also come in from different locations in Europe. DHL Freight consolidates the parts and delivers them on the agreed date. To ensure a smooth process and exact delivery times, the transports are carefully planned and scheduled in collaboration with Toyota Material Handling and the warehouse site. In the course of this project, DHL will transport over 90,000 tonnes of freight.

Source: DHL

BPOST DELIVERS GROCERIES ORDERED FROM ONLINE MERCHANTSThe Belgian postal service bpost, has extended their online delivery service to customers living in and around the Antwerp region. The initiative allows customers to have their groceries delivered to their doorstep from various online merchants. The service was originally launched in Belgium in 2014, in the Brussels-Capitol Region, Halle-Vilvoorde and Walloon Brabant.

Source: bpost

> EUROPE

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> EUROPEOMNIVA TO ESTABLISH JOINT ENTERPRISE WITH CHINESE COURIER COMPANYInternational logistics company Omniva will establish a joint enterprise with China’s largest private-capital-based courier company SF Express in order to mediate goods between China and Europe in a faster and more efficient manner.

For Estonian consumers, the establishment of the joint enterprise and a direct connection with China is primarily providing faster shipments of goods from Chinese e-stores to the client. It will also create approximately 50 new jobs in Estonia.

Omniva has been cooperating with SF Express for over a year and the establishment of the joint enterprise is a logical continuation of the cooperation. With the establishment of the joint enterprise, Omniva wishes to strengthen its position in the international e-Commerce business, and SF wishes to gain access on the European market by expanding their distribution centres and airlines.

Source: Omniva

POSTI PILOTS SATURDAY PARCEL DELIVERIESIn Finland, Posti is developing its e-Commerce services by piloting Saturday deliveries of parcels in Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen until the end of December.

The pilot stage covers 112 Posti Parcel Points and 56 postal outlets in the metropolitan area. The recipient can track the parcel in Posti’s mobile application or website. The parcel can be picked up even without the notice of arrival with the delivery ID and personal ID.

Usually, e-Commerce orders are picked up quickly; most of them are picked up the day following the parcel’s arrival in Posti’s service point. In several years, Posti has ensured the flow of the

parcel traffic with weekend deliveries in the weeks leading up to Christmas. In the pilot stage, this ability is tested as a part of the normal parcel process.

Source: Posti

FRENCH E-COMMERCE SALES CONTINUE DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN Q2 2015E-Commerce sales in France grew at a double-digit rate of 16% in the second quarter of this year surpassing expectations, which follows strong online sales in the first quarter with 14% growth, representing the best performance over the last three years, according to the latest figures from the country’s e-Commerce association Fevad.

During April-June 2015, French online sales increased by 16% to reach €15.5bn. This growth was boosted by the strong increase in the number of transactions, with the average spend per purchase stabilising at €79. The total number of purchases amounted to 194m during this period, a 20% increase on Q2 2014 (162m).

The e-Commerce association calculated that about 34.7m internet users shopped online during the second quarter of 2015, which means 628,000 more online shoppers in one year.

The number of listed French webshops continued to increase dynamically by 14% in one year to currently 167,650. Until the end of the year, Fevad expects to reach the 180,000 mark.

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> EUROPEFor the whole half-year of 2015, almost €31bn was spent on internet purchases in France. The good result of the first six months of the year should lead to an improved forecast for the year as a whole, Fevad estimated.

Source: CEP-Research

DPD LETS GERMAN CONSUMERS TRACK PARCELS TO THEIR DOORSTEPGerman consumers can now track parcels right to their doorstep using a new app for mobile devices launched by DPD.

The app is suitable for all standard devices, from the Android smartphone via the iPad across to the Apple Watch, and is available from the App Store or the Google Play Store for Android from Version 4 and iOS from Version 7. Versions of the DPD app which are already installed can of course also be updated to the new version.

After users register and log in on their devices, automatic synchronisation is implemented across all of these devices. As a result consignees can use any of their devices to check on the progress of their shipments by means of the Live-Tracking function, and to redirect them with a few clicks. They can also manage several parcels at the same time. If users

decide to have their parcel delivered to a parcel shop, the app uses positioning data to display the nearest DPD Pickup parcelshop within a matter of seconds.

Sourcre: CEP-Research

DHL PARCEL GERMANY PILOTS NEW MOBILE PARCEL BOXA new mobile parcel box labelled ‘PakSafe’ is being tested in a pilot project with DHL Parcel Germany in southern Germany as another solution to the deliver to apartment blocks and flats.

As a mobile solution, PakSafe can be fixed within a few seconds at the door of an apartment or a house without screws and drilling. After the parcel has been delivered, the space-saving box can be removed again and stored.

Developed by the Göde Group, the box is being tested in the town of Aschaffenburg where Göde is headquartered. PakSafe will be tested for three months by selected DHL Parcel customers, and the official market launch is planned for October.

Source: CEP-Research

DHL OPENS THE THIRD LIFE SCIENCES AND HEALTHCARE COMPETENCY CENTRE IN GERMANYDHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, officially opened a new logistics centre for the pharmaceuticals industry in Mörfelden-Walldorf. The new competency centre is located near the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main airport and serves as a hub for the transport, transport preparation, temporary storage, and transport follow-up of active and passive temperature-controlled pharmaceutical and medicinal products.

In the new logistics centre DHL administers a total of 33,000 square meters of warehouse space. Due to the continuous growth in temperature-controlled air freight, DHL Global Forwarding needed a larger facility near Frankfurt. The division established in the logistics centre in Mörfelden a 600 square meters competency centre with two different temperature-controlled areas. One area is meant for pharmaceutical products that must be stored at constant temperatures between 2° to 8°C, while the second one dedicated to a controlled temperature range of between 15° to 25°C. The facilities are equipped with numerous temperature and humidity sensors that immediately sound an alarm should conditions fall outside of

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> EUROPEestablished parameters. Furthermore, the centre meets the latest safety standards and complies with the new Good Distribution Practice guidelines of the European Union.

Source: DHL

ZALANDO PILOTS SAME-DAY DELIVERY IN COLOGNE AND BERLINMajor German fashion and shoe e-retailer Zalando is testing free same-day deliveries in Cologne and Bonn, and is planning to open its biggest logistics centre in south-western Germany after raising its revenues over 30% in H1 2015. It is not clear yet how long the pilot project will last and if the service will remain free in the long run.

In addition, the company is planning the construction of its fourth logistics centre in Lahr, Baden-Württemberg, to start in October this year. The centre is due to start operating (test operations) in autumn 2016. With an area of 130,000 m², it will be the retailer’s biggest facility, surpassing the size of its existing logistics centres in Erfurt and Mönchengladbach (125,000 m² each) and in Brieselang (25,000 m²). After Erfurt and Mönchengladbach, Lahr will also be Zalando’s third self-operating logistics centre.

The new facility will allow Zalando to serve customers

in Southern Germany, Switzerland and France even faster and to keep up with growing demand. About 1,000 jobs are due to be created at the site located in the Upper Rhine region. Zalando currently employs over 5,000 people at its existing logistics centres.

Source: CEP-Research

AN POST MAKES DELIVERIES SIMPLE AND SECUREThe Irish postal service An Post has recently launched a ‘Delivery Box’ service in the South East region of the country.

At its core, the Delivery Box service offers a compact and discreet wall-mounted delivery box which holds letters and parcels in a locked weather-resistant box that only the customer and An Post has access to, until the customer is able retrieve them. The Delivery Box becomes a feature of home and business deliveries across the counties Wexford, Kildare, Wicklow and Carlow. A nationwide rollout of the service will quickly follow, and the Delivery Box will be available throughout the country by the end of the year. Delivery Box will operate as an addition to An Post’s existing mails and parcels services.

Delivery Box marks part of An Post’s response to changing consumer needs; the service is ideal for

online shopping and for ensuring confidentiality of the mail. An Post’s smart scanning system acts as proof of delivery and does not require a signature. The technology behind Delivery Box enables direct contact with the customer to inform them when a delivery has been made.

Source: An Post

ITALIAN BUSINESS CONTINUES TO BE PART OF POSTNLFollowing the strategic review of the international activities that was announced in the beginning of May, PostNL has decided to continue to invest in the development of its Italian operations (Nexive).

PostNL supports local management and expects that they will be able to grow Nexive’s market share by expanding its customer base, increasing the geographical spread of the Formula Certa network as well as offering additional value added services to its customers. Also Nexive’s parcels network shows good prospects for profitable growth.

The strategic review of the activities in the United Kingdom resulted at the end of July in an agreement on the main conditions of an intended management buy-out of Whistl. The strategic review of the German activities is ongoing.

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> EUROPENexive has been operating in Italy since 1998. Its more than 5,500 employees and partners currently handle about 500m items a year, reaching about 80% of Italian homes.

Source: Post NL

POSTNL TRIALS DELIVERY APPOINTMENTSOnline retailers Bobshop.nl and Futurumshop.nl are trailing a new service where customers can receive their parcel next day at a time window of their choosing. Customers are being offered five two-hour time windows throughout the day and evening.

The ‘tailor-made delivery’ trial is PostNL’s response to growing consumer demand to receive parcels at home at a time of their choosing. The trial will run from August 2015 until December 2015. PostNL will then use the experiences to evaluate whether this service should be developed further.

Source: Post NL

TNT AWARDED FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH HARDING SAFETYTNT has been awarded a five-year contract with the lifesaving equipment supplier Harding Safety. Under the agreement, TNT becomes the exclusive carrier for all spares shipments for Harding Safety at global level. TNT will provide a full range of express delivery services, such as its Express, Economy, Palletised Freight and Special Services, using its integrated road and air network.

Harding Safety has redesigned its supply chain by centralising smaller warehouse locations to seven central warehouse locations globally. These warehouses are located in Seimsfoss (Norway), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Dubai (UAE), Shanghai (China), Singapore, New Iberia (USA) and Macaé (Brazil). TNT will execute Harding Safety’s worldwide inbound and outbound transport of spares for lifesaving equipment to merchant, cruise, offshore and Navy customers.

Source: TNT

SEUR TARGETS SPANISH CONSUMERS WITH NEW PICKUP PARCEL DELIVERY POINTSSpanish express parcels company SEUR, aims to reach 85% of the country’s population through its new Pickup delivery points for B2C parcels.

The company plans to extend the parcel point network to 1,600 locations by 2017, as part of DPDgroup’s expansion of its European B2C alternative delivery network to 20,000 locations in 13 countries at present. The Pickup points, for parcel collection and returns, are located in small retail shops such as kiosks, newsagents, tobacconists and florists.

SEUR has rolled out a package of e-commerce solutions over the last year under the label ‘e-Commerce 365°’ to improve customer experience. These include same-day and Sunday deliveries, as well as SEUR Predict, which offers advance delivery notification and various delivery options.

Source: CEP-Research

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> EUROPESWISS POST MAKES ONLINE SHOPPING EASIERSwiss Post is responding to customers’ needs by launching various innovations to make shopping online and receiving parcels simpler. Using these measures Swiss Post wants to help develop the e-Commerce market with the goal of making e-Commerce simpler and more individual for online retailers and private customers alike.

Online retailers are finding that customer retention is becoming ever more important due to intensely competitive market growth. In online retail this applies primarily to service and attractive delivery conditions. Swiss Post has introduced a new service that allows customers to make purchases at a variety of online shops and have their customer profiles and delivery information available in just one click.

In the course of 2016, Swiss Post will also launch individual management of parcels and registered letters. As soon as a consignment is on its way, the customer can use a consignment cockpit on the Swiss Post website to select whether the consignment should be delivered to a home address or to an alternative

address. To provide customers with a wider choice of delivery in the future, Swiss Post is extending its services at off-peak times in the evening and on Saturdays.

Source: Swiss Post

DPD SWITZERLAND LAUNCHES CROSS-BORDER CONSUMER PARCEL DELIVERIES TO 28 EU COUNTRIESDPD Switzerland is expanding its B2C business by launching cross-border parcel deliveries for private customers from Switzerland to 28 EU countries as part of DPDgroup’s international growth strategy.

With the cross-border delivery service, DPD Switzerland is integrating over 600 domestic Pickup parcel shops in the pan-European network of DPDgroup. From the end of October this year, private customers can send parcels from the DPD Pickup parcel shops in Switzerland to 28 European countries in a fully carbon-neutral way, at no extra cost for the customer.

Source: CEP-Research

HERMES UK UPGRADES WARRINGTON HUBHermes UK has completed the construction of a secondary sortation tier at its fully automated distribution hub in Warrington, North West England, bringing the hub’s processing capacity up to 1m parcels per day, ahead of the Christmas peak season.

The 15,000 m² hub initially opened in May 2014, with Hermes investing £14m in the facility - the largest single investment in the company’s history. The second tier costs a further £10m and allows Hermes to continue to support retailers who generate significant growth in online sales, especially during peak periods.

Starting in January this year, the project was completed on time and to budget, with construction work being carried out during the evenings to prevent the disruption of the day-to-day operations at the hub. Hermes stressed that the additional capacity at Warrington will play a key role in its international growth strategy while responding to the increasing customer demand for next-day deliveries.

To support its Warrington operations during the peak period, Hermes UK will also hire additional 400 staff.

Source: CEP-Research

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> EUROPEUPS OPENS NEW UK LOGISTICS CENTRE FOR RETAIL AND HIGH-TECH SECTORSUPS has officially opened a new contract logistics facility in North Warwickshire, in central England, to meet growing demand from retail and high-tech customers and expand its global supply chain network.

The new facility, with nearly 13,000 m² of warehousing space, is in close proximity to the existing package sorting hub at Birch Coppice Business Park, near Tamworth, and provides access to the company’s global network via the UPS hub at East Midlands Airport.

In addition to its network of package sorting facilities, UPS now has more than 500 supply chain facilities in over 120 countries, now totalling more than 3m m² globally. Services and capabilities offered at these locations include: warehousing and order fulfilment; inventory, transportation and returns management; custom kitting and packaging; store-ready displays; critical parts repair; and same-day delivery.

Source: CEP-Research

DPD OPENS EUROPE’S LARGEST PARCEL HUB READY FOR 2015 PEAKDPD officially opened a new parcel sorting hub at Hinckley in Leicestershire, central England.

The new £100m superhub – which is capable of sorting 720,000 parcels per night – will be fully operational ahead of this year’s Black Friday and Christmas Peak period. The project will create 1,000 new, full-time jobs at the facility and features a 3,000 m long automated sorter, designed by conveyer specialists Beumer, and has 264 loading dock doors.

DPD’s UK growth is based on its ‘Predict and Follow My Parcel’ services which give customers advanced notification of a one hour delivery slot, and allows them to track their driver on a map, or access five ‘in-flight’ delivery options if they can’t be home to accept their parcel. In 2015, the company also introduced DPD Pickup - a network of 2,500 parcel shops - allowing customers to divert deliveries to a convenient pick-up point, close to their home or work.

Source: CEP-Research

UK E-RETAIL PARCEL VOLUMES DROP BACK AT DOUBLE-DIGIT RATE IN AUGUSTParcel volumes generated by online retail sales in the UK fell by 12.7% in August, compared to July, as the result of low growth in online retail sales last month.

E-retail sales increased by only 6% in August, compared to July, partly due to low growth recorded across a number of sectors, including clothing, recent figures from e-Commerce association Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) showed.

Over the last few months, e-retail parcel volumes showed a few unusual ups and downs. Between April and May, the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index recorded a month-on-month drop, before going up sharply between May and June.

Source: CEP-Research

© 2015 - IPC.be THE NATURAL PARTNER FOR THE POSTAL INDUSTRY MARKET FLASH | ISSUE 518 | ABOUT IPC | PAGE 14

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