50 Most Popular 2008 Hellmail Articles >>
The following list shows the 50 most read news items from Hellmail Postal News for 2008. They are generatated automatically and displayed in order of the most read article.
The Unscrupulous Postage Stamp Cheats
17 June 2008
One subject that often crops up at Hellmail is the practice of re-using stamps. It would be almost impossible to estimate just how many pre-used stamps actually go through Royal Mail sorting equipment undetected but in principle, if a stamp is unfranked it is likely to be accepted a second or even third time. This all sounds like a schoolboy crime and barely worth reporting were it not for the fact that...
(This article read 7519 times)
Royal Mail Warrington Site Plans Approved
14 October 2008
Planning permission has been granted for the much talked about new Royal Mail distribution centre in Warrington. The Winwick Quay site plans were approved by local planners a few days ago and will see redevelopment at South 62, Mill Lane, including seven dock levellers and five roller shutter openings...
(This article read 3997 times)
WH Smith To Include DHL As Well As Post Offices
09 October 2008
WH Smith, which has already taken on the role of many Crown post offices across the UK is to expand the service with the inclusion of DHL postal points aimed primarily at Ebay users. The first postal point was introduced on Wednesday, allowing customers to purchase pre-packaged boxes....
(This article read 3160 times)
Innovative Mail Trolleys From Expresso
03 October 2008
New and innovative designs for the transportation of mail on the 'final mile' could be seen at this years Post-Expo at the ExCel. In the UK, the relatively new but familiar red 'prams' used by Royal Mail look fairly simple compared to some of the newer German equipment on display at Post-Expo, notably the two-handled electrically powered 'Smart Drive' models from Expresso...
(This article read 2960 times)
DHL Excel Gets British Airways Contract
05 December 2008
British Airways (BA), one of the world's leading premium airlines, has awarded DHL Exel Supply Chain a multi million pound annual contract, to handle in-flight services for short haul and domestic flights from Heathrow. The 10 year contract will come into effect in April 2010...
(This article read 2958 times)
Postal Theft - Can It Be Beaten?
05 May 2008
The Daily Mail reports on concerns about the security of Britain's mail. According to statistics released under the Freedom of Information act, 1,321 Royal Mail employees have been caught stealing mail since 2004. I telephoned Hellmail's editor Steve Lawson, to ask him if he thought mail theft was on the rise and how easy it is for Royal Mail to detect. "I think you have to put this in...
(This article read 2938 times)
DHL Airfreight Solution For Life Sciences Industry
22 September 2008
DHL Global Forwarding (DGF), the air and ocean freight business of Deutsche Post World Net, announced today its intra-European, overnight transport solution for the life sciences industry. Called "Airfreight Plus for the Life Sciences Industry", the service combines the speed of express with the individual care of a freight forwarder, providing day-definite, door-to-door delivery of heavyweight goods across 32 European...
(This article read 2732 times)
DX Group - Royal Mail VAT Advantage Stifles Competition
30 April 2008
The DX Group has reminded Postcomm that the VAT exemption applied to Royal Mail is, in their view, continuing to stifle competition. In response to Postcomm's Strategy Review, Michael MacClancy, Head of Regulation at DX said: "Royal Mail’s VAT exemption will continue to tip the playing field against end to-end entrants for the foreseeable future. The VAT exemption extends to positive discrimination in favour of...
(This article read 2393 times)
Hybrid Mail To Form Part Of UK Postal Market
11 April 2008
Recent evidence put forward in a 'Mail Trends' document written by Fouad H. Nader (Adrenale Corporation) and Michael Lintell (Pitney Bowes), suggests that those with internet access are actually likely to send and recieve more mail than someone without internet access. Much of the content is given over to U.S. examples but it does underline a growing fall in mail volume just about everywhere. However, competition has also...
(This article read 2375 times)
Citipost Sells International Arm To Pitney Bowes
29 May 2008
The Citipost group has sold it's International business to Pitney Bowes International Mail Services. Citipost described the sale as 'perfect timing' and that it would allow Citipost to focus investment into our end-to-end delivery services in strategic business centres worldwide. The Citipost group, which includes Citipost AMP Ltd, Citipost UK Ltd, Citipost DSA Ltd and Citipost Direct Distribution Ltd, will...
(This article read 2286 times)
DHL Secures 9 Million Contract With Poundland
21 March 2008
DHL Exel Supply Chain has announced that it has won a new three year contract worth £9 million (11.8 million euro), with Poundland, the UK's largest retailer of £1 products. DHL will be importing consumer products from China and transporting them to stores across the UK. DHL will transport a variety of products for Poundland from UK outbases in Billingham, Hatfield and Belshill and will provide deconsolidation center services at....
(This article read 2173 times)
UK Mail Goes Hybrid With Imail
19 November 2008
UK Mail, part of the Business Post Group is now promoting hybrid mail in addition to its regular business mail services, by introducing imail, the only national alternative to the first class postal service....
(This article read 2151 times)
Royal Mail Facing Biggest Changes
20 August 2008
Restructuring of duties, cut backs, later mail delivery, and a reorganisation of mail sorting - all sound familiar except this isn't Royal Mail - this is the USPS. The fact is, all postal operators face similar challenges, particularly with the present economic pressures...
(This article read 2136 times)
Huddersfield & Sheffield Post Office Closures
05 August 2008
Post Office Ltd announced the beginning of a seven-week local public consultation on its Area Plan for South Yorkshire, Huddersfield, Colne Valley and North Derbyshire. The proposal lists some 66 branches it wants to close with 254 being retained...
(This article read 2128 times)
DHL Moves In On UK Domestic Post
09 October 2008
Some might say it has been a long time coming, but with WH Smith now partnering with DHL, consumers might be seeing some real competition in the UK postal market. Granted you won't find a WH Smith within one mile, unless of course your local WH Smith actually happens to be less than a mile away, but its certainly a start. The deal between DHL and WH Smith will go some way towards establishing DHL’s presence...
(This article read 2076 times)
Postal Operators - A Global Decline In Mail Volume
23 March 2008
So why are we closing post offices and why are mail volumes falling - in real terms? A decline in the letters market is being felt globally, not just in the UK - even the US postal service is feeling the pinch. There are many reasons why mail volume is seeing a slump, but the biggest contributor to this downturn is undoubtedly our obsession with technology. Up until the 1970s, technology had moved along at a relatively graceful pace, but the advent of the transistor and silicon chip, brought a...
(This article read 1878 times)
DHL Confirms U.S. Job Losses From January
10 November 2008
Following speculation on the future of DHL Express in the U.S., DHL confirmed today it is to reduce operating costs associated with DHL Express by discontinuing domestic-only air and ground products in the States on January 30, 2009. DHL Express is to close all of its U.S. ground hubs, reduce the number of stations from 412 to 103 and retain 3,000 to 4,000 U.S.-based employees.
(This article read 1759 times)
DX Expands Mail Sorting Capability
04 July 2008
DX, the independent postal service, has opened a new sorting centre in Avonmouth. The new centre is the result of a good year for DX, which has gone from strength to strength, even during the bitter postal strike at Royal Mail last year. DX, which operates a network of pickup and collection points via solicitors and financial service companies, says the new £650,000 centre means it can improve the speed and accuracy of sorting...
(This article read 1747 times)
Deregulation Is Killing Royal Mail Not Improving It
07 May 2008
The arguments surrounding yesterday’s report concerning deregulation of the postal market are, in my opinion, clouding the central issues. Last year’s postal strike was, in part, an attempt to halt the madness in the industry. RM employees have seen for a long time now that the proposed and actual changes in the industry are reducing standards for all except those large companies who can increase their profits by exploiting the...
(This article read 1710 times)
Hell Mail From Royal Mail
24 October 2008
At Post-Expo this year, one exhibitor asked me why Hellmail was called Hellmail, to which I replied: "Fun though the mail industry can be, it can also be absolute hell some days." This explanation seemed to satisfy him and he nodded almost approvingly. Imagine our surprise then, when we received a letter from Royal Mail echoing the sentiment - well not quite....
(This article read 1667 times)
Matterbox Actually Does Matter
07 December 2008
I said I'd mention the postie who delivered my 'Matterbox' on Saturday but inadvertently forgot to ask his name. To be fair, he wasn't actually my regular postman and to be honest I'm not sure who is anymore. It seems to be a different one every other week. I spotted him struggling along my avenue with two pouches of mail and he was probably only too glad to deliver mine just to...
(This article read 1662 times)
Further Royal Mail Downsizing Inevitable Says Lawson
02 November 2008
The forthcoming review of Royal Mail by Richard Hooper is likely to recommend that the present restructuring of the Royal Mail sorting and delivery network continues, to reduce the costs involved in delivering the universal service which is already in a serious loss-making situation. Full-time jobs at Royal Mail are already being replaced by part-time jobs and several sorting offices have already been earmarked for complete...
(This article read 1648 times)
Post-Switch - Royal Mail Most Inefficient Operator In Europe
23 October 2008
Post-Switch, an impartial postal analysts and advisory service, says that Royal Mail has failed to react to the commercial world, describing it as one of the most inefficient operators in Europe. Jonathan DeCarteret, Senior Market Analyst at Post-Switch, says that Royal Mail, under threat from competition, a ballooning pension deficit, shackled to a trade union and a conspicuous lack of innovation has put the USO...
(This article read 1595 times)
Royal Mail Stamps A Right Pantomime
17 October 2008
Pantomime is the theme for this years Christmas Stamps from Royal Mail. The Christmas 2008 depict popular pantomine characters and I have to say, everyone at Hellmail thinks these stamps are great. Amusingly, I held up a photo of the pantomime stamps this morning to Sarah Sharpe and David Lynch, our resident journalists and said "These look rather good don't they" to which I received the obvious reply "Oh no they don't!"....
(This article read 1544 times)
Royal Mail Signed For - OK
21 August 2008
It won't be the first time that Recorded/Signed For post has been ringed by Postwatch or highlighted by Hellmail in terms some apparent failings in the service, so this time we actually stuck our necks out and put it to the test! We put £80 in £20 notes in...
(This article read 1529 times)
Fire At Royal Mail Delivery Office
10 November 2008
A fire which broke out at the Cardiff delivery office today, saw 150 postal workers sent home. The fire, which started early this morning, caused extensive damage to part of the building as well as delivery vehicles parked nearby, is not thought to have damaged mail but Royal Mail is unable to give more details until the damage has been assessed....
(This article read 1501 times)
Post-Expo Boasts Impressive Timetable
11 September 2008
Post-Expo 2008 opens this month at the ExCel in London - the 12th international postal technology exhibition and congress. The host sponsor is Royal Mail. The three-day event annually attracts more than 4,000 top-level personnel from approximately 100 countries...
(This article read 1465 times)
Royal Mail Workers Gear Up For Christmas
11 November 2008
Royal Mail is taking on some 20,000 temporary workers in the run-up to Christmas this year who will be helping to sort and deliver an estimated 130 million items a day. "Its chaos in the weeks before Christmas" said one worker. "Organised chaos, but we have a lot to do in a very short space of time and we all have to pull together to get everything delivered on time. We don't like to disappoint anyone if we can help it...
(This article read 1457 times)
Hellmail Postal News Responds To Hooper Report
16 December 2008
Hellmail, the independent postal industry news site has responded to the findings of an independent review, known as the Hooper Report, that sets out three main recommendations for the viability of the universal service. Editor Steve Lawson said: "Whilst it is widely recognised that Royal Mail faces major problems unless there is a fundamental change to the way the service is funded, these issues are not just...
(This article read 1447 times)
40,000 U.S. DHL Jobs Could Be Wiped Out
10 November 2008
Deutsche Post, already under fire for wholesale DHL-related job losses in Wilmington Ohio, looks set to prune its U.S. presence drastically, a result of the downturn in the U.S. economy and a global downturn in business currently affecting most operators. Rumours that as many as 40,000 jobs could go, are being widely reported in a number of newspapers...
(This article read 1436 times)
Royal Mail Strikes Caused By Modernisation Changes
03 May 2008
Royal Mail, in it's application to the Postal Services Commission for relief from the impact of Industrial Action, said that a number of factors had caused a drop in quality of service in 2007 but the underlying cause was industrial action brought on by essential changes to make the business more efficient. It said the changes formed part of the loan it had secured from government to modernise the business...
(This article read 1418 times)
Royal Mail - Post Offices Can Win
23 April 2008
ROYAL Mail is being seen as a business merely trying to maintain a foothold than coming up with fresh ideas in an era of increased competition. At least, thats the view of Postcomm, the UK postal regulator. Fair comment? Yes and no. On the one hand, it seems a tadge unfair to lay the blame of dwindling post office numbers wholly at Royal Mail's door when so much of the Post Office's key...
(This article read 1401 times)
DHL - Appel To Announce US DHL Rescue
15 April 2008
Chief executive at Deutsche Post, Frank Appel, must be wondering what other options are available to stem the losses in DHL's US operations. He plans to announce a turnaround plan next month. Deutsche Post seems determined to find some way of securing its presence in the States but with any chance of a rescue/partnership deal with FedEx now apparently fallen through, it is unclear what else DHL can do other than an even...
(This article read 1397 times)
Royal Mail - Britain's Biggest Paper Round?
11 April 2008
As France's La Poste, edges further into the UK postal market with the acquistion of BTB MAILFLIGHT, a UK business which handles international mail for business customers, the unlevel playing field being experienced by Royal Mail becomes more obvious. Postcomm is determined to allow the competition to grow even more before finally taking the brakes off for Royal Mail - still heavily...
(This article read 1396 times)
Postman's Perspective On Royal Mail Hooper Report
17 December 2008
Well - I've seen nothing in the Hooper report to convince me that Royal Mail shouldn't have remained a state monopoly. The report's recommendation to find a minority private stakeholder looks to me like lip-service has been paid to any notion of independence, and is carrying out the politicos' wishes to get mail privatised come what may....
(This article read 1374 times)
UK Mail Operators Likely To See Uniform VAT Rates
28 March 2008
Postcomm has hinted at the introduction of a uniform VAT rate (possibly 5%) that could be applied to all mail services in the UK. In it's 'Forward Work Plan 2008-11' Postcomm said it recognised the complexity of the UK mail market and was looking at the constraints that have been holding back the development of end-to-end competition in the UK...
(This article read 1348 times)
Parcels To Troops Expected To Increase By 25 Per Cent
24 November 2008
Royal Mail and British Forces Post Office (BFPO) have today forecast a significant rise in volumes of Christmas mail to be sent to troops abroad, with an expected increase of 25% on figures from December 2007. Official statistics have been released showing the friends and families of British soldiers posted abroad are sending more parcels to their loved ones than ever before...
(This article read 1326 times)
Royal Mail Under Pressure From TNT Post
28 August 2008
Royal Mail, which has already seen a large percentage of its sorting business lost to rivals, could be in for an even tougher time as Dutch-owned TNT Post invests a further £1m in the north-west of England. Whilst a revamp of sorting operations by Royal Mail in the north-west threaten to spark industrial action by postal workers...
(This article read 1278 times)
New Scottish Postal Operator
19 June 2008
Postcomm today began a 30-day consultation on the proposed grant of another postal operator's licence - this time to a Mr Wesley Pollock, trading as Scotpost. The licence would allow Scotpost to provide all types of postal service, issued for a rolling ten year period, requiring Scotpost to comply with codes of practice on mail integrity...
(This article read 1255 times)
Hayes - Postcomm Failure Pushing Royal Mail Into Privatisation
08 September 2008
Leader of the Communication Workers Union, Billy Hayes, accuses Postcomm of failure and for creating a financial crisis that is driving Royal Mail closer to privatisation. In his weblog, Hayes said: "The threat is very real. Later this year the Government convened review, chaired by Richard Hooper..
(This article read 1252 times)
DHL Sheds 600 In US Shakeup
13 February 2008
DHL, the German parcel service, is to shed 600 jobs in the United States after it failed to break even in the U.S. market.It lost money in America in 2004 and 2005 and predicted the same in 2007 but anticipated a profit in 2009. The job losses will be part of a range of changes being made to stabilise its U.S. operations but is under pressure from much larger operators including United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx....
(This article read 1251 times)
Royal Mail First Or Second Class Christmas
12 November 2008
Ed Mayo, chief executive of the new customer watchdog Consumer Focus, is keen to take on energy and service providers that he says aren't passing on savings to customers, particularly in the energy sector which he says has grown fat through high prices. He also blasted Royal Mail in the Mirror newspaper, saying that its Christmas service simply wasn't good enough to warrant the cost of a first class stamp....
(This article read 1227 times)
Postwatch Warns Of Turbulent Times Ahead For UK Postal Industry
25 September 2008
Chair of Postwatch, Millie Banerjee, predicts "interesting and turbulent times ahead" for UK postal services and is cautiously optimistic that Postcomm and new Consumer Focus body can adequately represent consumer views. Lawson says Postwatch team have been nothing short of exemplary in helping resolve issues raised by Hellmail....
(This article read 1226 times)
E-Post Threat To Royal Mail From PDQit
07 April 2008
With the introduction of higher stamp prices, Royal Mail could face even more pressure with the launch of a new computer desktop mailbox called PDQit. According to the sales blurb, the PDQit interface is designed to look and feel just as though you were sending a document to print on your local desktop or departmental printer but instead,it is instantly encrypted, compressed and sent direct to the PDQit...
(This article read 1187 times)
Royal Mail Continues To Target Absenteeism
18 July 2008
After sickness levels reached almost 6.5% of the entire workforce in 2004, Royal Mail, the UK's main postal operator, has continued to concentrate on bringing levels of absenteeism down to acceptable levels. Whilst the tactics used by Royal Mail to get employees back into work quickly have sometimes come in for criticism, absenteeism had...
(This article read 1185 times)
Royal Mail Privatisation Likely
01 September 2008
It looks likely that Royal Mail could be split up and areas of the business sold to private investors in an attempt to secure the future of the UK's universal service. Despite previous rejections by Postcomm...
(This article read 1182 times)
Royal Mail Pension Reforms Begin Today
31 March 2008
Royal Mail introduces the new 'career average' pension scheme tomorrow - the present scheme is now closed to new entrants as of today, The reforms, according to Royal Mail, are essential to stabilise the pension fund. On the surface the present fund looks healthy with some £23.5 billion ($47.2 billion) in total assets, but it is saddled with a massive deficit of some £5bn, according to the latest annual report, and even with...
(This article read 1180 times)
Customers Angry Over Christmas Postal Strikes
12 December 2008
Workers at several Royal Mail sorting offices across the UK are to go on strike just days before final posting dates. Mail centres at Liverpool, Crewe, Stockport, Oxford and Bolton are to walk out on the 19th December. Another planned by workers at Milton Keynes has been called off. In Bridgewater in Somerset, workers are to hold up to three one-day strikes starting on the 20th December over...
(This article read 1162 times)
Privatising Royal Mail Could Cost Us Dearly
14 December 2008
According to John Waples, Business Editor for the Times, attempts by postal workers to reverse the streamlining of Royal Mail which will see the axing of several sorting offices across the UK, are likely to be ignored completely as the government starts to look seriously at the possibility of partial privatisation. It could well be that John Waples has his finger on the pulse here but...
(This article read 1127 times)
Leighton To Go But Then What?
20 September 2008
Adam Crozier will cut a lonely figure for a while whilst Allan Leighton, chairman of Royal Mail, helps finds a successor to steer the group through even tougher times. Leighton is to stand down by March 2009. Despite the criticism that Hellmail editor Steve Lawson and I have recently made on the deregulation of postal services in Britain, neither of us see Royal Mail as the cause of the present deterioration in services...
(This article read 1081 times)
17 June 2008
One subject that often crops up at Hellmail is the practice of re-using stamps. It would be almost impossible to estimate just how many pre-used stamps actually go through Royal Mail sorting equipment undetected but in principle, if a stamp is unfranked it is likely to be accepted a second or even third time. This all sounds like a schoolboy crime and barely worth reporting were it not for the fact that...
(This article read 7519 times)
Royal Mail Warrington Site Plans Approved
14 October 2008
Planning permission has been granted for the much talked about new Royal Mail distribution centre in Warrington. The Winwick Quay site plans were approved by local planners a few days ago and will see redevelopment at South 62, Mill Lane, including seven dock levellers and five roller shutter openings...
(This article read 3997 times)
WH Smith To Include DHL As Well As Post Offices
09 October 2008
WH Smith, which has already taken on the role of many Crown post offices across the UK is to expand the service with the inclusion of DHL postal points aimed primarily at Ebay users. The first postal point was introduced on Wednesday, allowing customers to purchase pre-packaged boxes....
(This article read 3160 times)
Innovative Mail Trolleys From Expresso
03 October 2008
New and innovative designs for the transportation of mail on the 'final mile' could be seen at this years Post-Expo at the ExCel. In the UK, the relatively new but familiar red 'prams' used by Royal Mail look fairly simple compared to some of the newer German equipment on display at Post-Expo, notably the two-handled electrically powered 'Smart Drive' models from Expresso...
(This article read 2960 times)
DHL Excel Gets British Airways Contract
05 December 2008
British Airways (BA), one of the world's leading premium airlines, has awarded DHL Exel Supply Chain a multi million pound annual contract, to handle in-flight services for short haul and domestic flights from Heathrow. The 10 year contract will come into effect in April 2010...
(This article read 2958 times)
Postal Theft - Can It Be Beaten?
05 May 2008
The Daily Mail reports on concerns about the security of Britain's mail. According to statistics released under the Freedom of Information act, 1,321 Royal Mail employees have been caught stealing mail since 2004. I telephoned Hellmail's editor Steve Lawson, to ask him if he thought mail theft was on the rise and how easy it is for Royal Mail to detect. "I think you have to put this in...
(This article read 2938 times)
DHL Airfreight Solution For Life Sciences Industry
22 September 2008
DHL Global Forwarding (DGF), the air and ocean freight business of Deutsche Post World Net, announced today its intra-European, overnight transport solution for the life sciences industry. Called "Airfreight Plus for the Life Sciences Industry", the service combines the speed of express with the individual care of a freight forwarder, providing day-definite, door-to-door delivery of heavyweight goods across 32 European...
(This article read 2732 times)
DX Group - Royal Mail VAT Advantage Stifles Competition
30 April 2008
The DX Group has reminded Postcomm that the VAT exemption applied to Royal Mail is, in their view, continuing to stifle competition. In response to Postcomm's Strategy Review, Michael MacClancy, Head of Regulation at DX said: "Royal Mail’s VAT exemption will continue to tip the playing field against end to-end entrants for the foreseeable future. The VAT exemption extends to positive discrimination in favour of...
(This article read 2393 times)
Hybrid Mail To Form Part Of UK Postal Market
11 April 2008
Recent evidence put forward in a 'Mail Trends' document written by Fouad H. Nader (Adrenale Corporation) and Michael Lintell (Pitney Bowes), suggests that those with internet access are actually likely to send and recieve more mail than someone without internet access. Much of the content is given over to U.S. examples but it does underline a growing fall in mail volume just about everywhere. However, competition has also...
(This article read 2375 times)
Citipost Sells International Arm To Pitney Bowes
29 May 2008
The Citipost group has sold it's International business to Pitney Bowes International Mail Services. Citipost described the sale as 'perfect timing' and that it would allow Citipost to focus investment into our end-to-end delivery services in strategic business centres worldwide. The Citipost group, which includes Citipost AMP Ltd, Citipost UK Ltd, Citipost DSA Ltd and Citipost Direct Distribution Ltd, will...
(This article read 2286 times)
DHL Secures 9 Million Contract With Poundland
21 March 2008
DHL Exel Supply Chain has announced that it has won a new three year contract worth £9 million (11.8 million euro), with Poundland, the UK's largest retailer of £1 products. DHL will be importing consumer products from China and transporting them to stores across the UK. DHL will transport a variety of products for Poundland from UK outbases in Billingham, Hatfield and Belshill and will provide deconsolidation center services at....
(This article read 2173 times)
UK Mail Goes Hybrid With Imail
19 November 2008
UK Mail, part of the Business Post Group is now promoting hybrid mail in addition to its regular business mail services, by introducing imail, the only national alternative to the first class postal service....
(This article read 2151 times)
Royal Mail Facing Biggest Changes
20 August 2008
Restructuring of duties, cut backs, later mail delivery, and a reorganisation of mail sorting - all sound familiar except this isn't Royal Mail - this is the USPS. The fact is, all postal operators face similar challenges, particularly with the present economic pressures...
(This article read 2136 times)
Huddersfield & Sheffield Post Office Closures
05 August 2008
Post Office Ltd announced the beginning of a seven-week local public consultation on its Area Plan for South Yorkshire, Huddersfield, Colne Valley and North Derbyshire. The proposal lists some 66 branches it wants to close with 254 being retained...
(This article read 2128 times)
DHL Moves In On UK Domestic Post
09 October 2008
Some might say it has been a long time coming, but with WH Smith now partnering with DHL, consumers might be seeing some real competition in the UK postal market. Granted you won't find a WH Smith within one mile, unless of course your local WH Smith actually happens to be less than a mile away, but its certainly a start. The deal between DHL and WH Smith will go some way towards establishing DHL’s presence...
(This article read 2076 times)
Postal Operators - A Global Decline In Mail Volume
23 March 2008
So why are we closing post offices and why are mail volumes falling - in real terms? A decline in the letters market is being felt globally, not just in the UK - even the US postal service is feeling the pinch. There are many reasons why mail volume is seeing a slump, but the biggest contributor to this downturn is undoubtedly our obsession with technology. Up until the 1970s, technology had moved along at a relatively graceful pace, but the advent of the transistor and silicon chip, brought a...
(This article read 1878 times)
DHL Confirms U.S. Job Losses From January
10 November 2008
Following speculation on the future of DHL Express in the U.S., DHL confirmed today it is to reduce operating costs associated with DHL Express by discontinuing domestic-only air and ground products in the States on January 30, 2009. DHL Express is to close all of its U.S. ground hubs, reduce the number of stations from 412 to 103 and retain 3,000 to 4,000 U.S.-based employees.
(This article read 1759 times)
DX Expands Mail Sorting Capability
04 July 2008
DX, the independent postal service, has opened a new sorting centre in Avonmouth. The new centre is the result of a good year for DX, which has gone from strength to strength, even during the bitter postal strike at Royal Mail last year. DX, which operates a network of pickup and collection points via solicitors and financial service companies, says the new £650,000 centre means it can improve the speed and accuracy of sorting...
(This article read 1747 times)
Deregulation Is Killing Royal Mail Not Improving It
07 May 2008
The arguments surrounding yesterday’s report concerning deregulation of the postal market are, in my opinion, clouding the central issues. Last year’s postal strike was, in part, an attempt to halt the madness in the industry. RM employees have seen for a long time now that the proposed and actual changes in the industry are reducing standards for all except those large companies who can increase their profits by exploiting the...
(This article read 1710 times)
Hell Mail From Royal Mail
24 October 2008
At Post-Expo this year, one exhibitor asked me why Hellmail was called Hellmail, to which I replied: "Fun though the mail industry can be, it can also be absolute hell some days." This explanation seemed to satisfy him and he nodded almost approvingly. Imagine our surprise then, when we received a letter from Royal Mail echoing the sentiment - well not quite....
(This article read 1667 times)
Matterbox Actually Does Matter
07 December 2008
I said I'd mention the postie who delivered my 'Matterbox' on Saturday but inadvertently forgot to ask his name. To be fair, he wasn't actually my regular postman and to be honest I'm not sure who is anymore. It seems to be a different one every other week. I spotted him struggling along my avenue with two pouches of mail and he was probably only too glad to deliver mine just to...
(This article read 1662 times)
Further Royal Mail Downsizing Inevitable Says Lawson
02 November 2008
The forthcoming review of Royal Mail by Richard Hooper is likely to recommend that the present restructuring of the Royal Mail sorting and delivery network continues, to reduce the costs involved in delivering the universal service which is already in a serious loss-making situation. Full-time jobs at Royal Mail are already being replaced by part-time jobs and several sorting offices have already been earmarked for complete...
(This article read 1648 times)
Post-Switch - Royal Mail Most Inefficient Operator In Europe
23 October 2008
Post-Switch, an impartial postal analysts and advisory service, says that Royal Mail has failed to react to the commercial world, describing it as one of the most inefficient operators in Europe. Jonathan DeCarteret, Senior Market Analyst at Post-Switch, says that Royal Mail, under threat from competition, a ballooning pension deficit, shackled to a trade union and a conspicuous lack of innovation has put the USO...
(This article read 1595 times)
Royal Mail Stamps A Right Pantomime
17 October 2008
Pantomime is the theme for this years Christmas Stamps from Royal Mail. The Christmas 2008 depict popular pantomine characters and I have to say, everyone at Hellmail thinks these stamps are great. Amusingly, I held up a photo of the pantomime stamps this morning to Sarah Sharpe and David Lynch, our resident journalists and said "These look rather good don't they" to which I received the obvious reply "Oh no they don't!"....
(This article read 1544 times)
Royal Mail Signed For - OK
21 August 2008
It won't be the first time that Recorded/Signed For post has been ringed by Postwatch or highlighted by Hellmail in terms some apparent failings in the service, so this time we actually stuck our necks out and put it to the test! We put £80 in £20 notes in...
(This article read 1529 times)
Fire At Royal Mail Delivery Office
10 November 2008
A fire which broke out at the Cardiff delivery office today, saw 150 postal workers sent home. The fire, which started early this morning, caused extensive damage to part of the building as well as delivery vehicles parked nearby, is not thought to have damaged mail but Royal Mail is unable to give more details until the damage has been assessed....
(This article read 1501 times)
Post-Expo Boasts Impressive Timetable
11 September 2008
Post-Expo 2008 opens this month at the ExCel in London - the 12th international postal technology exhibition and congress. The host sponsor is Royal Mail. The three-day event annually attracts more than 4,000 top-level personnel from approximately 100 countries...
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Royal Mail Workers Gear Up For Christmas
11 November 2008
Royal Mail is taking on some 20,000 temporary workers in the run-up to Christmas this year who will be helping to sort and deliver an estimated 130 million items a day. "Its chaos in the weeks before Christmas" said one worker. "Organised chaos, but we have a lot to do in a very short space of time and we all have to pull together to get everything delivered on time. We don't like to disappoint anyone if we can help it...
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Hellmail Postal News Responds To Hooper Report
16 December 2008
Hellmail, the independent postal industry news site has responded to the findings of an independent review, known as the Hooper Report, that sets out three main recommendations for the viability of the universal service. Editor Steve Lawson said: "Whilst it is widely recognised that Royal Mail faces major problems unless there is a fundamental change to the way the service is funded, these issues are not just...
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40,000 U.S. DHL Jobs Could Be Wiped Out
10 November 2008
Deutsche Post, already under fire for wholesale DHL-related job losses in Wilmington Ohio, looks set to prune its U.S. presence drastically, a result of the downturn in the U.S. economy and a global downturn in business currently affecting most operators. Rumours that as many as 40,000 jobs could go, are being widely reported in a number of newspapers...
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Royal Mail Strikes Caused By Modernisation Changes
03 May 2008
Royal Mail, in it's application to the Postal Services Commission for relief from the impact of Industrial Action, said that a number of factors had caused a drop in quality of service in 2007 but the underlying cause was industrial action brought on by essential changes to make the business more efficient. It said the changes formed part of the loan it had secured from government to modernise the business...
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Royal Mail - Post Offices Can Win
23 April 2008
ROYAL Mail is being seen as a business merely trying to maintain a foothold than coming up with fresh ideas in an era of increased competition. At least, thats the view of Postcomm, the UK postal regulator. Fair comment? Yes and no. On the one hand, it seems a tadge unfair to lay the blame of dwindling post office numbers wholly at Royal Mail's door when so much of the Post Office's key...
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DHL - Appel To Announce US DHL Rescue
15 April 2008
Chief executive at Deutsche Post, Frank Appel, must be wondering what other options are available to stem the losses in DHL's US operations. He plans to announce a turnaround plan next month. Deutsche Post seems determined to find some way of securing its presence in the States but with any chance of a rescue/partnership deal with FedEx now apparently fallen through, it is unclear what else DHL can do other than an even...
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Royal Mail - Britain's Biggest Paper Round?
11 April 2008
As France's La Poste, edges further into the UK postal market with the acquistion of BTB MAILFLIGHT, a UK business which handles international mail for business customers, the unlevel playing field being experienced by Royal Mail becomes more obvious. Postcomm is determined to allow the competition to grow even more before finally taking the brakes off for Royal Mail - still heavily...
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Postman's Perspective On Royal Mail Hooper Report
17 December 2008
Well - I've seen nothing in the Hooper report to convince me that Royal Mail shouldn't have remained a state monopoly. The report's recommendation to find a minority private stakeholder looks to me like lip-service has been paid to any notion of independence, and is carrying out the politicos' wishes to get mail privatised come what may....
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UK Mail Operators Likely To See Uniform VAT Rates
28 March 2008
Postcomm has hinted at the introduction of a uniform VAT rate (possibly 5%) that could be applied to all mail services in the UK. In it's 'Forward Work Plan 2008-11' Postcomm said it recognised the complexity of the UK mail market and was looking at the constraints that have been holding back the development of end-to-end competition in the UK...
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Parcels To Troops Expected To Increase By 25 Per Cent
24 November 2008
Royal Mail and British Forces Post Office (BFPO) have today forecast a significant rise in volumes of Christmas mail to be sent to troops abroad, with an expected increase of 25% on figures from December 2007. Official statistics have been released showing the friends and families of British soldiers posted abroad are sending more parcels to their loved ones than ever before...
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Royal Mail Under Pressure From TNT Post
28 August 2008
Royal Mail, which has already seen a large percentage of its sorting business lost to rivals, could be in for an even tougher time as Dutch-owned TNT Post invests a further £1m in the north-west of England. Whilst a revamp of sorting operations by Royal Mail in the north-west threaten to spark industrial action by postal workers...
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New Scottish Postal Operator
19 June 2008
Postcomm today began a 30-day consultation on the proposed grant of another postal operator's licence - this time to a Mr Wesley Pollock, trading as Scotpost. The licence would allow Scotpost to provide all types of postal service, issued for a rolling ten year period, requiring Scotpost to comply with codes of practice on mail integrity...
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Hayes - Postcomm Failure Pushing Royal Mail Into Privatisation
08 September 2008
Leader of the Communication Workers Union, Billy Hayes, accuses Postcomm of failure and for creating a financial crisis that is driving Royal Mail closer to privatisation. In his weblog, Hayes said: "The threat is very real. Later this year the Government convened review, chaired by Richard Hooper..
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DHL Sheds 600 In US Shakeup
13 February 2008
DHL, the German parcel service, is to shed 600 jobs in the United States after it failed to break even in the U.S. market.It lost money in America in 2004 and 2005 and predicted the same in 2007 but anticipated a profit in 2009. The job losses will be part of a range of changes being made to stabilise its U.S. operations but is under pressure from much larger operators including United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx....
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Royal Mail First Or Second Class Christmas
12 November 2008
Ed Mayo, chief executive of the new customer watchdog Consumer Focus, is keen to take on energy and service providers that he says aren't passing on savings to customers, particularly in the energy sector which he says has grown fat through high prices. He also blasted Royal Mail in the Mirror newspaper, saying that its Christmas service simply wasn't good enough to warrant the cost of a first class stamp....
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Postwatch Warns Of Turbulent Times Ahead For UK Postal Industry
25 September 2008
Chair of Postwatch, Millie Banerjee, predicts "interesting and turbulent times ahead" for UK postal services and is cautiously optimistic that Postcomm and new Consumer Focus body can adequately represent consumer views. Lawson says Postwatch team have been nothing short of exemplary in helping resolve issues raised by Hellmail....
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E-Post Threat To Royal Mail From PDQit
07 April 2008
With the introduction of higher stamp prices, Royal Mail could face even more pressure with the launch of a new computer desktop mailbox called PDQit. According to the sales blurb, the PDQit interface is designed to look and feel just as though you were sending a document to print on your local desktop or departmental printer but instead,it is instantly encrypted, compressed and sent direct to the PDQit...
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Royal Mail Continues To Target Absenteeism
18 July 2008
After sickness levels reached almost 6.5% of the entire workforce in 2004, Royal Mail, the UK's main postal operator, has continued to concentrate on bringing levels of absenteeism down to acceptable levels. Whilst the tactics used by Royal Mail to get employees back into work quickly have sometimes come in for criticism, absenteeism had...
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Royal Mail Privatisation Likely
01 September 2008
It looks likely that Royal Mail could be split up and areas of the business sold to private investors in an attempt to secure the future of the UK's universal service. Despite previous rejections by Postcomm...
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Royal Mail Pension Reforms Begin Today
31 March 2008
Royal Mail introduces the new 'career average' pension scheme tomorrow - the present scheme is now closed to new entrants as of today, The reforms, according to Royal Mail, are essential to stabilise the pension fund. On the surface the present fund looks healthy with some £23.5 billion ($47.2 billion) in total assets, but it is saddled with a massive deficit of some £5bn, according to the latest annual report, and even with...
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Customers Angry Over Christmas Postal Strikes
12 December 2008
Workers at several Royal Mail sorting offices across the UK are to go on strike just days before final posting dates. Mail centres at Liverpool, Crewe, Stockport, Oxford and Bolton are to walk out on the 19th December. Another planned by workers at Milton Keynes has been called off. In Bridgewater in Somerset, workers are to hold up to three one-day strikes starting on the 20th December over...
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Privatising Royal Mail Could Cost Us Dearly
14 December 2008
According to John Waples, Business Editor for the Times, attempts by postal workers to reverse the streamlining of Royal Mail which will see the axing of several sorting offices across the UK, are likely to be ignored completely as the government starts to look seriously at the possibility of partial privatisation. It could well be that John Waples has his finger on the pulse here but...
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Leighton To Go But Then What?
20 September 2008
Adam Crozier will cut a lonely figure for a while whilst Allan Leighton, chairman of Royal Mail, helps finds a successor to steer the group through even tougher times. Leighton is to stand down by March 2009. Despite the criticism that Hellmail editor Steve Lawson and I have recently made on the deregulation of postal services in Britain, neither of us see Royal Mail as the cause of the present deterioration in services...
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