PO drive in parcels war
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• The Post Office is spending £30 million on a time-guaranteed business parcels service pitched between its fast-but-expensive Datapost and its standard parcels delivery, in a bid to recapture custom from carriers like TNT and Federal Express.
The investment includes 218 million for 1,000 new vehicles which will be based at 10 hubs around the country. The service, called Superservice, is currently under trial and will be launched in April.
Over 1,500 staff—half of them new to the Post Office — are being taken on.
Post Office parcels managing director Nick Nelson says Superservice offers 48-hour guaranteed delivery for the same price as existing nonguaranteed three-day service. Although the corporation is the market leader in parcels, it has been rocked by the advent of independent carriers.
Superservice costs 27 per consignment plus 10p-15p per kilo. The service is aimed at businesses spending over £1,000 a year, and the Post Office hopes to have 1,500 customers by the end of the year.
Fast-expanding parcels carrier Swift Transport is launching an overnight service targetted at the 100kg to 400kg part-load market — and which is claimed to be up to 80% cheaper than its competitors' published prices.
The service, Night Swift, carries a money-back guarantee and includes before-12:00hrs, and before-09:00hrs options. It covers the whole country, including Northern Ireland. General managerJohn Brotherton says the package is aimed so precisely at a specific market that users pay only 40% of competitors' published prices for a 100kg parcel, falling as low as 20% for a 1,000kg consignment. He also reckons he can compete effectively against the parcels giants' discounts.
Parcels carrier ANC is launching a noon delivery service, Midday Express, aimed at the small-document market which is dominated by the Post Office's Datapost.
The company is also opening 80 new "parcel points" through out the country, many in high street shops, as part of a range of new services which are due to be unveiled in April.
These include 09: 00hrs and 10: 00hrs guaranteed deliveries. It charges 29.95 for parcels up to 10kg.
The express parcels market is becoming more competitive, but it is still dominated by three public and private sector giants, the Post Office, TNT and Securicor, according to a survey by market research specialist Research Solution.
TNT heats competitors in "overall awareness" and promotional and sales activities, but a smaller company, Interlink, has shown rapid improvements in its image, says the survey.