Company News (732)
DHL Express named one of Asia Pacific's best employers by Aon Hewitt
Written by SCA Editorial Team
DHL has been named 'Best Employer' in Asia Pacific for its Express division by Aon Hewitt, a global leader in human resource consulting and outsourcing solutions.
Additionally, DHL Express received the 'Best Employer' award in Thailand and Indonesia for the first time, joining DHL Express South Korea who received the same award earlier this year.
The awards are part of the Aon Hewitt Best Employers 2.0 -- Asia 2013 Study, which measures employers' effectiveness in creating a workplace environment that engages employees and enables them to deliver real competitive advantage through their employees. DHL was presented with both the 'Best Employer in Asia Pacific' and the 'Best Employer' awards in Thailand at a ceremony held at Bangkok's Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel on 22 May.
Logistics group CEVA has announced a revenue drop of 6 per cent for the first quarter of the year, reflecting difficult market conditions.
Adjusted EBITDA of €31m was reported for the three months which ended 31 March, down from €66min the first quarter 2012.
Overall soft global logistics markets, the loss of airfreight volume as some businesses moved to ocean transport, the exposure to Eurozone markets, and underperforming CL contracts all influenced the results. Revenues decreased by 6.3 per cent to €1.6bn for the three months which ended 31 March 2013, compared to €1.7bn the previous year.
Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) will stop applying bunker, piracy or Suez Canal surcharges separately to freight charges on the Asia-Europe and Mediterranean trade from next month.
MSC will not publish any updates for its bunker utilisation contribution, piracy surcharge or Suez Canal surcharge from 1 June on the trade from Asia and Bangladesh to north Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic, western Mediterranean, Adriatic, eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and the Black Sea.
However, Dutch shippers’ council EVO has criticised the move. EVO supported cutting the number of surcharges, but wanted those that had a major impact on the overall cost of shipping or that are governed by Incoterms criteria to remain separate from the freight rate.
Best Buy expects profits from supply chain savings
Written by SCA Editorial Team
Best Buy is anticipating a big payoff from better supply-chain processes and floor-space utilisation, which will offset huge investments in lower pricing and multichannel sales.
On an earnings call this morning after reporting a first-quarter loss, president/CEO Hubert Joly and chief financial officer Sharon McCollam said they will continue to cut costs and improve operational efficiencies, which have resulted in annualized savings of $325m to date.
McCollam identified reverse logistics in particular as a No. 1 priority. The handling of returns “received virtually no attention as the company grew,” she noted, and the outdated processes cost the retailer some $400m in losses each year.
FedEx wins the Reader’s Digest Asia Trusted Brands Gold Award
Written by SCA Editorial Team
FedEx Express has been awarded the Trusted Brands Gold Award in the Airfreight/Courier Service category by Reader’s Digest Asia.
FedEx was also a Gold Award winner in the category in three markets across the region, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Inaugurated in 1999, the Reader’s Digest Asia’s Trusted Brands Survey is one of the region’s most comprehensive, reputable consumer-based brand preference surveys. Over the years, the survey has uncovered Asia’s attitudes on the most trustworthy brands. In addition to trustworthiness and credibility, the survey also measures the companies’ commitment to innovation, quality of services/products, corporate values, understanding of customer needs as well as corporate social responsibility. FedEx was also a Gold Award winner in the category in three markets across the region, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Minimal impact on customers at Amazon despite strike
Written by SCA Editorial Team
This is a first for Amazon Germany: hundreds of employees have stopped work at two sites operated by the group. The action raises issues at the heart of the e-commerce giant: is Amazon a pure logistics company or is it more?
Amazon management and the Ver.di services Union having been in discussions for weeks without their respective positions being genuinely reconciled. The dispute revolves around the definition of the work of Amazon employees: do they simply unpack, warehouse and dispatch packages (as the management claims) or are they running a mail order business (as the unions argue).
The impasse has led to a strike for the first time since Amazon became established in Germany. The sites affected are those at Bad Hersfeld, where the largest facility is located, and Leipzig. Ver.di said to have mobilised more than 1,700 workers but Amazon believes that the impact on customers will be neutral.
Workforce Florida provides grant for logistics industry
Written by SCA Editorial Team
Workforce Florida has made available a $2m Quick Response Training Challenge Grant for employers in Florida’s logistics and trade industry.
The grant, which has been applauded by the Florida Department of Transportation, aims to meet the training needs of existing Florida companies in the state’s logistics and trade sector.
A goal of the grant is to help these companies enhance competitiveness by improving the skills of existing and new employees hired over the next year. The grant will be funded through Workforce Florida’s Quick Response Training program.
Wan Hai Lines reported in the black for first quarter 2013, helped by non-operating gains that helped erase an operating loss.
Taipei-listed Wan Hai, largely an intra-Asia operator, posted a net profit of T$124.9m (US$4.2m), compared with a loss of T$393.1m for the same quarter the year before.
However, Wan Hai posted an operating loss of T$89.5m over the quarter, compared with a much deeper loss last year of T$330.7m. One-time gains amounted to T$419m, compared to a loss of T$3.4m in the same period last year. Revenues for the first quarter amounted to T$13.9bn, down from $14.7bn in the first quarter of last year, a result of partly of reduced shipping capacity in 2012. Total operating costs also dropped, to NT$13.1bn this year from $14.2bn in last year’s first quarter.
Kahala Posts Group signs contract with Amber Road
Written by SCA Editorial Team
Amber Road, a New Jersey-based platform that automates and streamlines global trade, has been selected by the Kahala Posts Group, an alliance of ten postal administrations around the world, to increase their competitiveness in the international delivery market.
KPG member organizations include the Australian Postal Corp., China Post Group, Correos y Telégrafos, Groupe La Poste, Hongkong Post, Japan Post Co., Korea Post, Royal Mail Group, Singapore Post and the US Postal Service.
In the deal signed with the International Post Corp. Group, acting on behalf of KPG, Amber Road’s GTM solutions will help KPG members by enabling them to offer additional global trade tools and services to their customers. In addition to enhancing the ability of postal administrations to serve the growing international e-commerce market, KPG members implementing the Amber Road solution will be able to provide users with visibility into product classification and landed cost and help ensure compliance with myriad global trade regulations.
DWC starts new agent warehouses construction at Logistics District
Written by SCA Editorial Team
Dubai World Central (DWC) has today announced new developments at DWC’s Logistics District, including the start of construction on the fourth complex of agent warehouses.
Covering a total area of almost 8,700 square meters, with 5,443 sqm for warehouses and 1,373 sqm for office area, the new agent warehouses will be open for leasing in the first quarter of 2014. The development will include amenities catering to new and existing customers from different industries that want to expand their business activities in DWC.
DWC further announced that it is now developing a new logistics park within the Logistics District, comprising of warehouses, offices and amenities. The logistics park will be completed in the first quarter of 2015, offering a total built-up area of 34,000 square meters while facilities will have a minimum area of 1,000 sqm. To improve the efficiency of the free zone operations, DWC also announced that it will be developing a fully dedicated customer inspection yard at gate 4, in conjunction with Dubai Customs. The new facility, which will include truck scanning machines, will enhance operations in the current customs inspection facility and is designed for both normal and temperature-controlled cargo.
