2009 week 30
TNT in the media - week 30
TNT to swallow costs if clients adopt its security system
20 July 2009
Integrator TNT Express in June activated its new security protocols for the Asia Pacific region, improvements that garnered the company's regional operations an ISO 28000 rating.
In order to win the higher rating, which it alone holds among the integrators, the company spent nine months making improvements to its security procedures.
Tony Lugg, TNT's head of security in the region, says the new protocols capture the best features of the other security standardisation regimes (including TAPA, whose certification it will continue to hold), while instituting a more holistic approach to supply chain risk.
"Other regimes focus more on physical infrastructure security, ISO looks at the risks upstream and downstream, encompassing the procedures of the other companies in the supply chain. It requires us to identify and eliminate risks that occur before the package enters our network," he said.
Shipping customers are traditionally wary of such procedural improvements, as the costs involved in adopting them often translates into higher freight bills. TNT, however, insists that it will swallow the costs itself and not pass them on to its customers.
Lugg says the shipper does not need to increase charges, as the higher rating will catalyse increased revenue opportunities and lowered operational costs, generating a positive return on the project's investment.
On the cost side, TNT says it has already seen the new procedures paying dividends. In addition to lower insurance premiums and greater cooperation on the part of government - meaning a 14 percent decrease in audit costs), the company has experienced a 15 percent drop in losses since it started implementing the new procedures.
Among other positives, this has resulted in a 22 percent reduction in credit notes, greater rate of recovery of stolen goods, and, with fewer losses, a significant reduction in the ranks of claims-processing staff.
The shipper is also counting on the new rating to translate into greater market appeal. To buttress this point, sales and marketing director for Asia, Karel van de Pijpekamp, points to a 2007 survey of 5,000 companies, which showed that customers rate security second only to speed in importance, outpacing such service facets as punctuality and price.
The timing of the launch is ideal, he says, as the industry anticipates that the current depressed economic climate will lead to more pilferage. Van de Pijpekamp adds that the sectors that form the backbone of the Asian customer base - high-tech, health care and equipment & machinery - are all highly focused on security.
As with the cost side of the equation, TNT says that its new processes have already had a positive impact on the bottom line.
Source: Cargonews Asia, www.cargonewsasia.com
TNT Aims to Boost German Mail-Delivery Share to 10%, FTD Says
21 July 2009
TNT Post, a unit of Dutch logistics company TNT NV, wants to increase its share of the German mail - delivery market to 10 percent from the present 3 percent, Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing an interview with managing director Mario Frusch.
Frusch said he wants to form alliances with a number of newspaper publishers, including Sueddeutsche Zeitung’s Dieter Schaub and publishing group Madsack to compete with Deutsche Post AG.
Source: Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com
TNT steps up service to Balikpapan in Indonesia
22 July 2009
TNT is expanding its services in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan with the operation of a Boeing 737-300 leased cargo freighter flying from Singapore to Balikpapan.
The freighter service has a capacity of 16 tonnes.
Director of TNT Indonesia Ivan Siew said: “Resource-rich Kalimantan is one of the key areas that contribute greatly to Indonesia’s GDP, especially the development of national export-import. We see a huge potential for the growth of our business in this market. Through the operation of the Boeing 737-300 from Balikpapan to our regional hub in Singapore, we expect to increase our revenue up to 50 percent in Kalimantan this year.
Cardig Air’s excellent track record in the aviation industry and TNT’s expertise in providing door-to-door delivery service for freight shipments is a collaboration that will give value-added service for customers in East Kalimantan to simplify their supply chain process.
TNT guarantees customers dedicated space and direct cargo flight from Singapore-Balikpapan-Singapore twice a week. Through TNT’s integrated air and road network, businesses in Balikpapan are connected to the rest of Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe.
“As the only scheduled cargo airline in Indonesia, Cardig collaboration with TNT will further support the economical growth in East Kalimantan through increased exports and imports,” said Boyke Soebroto, CEO of Cardig Air.
With the operation of Boeing 737-300 means that customers in East Kalimantan can have their freight shipments delivered to and from other parts of the world without having to make a transit stop in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta.
“A spare part shipment picked up today in Amsterdam can be delivered in Balikpapan in three days. We know that time is critical in the oil, gas and mining industry. Mining exploration activities will stop if a spare part is not delivered on time, and time is money. At TNT, we are able to respond quickly to our customers’ urgent demands be it important tender documents or heavy equipment,” Siew explained.
Source: Cargonews Asia, www.cargonewsasia.com