La Poste Group has committed in France to achieving a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions before 2015 compared with 2008.

With the huge increases in the postal rate announced this week by the Royal Mail, it’s important that Britain’s SMEs are not caught out.

Due to new technologies, especially in the field of batteries, and to the need to tackle climate change, we now see a true fresh start to the use of electric vans all over the world. This is particularly true in the postal sector, with operators wishing to cut their CO2 emissions through the use of electric vans as well as electric delivery tricycles or bicycles.

 Although the impending privatisation of the UK’s Royal Mail has been openly discussed for some time, it did come as a surprise to some in the sector to hear the true extent of their financial difficulties. Surely this is going to deter would-be investors unless the organisation has a clear strategy to present outlining how it intends to become more profitable?

Postal services play a key role in many countries, providing access to basic communication and transaction services. Public postal operators are among the largest employers and most trusted retail network operators in each country, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.

Michael Gesper reflects on what could be achieved if postal operators give their customers an insight into operational processes and performance.

In an industry where reputations are made on the promise of timely and accurate delivery, an internet tracking website – where progress can be monitored from depot to door – is the latest battleground in customer service. David Quin looks at how the delivery driver is a key player in this battleground.

Any direct mail campaign depends on careful planning to ensure that response rates are high and sales conversions numerous. A number of factors can intervene and impact its outcome. Richard Higginbotham explains more

Even in the current challenging economic climate there are a number of rapidly growing transportation and logistics companies who are cleverly employing technology to enable them to take on the established major players. Dave Upton looks at how these companies will be the stars of the future and the ones that don’t embrace technology will not.

Post Offices should take a leaf out of Austria’s book and leave their stamp on the church. Guy Mucklow explains more