Customers and the Market
|
|
Customers and the Market |
|
|
|
The table below shows the turnover by main product groups and the change from 1998 to 1999. All main product groups saw higher turnover. The table also shows the change in sales, which is generally satisfactory, although the parcel segment and giro products are declining. LETTERS The turnover for letter-post rose by DKK 498 million, or 7.9 per cent compared with 1998. This corresponds to a 2.2 per cent increase in volume. The increase in postal rates in the monopoly area at the beginning of 1999 enhanced turnover by some DKK 300 million, or about 6 per cent. Rates in the monopoly area had not been changed since 1992. The increase corresponds to about half the general increase in retail prices during the period. In addition, turnover for letters was positively affected by an increase in the weight limit for letters to 2 kg on 1 July 1999. The effect is hard to calculate. There was a corresponding fall in the figure for parcels. Growth in the market comes primarily from major customers, although electronic communications have become increasingly popular in 1999. Telephone, fax and electronic communication on the Internet account for an increasing share of communication between for instance customers and banks, and authorities and citizens.
These campaigns used the themes "The letter and advertisements" and "The letter and the business". The aim was to show businesses that the letter and the other advertising media complement each other and together create the foundation for increased sales. PARCELS Strong price competition affected the market for parcel deliveries throughout most of 1999. Turnover of parcels, which are sold in a fully liberalised market, rose by DKK 23 million, or 1.9 per cent compared with 1998. Sales fell by 3.4 per cent. The fall primarily occurred in ordinary parcels for households. The increase in the weight limit for letters to 2 kg has probably had an adverse effect on parcel turnover. In addition, industry figures for parcels indicate that turnover on the total market has fallen by about 6 per cent. In that light Post Denmark’s share of the market for business parcels is considered to have gone up. New trading forms, such as electronic commerce has not yet gained a strong foothold in Denmark, but is expected to generate growth in future. In 1999, Post Denmark and DFDS DanTransport established a joint company WebLogistics A/S, which is a warehouse and distribution facility targeted at e-commerce companies. The concept is based on e-commerce and distribution to private individuals. The objective is to be involved in the shaping of developments in e-commerce and to create competitive power and competence in the area for Post Denmark. Evening delivery of parcels was fully implemented in 1999, covering about 1.1 million households at the end of the year. This service meets the requirements of both senders and recipients and has been welcomed by customers.
E-COMMERCE In close co-operation with both sender and recipient Post Denmark
must be able to provide services for the home shopping market that generate increased
sales of Post Denmark’s core products, letters and parcels, and ancillary services. POST DENMARK’S BRANCH NETWORK Customer surveys show that a number of small businesses demand a more targeted service from Post Denmark through the post offices. New activities will therefore be developed in the branch network during 2000 to increase services to primarily small and medium-sized businesses. Post Denmark has reassessed the range of products it offers private customers in its branches and has changed the shop furniture to ensure that goods are displayed in a more customer-friendly manner. In 1999, 58 post offices were fitted with new furniture for displaying goods. Surveys made in the spring of 1999 show that customers welcomed the change and sales rose. In 2000, another 200 post offices will be refitted. In 1999, Post Denmark and BG Bank agreed to strengthen their co-operation and speed up the establishment of 75 common branches. The first half of 1999 was spent evaluating building schedules and training the staff. The aim is to establish 20 common branches in each of the next two years. Co-operation with BG Bank has resulted in new products, partly by introducing a new concept in Post Denmark’s branches under the name of Post Bank. The Post Bank offers the following products: A salary account, which may include an overdraft facility, a savings account, a millionaire account and a quick loan. The new products were introduced in the autumn of 1999 and have already found favour with customers. Early in 1999, test sales of ‘Pay as you Go’ mobile phones were carried out. These showed that customers are interested in buying mobile telephones and phone cards at the post offices. Subsequently, Post Denmark has established an overall mobile telephone concept at post offices in co-operation with a number of the large suppliers. The concept was a success from the start. Sales of telephone cards for mobile phones and international telephony, in particular, have become very popular with customers. The accessibility of the post office network is one of the reasons for the success. A new IT-based customer service system has been installed at 360 post offices with a total of 1,250 work terminals. The system provides sales staff with information on products and makes sale of goods more efficient. It also guides the sales staff through the more complex services by using a simple question and answer script. In addition, Post Denmark has completed a number of training activities for branch employees. The purpose is to enhance the staff’s ability to determine customer requirements and provide better service. INTERNATIONAL MARKETS Letter-post sent to other countries encountered sharper price competition in 1999. Competition in the international market for parcels and logistics also increased in 1999. Over the year, Post Denmark responded to customer requirements and demands through the introduction of early morning and evening deliveries. The company also managed to increase the rate of on-time deliveries from the already high level. The industry, as a whole, was faced with increasing customer demand for quality, flexibility and tracking possibilities. Through the establishment of Pan Nordic Logistics (PNL), Post Denmark created an alliance with Posten Norge and Posten Sverige AB within the parcels sector. The main objective of the PNL partnership is to develop parcel and logistics solutions by means of advanced technology. Post Denmark is seeking to expand this alliance, through both growth and acquisitions, to create a Scandinavian home market for the three national postal operators. PNL aims to develop a network in the Nordic countries, in Europe and globally. This will give PNL end-to-end control through common systems and processes. By following this strategy it will be possible to turn PNL into a strong European player on the parcels and logistics market which is becoming increasingly globalised and diversified. One-stop shopping gives customers an all-in solution, including a number of mail, transport and logistics services. This creates a need for businesses to secure deliveries with total end-to- end control also across borders. Through its co-ownership of PNL Post Denmark is involved in the development and support of new parcel and logistics products. The immediate aim is to offer customers Pan-Nordic solutions that are easy to use. In 1999, Post Denmark entered into an agreement with the courier company DHL to sell Jetpost International. Together, DHL and Post Denmark offer fast service all over the world. THE ØRESUND REGION When the Øresund Fixed Link opens in the summer of 2000, Post Denmark and Posten Sverige AB will increase their co-operation, one of the objectives being to make it easier for businesses to operate and market their products on both sides of the Sound. One of the new services will make it possible for businesses in the Danish Øresund Region to have a letter to a recipient in the Swedish Øresund Region delivered the next day – and vice versa. Next day deliveries of parcels will also be possible in the Øresund Region. In addition, Post Denmark and Posten Sverige AB will offer door-to-door courier services with same-day delivery, and express services with delivery the next day before 10am. Businesses will be able to market their products easily and quickly on both sides of the Sound through delivery of unaddressed items. POST DENMARK UNDERTAKES SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY SURVEYS Since the change of the year 1998-1999, Post Denmark has been conducting surveys of customer satisfaction and loyalty among households by means of a large questionnaire survey. The results form the basis for an extensive process of improvement. It is a fact that satisfied customers are more loyal to the company and its services. This affects profitability and consequently competitiveness. Customer satisfaction and loyalty has become an increasingly important factor in Post Denmark’s development and adjustment to changing market conditions. Post Denmark has chosen to put the customer at the centre of its efforts to continuously improve operations and services. The objective is to develop the company in step with customer needs and expectations and to maintain key customers and increase customer loyalty. The work focuses on large surveys made on a regular basis involving representative segments of the customer base. One survey focuses on business customers and another on private individuals. The surveys take place in the form of questionnaires encompassing 20 questions of a general nature, which makes it possible to compare the results with those of other companies. The questions are related to the European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) model. This makes it possible to compare the company to postal as well as non-postal companies in Denmark and abroad which use the same model. ELEMENTS OF THE ECSI MODEL
Post Denmark uses the ECSI model to measure the satisfaction and loyalty of both business customers and private customers and combines the model with specific questions. The ECSI model is an interpretive model focusing on customer satisfaction. The left side made a shows the factors that affect customer satisfaction:
The right side shows the effect of customer satisfaction: customer loyalty. The results show a fairly stable trend over the year. The customer satisfaction index for Post Denmark’s private customers is 66. It is possible to compare the results for the private customer segment with those of selected postal companies that use a similar analysis design. A comparison shows that with a customer satisfaction index of 66 (letters and parcels) Post Denmark has a higher score than Sweden and Germany but a slightly lower score than the United States (parcels only). Post Denmark has chosen the following areas as areas in need of
improvement: image, waiting times at post offices, customer service and complaints.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NET TURNOVER
