Whistl "to get RM" to deliver 70 million bulk mail items for Nationwide

[TrueBlueTerrier]

viewtopic.php?p=1102681#p1102681

Whistl to deliver 70 million bulk mail items for Nationwide Original headline

UK building society Nationwide has awarded logistics specialist Whistl the contract to supply its bulk mail downstream access services (DSA) to UK e-fulfillment.

The contract covers all of Nationwide’s transactional and marketing mail items and is one of the largest in the UK.

Nick Wells, executive chairman at Whistl, said, “This is a fantastic win for Whistl based upon a tenacious and customer-first approach by the whole team. It has taken a few years to land this contract but our proactive approach, passion and focus on delivering added value plus cost-effective solutions has taken this opportunity over the line. We look forward to building a long-term relationship with Nationwide in the coming years.”

Marcus Farr, senior operations manager for business services at Nationwide, added, “As a mutual , we are always looking to work with partners who can help us deliver value for money for our members while meeting our high standards of service delivery. The passionate and proactive approach from the team at Whistl, coupled with their industry insights and knowledge, has enabled us to deliver a cost-effective and efficient service that will ensure we can continue to deliver critical communications to our customers in the years ahead.”

[ted_e_bear]

I know I'm a bit thick but isn't this the business they don't actually want ie letters that they get paid a massively discounted rate for and then subsequently don't really put much effort into actually delivering if something more important like a tracked parcel comes along.

Mind you think I just answered my own question there, they get paid but only bother to deliver when they can be arsed.

[funkflex55]

I think trueblueterrier added the word get to the headline. And I agree with the above, whistl get paid huge amounts to then get discounted postage from RM. Why don't RM negotiate directly with senders and put these companies out of business. Or they could make them pay more for the service. If they don't like it they can deliver it themselves. Except they won't as they don't want the costs involved.

[ted_e_bear]

I think trueblueterrier added the word get to the headline. And I agree with the above, whistl get paid huge amounts to then get discounted postage from RM. Why don't RM negotiate directly with senders and put these companies out of business. Or they could make them pay more for the service. If they don't like it they can deliver it themselves. Except they won't as they don't want the costs involved.

That's my thoughts too, this must be one of the few businesses that buying in bulk for a discount just doesn't work, as soon as any bulk mailing hits our do we are in the s**t,

(it always appears as if by magic apparently no one knew it was coming but that's another issue).

So it either costs overtime for the ones that clear or it ends up left in the frame for the ones that don't but have to clear the tracked.

[Mr Rush]

Whistl sure will be delivering it... to the nearest MC.

DSA is a complete con that's been parasitising RM for twenty years now. It went from 5% of letters in 2005/6 one year after introduction to 48% by 2011/12. Coincidentally RM went from making money to consistently losing it in that timeframe. Regardless of the 20% drop-off in letters, access pricing hastened revenue decline and put the company in the weakened position it has suffered ever since. Ultimately the money siphoned into the middleman's pockets then has to be recouped out of your T&Cs and your pay.

I haven't finished collating data from the last decade's financial reports, so who knows how bad it is now. As of 2015/16 (p12):

[DSA] is around 70% of all addressed business mail.

[chickenwittle]

Isn’t there an ongoing court case between whistle and Royal Mail regarding this matter.

[Mr Rush]

Isn’t there an ongoing court case between whistle and Royal Mail regarding this matter.

Indeed! Whistl is TNT Post by another name. Comment from the 2013/14 financial report (p9-10):

Regulation

We are proud to deliver the Universal Service. But, the sustainability of the Universal Service depends on Royal Mail being able to use revenue from easy-to-serve urban areas to cover the cost of a nationwide network capable of serving all addresses at a uniform price.

On 10 Jnuary 2014, we announced a number of changes to Royal Mail's access contracts. The changes were intended to help secure the provision of the Universal Service against the backdrop of a continuing decline in letter volumes. [...]

The planned changes to access contracts are an imortant part of cour commercial response to changing market conditions, including the expansion of direct delivery competition. We believe TNT Post UK's complaint is unfounded. We believe the changes are fair, reasonable and fully within the guidance provided by Ofcom.

[...]

TNT Post UK now has direct delivery operations in much of London and in Manchester and in Liverpool. It has stated its intention to take its own direct delivery service to a number of other cities, with the aim of covering around 42 per cent of addresses by 2017. TNT Post UK can cherry-pick easy-to-serve urban areas delivering easy-to-handle post to homes less frequently than Royal Mail and to no defined quality standard. Royal Mail is requires to deliver six-days-a-week, overnight, throughout the whole country to stringent quality standards and at a uniform, affordable tariff. Moreover, we are also required to deliver any items TNT Post UK does not consider economic to deliver itself. If TNT Post UK is successful in delivering its stated objectives, this could threaten the fundamental economics of the Universal Service. Based on our estimates of the impact of TNT Post UK's publicly-stated plans, this could reduce Royal Mail revenue by over £200 million in 2017/18. At the same time, our ability to reduce costs to offset this would be limited by our obligations to deliver the Universal Service.

[TopperGas]

Isn’t there an ongoing court case between whistle and Royal Mail regarding this matter.

That's down to TNT claiming RM restrictive policies stopped them competing to deliver mail, now a few years later RM doesn't seem.to want to deliver any mail, you couldn't make it up!

What does this contract win actually mean anyway as surely 70m letters is only a couple per household so hardly likely to swamp DO's over the course of a year?

[Barnacle]

Isn’t there an ongoing court case between whistle and Royal Mail regarding this matter.

Indeed! Whistl is TNT Post by another name. Comment from the 2013/14 financial report (p9-10):

Regulation

We are proud to deliver the Universal Service. But, the sustainability of the Universal Service depends on Royal Mail being able to use revenue from easy-to-serve urban areas to cover the cost of a nationwide network capable of serving all addresses at a uniform price.

On 10 Jnuary 2014, we announced a number of changes to Royal Mail's access contracts. The changes were intended to help secure the provision of the Universal Service against the backdrop of a continuing decline in letter volumes. [...]

The planned changes to access contracts are an imortant part of cour commercial response to changing market conditions, including the expansion of direct delivery competition. We believe TNT Post UK's complaint is unfounded. We believe the changes are fair, reasonable and fully within the guidance provided by Ofcom.

[...]

TNT Post UK now has direct delivery operations in much of London and in Manchester and in Liverpool. It has stated its intention to take its own direct delivery service to a number of other cities, with the aim of covering around 42 per cent of addresses by 2017. TNT Post UK can cherry-pick easy-to-serve urban areas delivering easy-to-handle post to homes less frequently than Royal Mail and to no defined quality standard. Royal Mail is requires to deliver six-days-a-week, overnight, throughout the whole country to stringent quality standards and at a uniform, affordable tariff. Moreover, we are also required to deliver any items TNT Post UK does not consider economic to deliver itself. If TNT Post UK is successful in delivering its stated objectives, this could threaten the fundamental economics of the Universal Service. Based on our estimates of the impact of TNT Post UK's publicly-stated plans, this could reduce Royal Mail revenue by over £200 million in 2017/18. At the same time, our ability to reduce costs to offset this would be limited by our obligations to deliver the Universal Service.

RM warning itself there, that TNT’s plans could cost RM £200m. Seems that the RM people who do the negotiating with these clients such as TNT/Whistl, aren’t very good.

[TopperGas]

Isn’t there an ongoing court case between whistle and Royal Mail regarding this matter.

Indeed! Whistl is TNT Post by another name. Comment from the 2013/14 financial report (p9-10):

Regulation

We are proud to deliver the Universal Service. But, the sustainability of the Universal Service depends on Royal Mail being able to use revenue from easy-to-serve urban areas to cover the cost of a nationwide network capable of serving all addresses at a uniform price.

On 10 Jnuary 2014, we announced a number of changes to Royal Mail's access contracts. The changes were intended to help secure the provision of the Universal Service against the backdrop of a continuing decline in letter volumes. [...]

The planned changes to access contracts are an imortant part of cour commercial response to changing market conditions, including the expansion of direct delivery competition. We believe TNT Post UK's complaint is unfounded. We believe the changes are fair, reasonable and fully within the guidance provided by Ofcom.

[...]

TNT Post UK now has direct delivery operations in much of London and in Manchester and in Liverpool. It has stated its intention to take its own direct delivery service to a number of other cities, with the aim of covering around 42 per cent of addresses by 2017. TNT Post UK can cherry-pick easy-to-serve urban areas delivering easy-to-handle post to homes less frequently than Royal Mail and to no defined quality standard. Royal Mail is requires to deliver six-days-a-week, overnight, throughout the whole country to stringent quality standards and at a uniform, affordable tariff. Moreover, we are also required to deliver any items TNT Post UK does not consider economic to deliver itself. If TNT Post UK is successful in delivering its stated objectives, this could threaten the fundamental economics of the Universal Service. Based on our estimates of the impact of TNT Post UK's publicly-stated plans, this could reduce Royal Mail revenue by over £200 million in 2017/18. At the same time, our ability to reduce costs to offset this would be limited by our obligations to deliver the Universal Service.

RM warning itself there, that TNT’s plans could cost RM £200m. Seems that the RM people who do the negotiating with these clients such as TNT/Whistl, aren’t very good.

Or RM had no choice but to agree the DSA fees with TNT, although they managed to stop the £200m cost hence the £50m claim by TNT?