MRM.COM : Five point plan Stabilising the business and getting us back on track

[POSTMAN]

https://www.myroyalmail.com/news/2022/1 ... point-plan

Following the announcement of our half year financial results 2022-23, we have shared a five point plan to stabilise the business and get back on track.

The five point plan:

1. Rightsizing our business:

We’ve already announced we need to reduce our operational FTE workforce by c.10,000, with c.5,000-6,000 estimated redundancies.
We have started redundancy consultation in many units and will launch a preferencing process, including voluntary redundancy (VR) today. Your manager will share more details later today.
We are progressing revision activity to align resource to workload in delivery, processing and distribution. We are planning revisions in all our 1,200 delivery offices and are implementing dedicated parcel-only routes at the same time.

2. Creating the headroom to invest:

We are focusing on cash management and controlling our costs, and reducing our capital expenditure from c.£350 million to c.£250 million.

3. New resourcing models:

We have already removed the 25% cap on Owner Drivers in Parcelforce.
After starting in November, we will continue to hire new starters on new contracts.
We have developed a new attendance policy, which will go live in the new financial year to reduce our sick absence, which has remained elevated since the pandemic.

4. Efficient use of our network and assets:

In October we rolled out ‘Scan in, Scan out’ technology in Delivery to replace handwritten sign in sheets.
We are deploying dedicated parcel routes from around 350 hubs for larger and next day parcels. We are also looking at how we can improve efficiency by utilising a number of Parcelforce hubs for both Royal Mail and Parcelforce parcels.
We will move parcel volume from mail centres to super hubs for more efficient processing.

5. Building management capability and effectiveness:

Having completed the management restructure under Delivering for the Future, the biggest change to the delivery operational management structure in 30 years, we will now continue to embed this structure.
Following the launch of the Royal Mail Academy in July, we will continue to invest in developing our managers, building on the ‘Beyond’ events being held throughout November.

More structural change required

Our five point plan has already started to reduce costs and improve performance, but this isn’t enough to secure the long-term sustainability of the business. So we are moving ahead with further structural efficiencies to better leverage our network, including:

A review of our customer service points given footfall is down 50% compared with pre-pandemic so we are conducting a review to determine the optimum number of locations.

A review of our mail centre footprint to take into account the reduced workload outlook. Based on early estimates, we expect the number of mail centres we will require in future will likely reduce.

Currently there is duplication across the Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide networks, with both companies carrying the same format of parcels and visiting the same customers on the same day. As part of our plans to look at how we can more efficiently utilise the Royal Mail and Parcelforce networks, we will implement a single large parcel network to optimise synergies across the two businesses. Most smaller parcels will continue to be delivered by Royal Mail, with more medium and larger parcels being delivered by Parcelforce.

We will undertake new and faster trials and are starting small-scale trials on new indoor delivery office sorting methods to reduce the amount of time spent re-sorting mail.

We will introduce alternative fleet financing and maintenance options in the current year to provide a lower cost of ownership option for new electric vehicles.

[Kenfandango]

Wasn't it announced years ago that parcelforce would handle any parcels "larger than a shoebox"?

[SpacePhoenix]

Where will they get the staff for , for the 350 parcel hubs?

[sorefeet17]

Where will they get the staff for , for the 350 parcel hubs?

Albania

[derricksmyth]

Where will they get the staff for , for the 350 parcel hubs?

Albania

Even the Albanians would knock this lot on the head!!

[daveyeff]

just been announced by Andy Fury, there's 11200 ageny staff employed in the whole of RM. there's there answer to saving money. get rid. that's their ''rightsizing'' problem solved.

[taurus88]

The problem is they want to cut staff while not having enough staff to deliver what they’ve got coming in the doors. They can’t afford to lose any staff yet they need to get rid of staff!

[TopperGas]

The problem is they want to cut staff while not having enough staff to deliver what they’ve got coming in the doors. They can’t afford to lose any staff yet they need to get rid of staff!

I assume the issue is that they've got too many staff in locations where they don't need them and not enough staff in locations they do need them.

[TopperGas]

Wasn't it announced years ago that parcelforce would handle any parcels "larger than a shoebox"?

Where will PF get all the drivers from to deliver all the larger parcels, and what happens to RM drivers already delivering them, as moving across to PF doesn't sound like an easy move if they are going down the owner/driver route.

[ted_e_bear]

The problem is they want to cut staff while not having enough staff to deliver what they’ve got coming in the doors. They can’t afford to lose any staff yet they need to get rid of staff!

I assume the issue is that they've got too many staff in locations where they don't need them and not enough staff in locations they do need them.

I predict a "morecambeism" coming shortly

[k979aaa]

The problem is they want to cut staff while not having enough staff to deliver what they’ve got coming in the doors. They can’t afford to lose any staff yet they need to get rid of staff!

I assume the issue is that they've got too many staff in locations where they don't need them and not enough staff in locations they do need them.

Too many chiefs and not enough indians!