Save postage with teamwork
Distribution: Swiss Post is streamlining logistics for daily newspapers, and publishers are helping out—to ensure rate stability.
Distribution Swiss Post is streamlining logistics for daily newspapers, and publishers are helping - for the sake of rate stability Most daily newspapers are distributed by early delivery organizations. Nevertheless, around one million additional daily newspapers are distributed by Swiss Post every night. Swiss Post and publishers' associations have now jointly developed a savings project for this special night-time logistics, which will reduce costs on the postal side by at least CHF 10 million per year. To this end, they have reorganized the entire newspaper transport process. The new system, which essentially concentrates the logistics for daily newspapers at four hubs throughout Switzerland, will be introduced in the night from August 8 to 9, 2004, following the increase in postal rates for domestic newspaper and magazine transport at the beginning of the year. Swiss Post is demanding this increase because the Confederation had reduced its contribution to the uncovered costs of newspaper and magazine transportation from 100 to 80 million francs from 2004 and intends to abolish it completely from 2008. Swiss Post had therefore held out the prospect of a further press rate increase for 2005.
"However, the industry would not be able to cope with a further increase in rates. It was therefore important to prevent the rates from rising again in 2005," says Hanspeter Kellermüller, legal advisor at the Swiss Press Association. From the point of view of the associations - in addition to the Swiss Press Association, Presse Romande and ATEG (Associazione Ticinesi Editori di Giornali) were also involved - there was "clear potential for savings" at Swiss Post. For this reason, an agreement was reached with Swiss Post to make savings instead of further rate increases.
Swiss Post has already promised that domestic rates will remain at their current level next year. However, the more distant future remains open. "The publishers expect price stability until 2007," says Kellermüller - and adds: "At least that's our hope."
Two things remained largely untouched: The editorial deadlines and the time of delivery to subscribers. The latter will even be improved with the new system: "Today, we cannot deliver 3 percent of daily newspapers on the same day. In future, it will be around 2.5 percent," says Alfred Hugentobler, Head of Print Media at Postmail.
The cost-cutting measures will primarily affect Swiss Post staff: 130 full-time positions will be lost, including in those railroad mail vans that are being taken out of circulation. The main organizational effort also lay with Swiss Post: in recent months, it has clarified the logistics details with each individual daily newspaper publisher. They streamlined their processes and were prepared to make certain concessions. For example, the St. Galler Tagblatt (see page 1) is introducing a remote edition with earlier closing times. The publishers are now also delivering their newspapers directly to the four hubs in Zurich, Bern, Lausanne and Hunzenschwil AG or to the
regional letter centers. These road transports have been coordinated with those of Swiss Post in such a way that numerous empty and parallel journeys can be avoided. "Although we are largely shifting the logistics for daily newspapers from rail to road, the bottom line is that the environmental footprint will be better than it is today," says Hugentobler.
The new logistics organization of daily newspaper publishers and Swiss Post benefits the entire press. Domestic rates for other periodicals will also remain at their current level next year. For this reason, the publishers' associations have been at the forefront of negotiations with Swiss Post.
Both sides are full of praise. While Kellermüller emphasizes the efforts of Swiss Post, Hugentobler is pleased "that we were able to find solutions with the publishers despite their heterogeneous composition and diverse needs".
Every year, Swiss Post transports around one billion press products - of which daily newspapers account for almost a third. It's no wonder that some publishers have been sensing potential savings in magazine distribution for some time. They are thinking of an alternative delivery organization (AZO). Such an organization has actually been in the planning stage for several months, with major publishers and Valora (K-Group) involved. Swiss Post, on the other hand, is only marginally involved. It is obvious that publishers and K-Group are aiming for their own organization: they already have expensive regional delivery companies and nationwide distribution networks. If these can be utilized even more, all the better. (mk)
Every night, one million daily newspapers are sent by Swiss Post. The costs for this can now be reduced.
Markus Knöpfli
"However, the industry would not be able to cope with a further increase in rates. It was therefore important to prevent the rates from rising again in 2005," says Hanspeter Kellermüller, legal advisor at the Swiss Press Association. From the point of view of the associations - in addition to the Swiss Press Association, Presse Romande and ATEG (Associazione Ticinesi Editori di Giornali) were also involved - there was "clear potential for savings" at Swiss Post. For this reason, an agreement was reached with Swiss Post to make savings instead of further rate increases.
Swiss Post has already promised that domestic rates will remain at their current level next year. However, the more distant future remains open. "The publishers expect price stability until 2007," says Kellermüller - and adds: "At least that's our hope."
Two things remained largely untouched: The editorial deadlines and the time of delivery to subscribers. The latter will even be improved with the new system: "Today, we cannot deliver 3 percent of daily newspapers on the same day. In future, it will be around 2.5 percent," says Alfred Hugentobler, Head of Print Media at Postmail.
The cost-cutting measures will primarily affect Swiss Post staff: 130 full-time positions will be lost, including in those railroad mail vans that are being taken out of circulation. The main organizational effort also lay with Swiss Post: in recent months, it has clarified the logistics details with each individual daily newspaper publisher. They streamlined their processes and were prepared to make certain concessions. For example, the St. Galler Tagblatt (see page 1) is introducing a remote edition with earlier closing times. The publishers are now also delivering their newspapers directly to the four hubs in Zurich, Bern, Lausanne and Hunzenschwil AG or to the
regional letter centers. These road transports have been coordinated with those of Swiss Post in such a way that numerous empty and parallel journeys can be avoided. "Although we are largely shifting the logistics for daily newspapers from rail to road, the bottom line is that the environmental footprint will be better than it is today," says Hugentobler.
The new logistics organization of daily newspaper publishers and Swiss Post benefits the entire press. Domestic rates for other periodicals will also remain at their current level next year. For this reason, the publishers' associations have been at the forefront of negotiations with Swiss Post.
Both sides are full of praise. While Kellermüller emphasizes the efforts of Swiss Post, Hugentobler is pleased "that we were able to find solutions with the publishers despite their heterogeneous composition and diverse needs".
Every year, Swiss Post transports around one billion press products - of which daily newspapers account for almost a third. It's no wonder that some publishers have been sensing potential savings in magazine distribution for some time. They are thinking of an alternative delivery organization (AZO). Such an organization has actually been in the planning stage for several months, with major publishers and Valora (K-Group) involved. Swiss Post, on the other hand, is only marginally involved. It is obvious that publishers and K-Group are aiming for their own organization: they already have expensive regional delivery companies and nationwide distribution networks. If these can be utilized even more, all the better. (mk)
Every night, one million daily newspapers are sent by Swiss Post. The costs for this can now be reduced.
Markus Knöpfli
