The London Forum - Putting the customer first
17 May 2006
This year, Postcomm's annual London Forum attracted 105 major mail users and postal stakeholders. With full market opening in postal services now a reality, its theme was "Putting the customer first".
Full postal competition means there are now cheaper or more customer-friendly mailing options available to business cutomers. Postcomm has already licensed 14 operators to compete with Royal Mail throughout the UK. This year there will also be a major change in the way Royal Mail calculates postal prices, when Pricing in Proportion (PiP) is introduced in August. PiP will mean that the price of postage is determined by the size and format of an envelope or package, as well as its weight.
The London Forum, which took place on 17 May 2006, gave stakeholders the ideal opportunity to engage in discussions with major postal service users. Our impressive line-up of speakers included senior representatives of major sectors in the industry:
- Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Department of Trade and Industry. In May 2006, Mr Fitzpatrick became the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The DTI is responsible for implementing the UK Government's policy on postal services (including the regulatory framework and nationwide network of Post Offices) and represents the UK's interests in international postal organisations. The DTI also manages the Government's stakeholder responsibilities as regards its 100% shareholding in Royal Mail Holdings plc. Mr Fitzpatrick's speech (pdf, 38KB).
- Professor Peter Andersson, Linkoping University, Sweden. Professor Andersson is senior lecturer in economics at the Department of Management and Economics, Linkoping University. He had closely monitored his nation's postal service since liberalisation in 1993. Professor Andersson's presentation (pdf, 48KB).
- Millie Banerjee, Postwatch. Ms Banerjee is national chair of Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services. Ms Banerjee's presentation (pdf, 361KB).
- Ian Griffiths, Royal Mail. Mr Griffiths was appointed managing director of Royal Mail Letters in November 2005. He reports to Adam Crozier, Royal Mail group's chief executive, and has day-to-day responsibility for the delivery of Royal Mail's annual postbag of more than 20 billion letters. Mr Griffiths is a member of the board of Royal Mail Holdings plc, chaired by Allan Leighton, and also sits on the company's management board, which is chaired by Mr Crozier. Mr Griffiths' presentation (pdf, 99KB).
- Graham Hunt, Powergen UK plc. Mr Hunt is payments manager at Powergen, the first company to switch from Royal Mail. (Powergen became a customer of UK Mail - part of Business Post - in May 2004. Mr Hunt's presentation (pdf, 71KB).
- Michael MacClancy, Mail Competition Forum. Mr MacClancy is head of regulatory affairs for Secure Mail Services Limited, a privately owned operator that provides innovative and secure mail delivery of UK passports, banking cards, cheque books and other valuable items. He will represent the views of the Mail Competition Forum (MCF), which represents the interests of licensed entrants to the UK postal market. The MCF's objective is to give customers choice by creating the conditions for fair, vibrant and sustainable competition within a stable and undistorted postal market. Mr MacClancy's presentation (pdf, 198KB).
- Nigel Stapleton, Postcomm. Mr Stapleton has been Postcomm's chairman since January 2004, when he was appointed for an initial three year term by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. He works three days a week for Postcomm, combining his role here with others as: chairman of UNIQ plc; non-executive director of the London Stock Exchange plc, and non-executive director of Reliance Security Group plc. Mr Stapleton's presentation (pdf, 284KB).
