Table of Success Event Update – June 2014

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No. 480/14
Ref: 111.01
Date: 21st July 2014


To All: Postal Branches with Parcelforce Members
Regional Organisers
Parcelforce Representatives


Dear Colleague

Joint Statement – Forum Update July 2014

Attached for the information of Branches is a Table of Success Joint Statement that has been agreed with the business regarding the above subject.

Please would branches and representatives ensure that our members are made aware of this communication as soon as possible.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Terry Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, email dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference 111.01.

Yours sincerely



Terry Pullinger
Assistant Secretary

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Table of Success - Joint Statement

Table of Success Event Update – June 2014

Parcelforce Worldwide and the Communication Workers Union held a joint event on 10th-11th June for Area General Managers, Regional Organisers, and national CWU and PFW project leads. These two days were at the heart of a week of intensive talks which allowed both parties to have an open and frank exchange of views on a range of day to day operational issues in the context of the current commercial challenges facing the business.

Against this backdrop the opportunity to clear the air allowed everyone to move forward with a fuller understanding of the key concerns of both parties, and created a positive atmosphere to identify a number of joint activities which will help to address these issues in the mutual interest tradition of the Table of Success culture.

With major initiatives such as Sunday Deliveries, the Post-Expansion Review and a new Delivery Revision Agreement included in our programme of works for 2014/15, both parties recognise that it is essential that we re-capture the collaborative Table of Success way of working that has helped create a successful era for PFW and the CWU, in order to deliver continuous improvements in service to tackle the competitive threat.

Sunday Deliveries
You will have seen from recent communications that PFW and the CWU have worked together to launch a Sunday Delivery service starting on the 29th June. This is a great example of how our collaborative approach has enabled the business to rapidly introduce a brand new product into the marketplace in incredibly tight timescales ahead of major competitors.

The Sunday Delivery product is being offered to corporate customers and will cover 97% of the UK population.

Volumes are expected to build up from a low starting point over the first few weeks, as customers become accustomed to the new service.

Due to the uncertainty over volumes at this early stage the Sunday items will be delivered via a streamlined network of Cluster Depots.

During the trial period the short-term resourcing approach will be based on a voluntary overtime model at existing rates with an initial minimum 4-hour attendance span.

The service will be closely monitored as it develops through the Autumn Pressure period and a joint review will be carried out in January 2015.

A working group will be created to explore more sustainable attractive mutual interest resourcing options whilst the impact and success of the Sunday Delivery product is assessed.

Both parties recognise the importance of deploying Sunday Deliveries efficiently and are jointly committed to the success of the service.


Trends in the UK Parcels Market

Helen Wylde, PFW Director of Sales & Marketing, gave an insight into the current challenges facing the business in the face of a fast-moving highly competitive marketplace.

Whilst the 60% predicted growth forecasts for “etail” or online retail shopping over the next 5 years present real opportunities for Parcelforce Worldwide to continue its’ expansion strategy, the buoyancy of the parcels market has created an aggressive, cut-throat pricing environment which we have to operate in against our competitors.

PFW can no longer rely on high Quality of Service alone to win contracts, and we have been working hard on innovations to keep pace with the latest added value trends that customers are demanding. This includes:
Improved Inter-active SMS/email services
Flexibility on last collection times
Extended POL opening hours
Sunday Deliveries
Click and Collect options
Automated International Returns capability
eBilling (part of Advance IT project)

Technology Update

Additional funding has been secured to complete the development of the Advance system to replace POISE and HALCON, which will now be rolled out operationally in May to July 2015, and the new billing facility in July to September 2015.
The Mobility On Device Manifest function for handhelds will be fully deployed in Depots in July.
PFW will be supplied with new PDAs in 2015 under a RM Group replacement programme.

Post Expansion Review

There is no doubt that the Parcelforce Worldwide expansion programme has been a momentous period of change for the business, the union and all of its employees. Whilst the majority of this change has been positive and provides a platform for PFW’s future success, expansion has also presented many difficult challenges as PFW strives to maintain the same high level of performance that it has built its reputation on. Both parties acknowledge the pace of change has distracted us from our key values of closely working together and rigorously applying our agreements.

Under the national Agenda for Growth Agreement the Parcelforce Programme of Works includes two closely linked initiatives that will be key items on our joint agenda for 2014/15 – the Post Expansion Review and a commitment to produce a new Delivery Revision Agreement. These combined initiatives should ensure that we can make the necessary changes to ensure that PFW is delivering the highest possible quality of service for customers whilst running at optimum levels of productivity and maintaining our mutual interest commitments throughout the network.

Against this backdrop we have agreed that joint activity led by AGM’s and CWU Regional Organisers will take place in all regions and current operational arrangements in each depot will be considered in respect of performance indicators and their consistency with our current agreements. The data gathered from this activity will be shared at national and local level. This information will provide a foundation for enabling Depots to address a number of post-expansion day to day operational depot challenges aimed at improving Quality of Service and First Time Delivery performance, reducing unnecessary operational costs and reviewing mixed resourcing arrangements. In addition to this a number of process improvements and best practices have been identified and we will work together to compile a list of “Must – Should – Could” activities that should ensure all depots are operating at the highest possible standards.

As a key step in progressing our ongoing work towards a new Delivery Revision Agreement consistent with our previously agreed Joint Statement, both parties have agreed the operational week to use as the model traffic week for creating the base data which will then produce the Paragon data extract required to run through the Route Builder programme. This will be used to carry out a desk top review for each Depot to produce a ‘heat map’ of sites. This will help to identify appropriate Depots to run a trial of the proposed delivery revision process. Following a joint review of the trial, both parties will decide how best to deploy the new revision agreement, which is likely to be early in 2015. A review of administration and warehouse structures will also take place using current indoor IE tools, at the same time as any route revision activity.

Transport Working Group

A number of new initiatives have been assigned to the Transport Working Group to oversee:
Network Couriers – There is a mutual desire for an in-house solution and to reduce the amount of Network couriers used to an absolute minimum. An improvement plan has been put in place to tackle the main causes of courier usage, and this will focus on fixing operational pipeline issues under PFW’s own control, such as adhering to the trailer segregation specification. PFW are also working closely with several major customers who are not currently segregating into separate trailers for Coventry and NWPC. The Transport Working Group commenced work on this when the group met on the 3rd July, and will continue to monitor progress.

Yardsmart – Investment has been secured to install an automated Yard Smart system at Coventry Hubs and NWPC to replace the manual ‘T’ card system which currently handles all vehicle movements in and out of the sites. This will involve a joint review of the VCS and Gatehouse operations at both sites. The plan is to establish a Terms of Reference to trial the new system in NWPC prior to autumn pressure, and to introduce it into Coventry in January 2015. The trial and the deployment arrangements will be progressed by a Joint Working Group covering both Parcelforce and Royal Mail Logistics, reporting back to the Transport Working Group.

Double Deck Trailer – PFW are looking at testing a new double deck trailer prototype, which will have a larger capacity and incorporate specific PFW H&S requirements and a loose load specification. The test results will be evaluated by the Transport Working Group.

Evaluation Working Group

The Evaluation Working Group will take on the following additional initiatives:
A “retirement support” process for people leaving the business.
Customer-focused training for Drivers.
A joint IR training package for managers and union representatives.

Other Table of Success Initiatives

An initial meeting will be arranged to discuss a review of Customer Services activity following expansion changes.
The Hubs Joint Working Group will be reviewing their resourcing model, efficiency opportunities and Hub bonus schemes.

Working Together

Following this fruitful week of negotiations Parcelforce Worldwide and the CWU are confident that the many challenges facing them in 2014/15 can be addressed using our traditional Table of Success collaborative approach. We would like to thank everyone for their contribution to the success of expansion, and by working together we can ensure that colleagues feel valued and rewarded for their loyalty and performance, and that Parcelforce Worldwide can continue to grow, thrive and be a successful business.