Postal and Logistics Consulting Worldwide is a company of professional Postal and Logistics Experts who help Posters, Regulators, and Postal Operators around the world make informed decisions and deliver value for money outcomes.
We employ seasoned managers with a proven record of delivery. We are transparent in our charges and fees and while we have an in depth knowledge of the postal and logistics industry we are fiercely independent of any operator. Since 2003 we have existed to provide solutions and outcomes to the issues facing postal and logistics industry users, operators and regulators in an ever changing market place. Our clients are wide ranging from private and public sector posters to the Postal Services Commission; from transactional mailers to batch and magazine producers; and we advise on all types of domestic and international mail. We have advised some of the largest posters in the world as well as some of the remotest islands. We only operate in the postal logistics industry and we are passionate about mail.
PLCWW Ltd Registered in England No. 04788844 Registered Office: Edgewood, Longridge, Sheepscombe, STROUD GL6 7QU, United Kingdom
Jerry Cope is a former Group Managing Director of Royal Mail where he held a number of Board appointments covering both the UK and International Businesses. Since leaving Royal Mail he has built up a portfolio of public and private sector appointments, including a 7-year term as Chair of Kingston University.
He has been Chair of the Prison Pay review body since 2005, as well as being Executive Chair of a change management and leadership consultancy. He also holds a number of non-executive appointments, with an international dimension.
He is a results-driven, change-orientated, customer-focused leader and manager with an excellent track record of setting, communicating and implementing clear directions and strategy. He has worked in high-profile environments including with government ministers, senior civil servants and regulators.
Steve is a successful programme and change manager with over 35 years experience in the postal and logistics industry. A clear thinker who can see both the wider strategic picture as well as the attention to detail required when implementing successful change.
As Royal Mail's operations director he had a proven record in devising, planning and deploying a number of multi million pound programmes that improved quality and reduced the cost base of the company. He also spent a period as interim CEO of Guernsey Post where he successfully negotiated major agreements with Royal Mail and the postal regulator on pricing and tariffs that improved the profitability of the business.
He has a deep understanding of the postal market, postal regulation and the economics of the industry. He has led several assignments that resulted in major efficiency and cost savings for clients in additions to devising strategies for customer retention, market entry and service quality.
Neil spent over 31 years in a number of posts in Royal Mail in planning and senior operations posts, specialising in Network transport operations culminating in his role as Head of Network design, responsible for developing and delivering Royal Mail’s 21st Century transport strategy.
He became an independent postal consultant after leaving Royal Mail. He has undertaken and led a number of projects for Clients including Transcend Worldwide, English Welsh and Scottish Railway, Guernsey Post and MOD (British Forces Post Office) for whom he is Client Director.
In his role as Client Director he has advised on operational efficiency of sorting offices and transport networks, automation, mail Quality of Service, computerised transport modelling and assistance with re- negotiation of a major mail contract with the client’s mail service providers.
He is a founder director and shareholder of PLCWW and was a key player in the establishment on the Company.
Geoff has spent over 25 years in Sales and Marketing, 16 of which were in Commercial roles in the distribution industry. As a Market Research professional he helped pioneer the development of End-to-End quality of service measurement for mail services both in the UK and Europe.
As Marketing Director, he launched the Special Delivery service range for Royal Mail and this remains the brand leader in the sector. As a Sales Director he developed the role of customer perception and satisfaction surveys as the driver of operations activity in order to deliver customer driven service.
He has provided consultancy to express and mail operators in South Africa, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
More recently he was a founding Director of Royal Mails Media Markets and played a leading role in the establishment of the Mail Media Centre and the expansion of Media products in the UK. He has extensive research experience and market knowledge of the mail markets in the UK and has held non-executive positions within the wider mailing industry.
He has extensively advised posters on the opportunities developing in a deregulated market and provided market based evidence to support the process for determining price controls in the UK.
After a long and successful career with Royal Mail, in which he held senior positions in local management, operations and sales and marketing, he became an independent postal consultant during which time he undertook a number of projects including being the interim Director Operations for a major private postal operator in Sweden.
He joined PLCWW in 2004 becoming a Director in 2006.
He has led a number of projects for clients including Guernsey Post Ltd, Frontier Economics and the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm) for whom he is Client Director. He specialises in operational efficiency reviews, performance management (including key performance indicators), mail handling processes, quality of service analysis and the application of automation in the postal sector.
In his role as Client Director for Postcomm he has provided advice on the licencing of private operators, the scope and cost of the Universal Service Obligation, access for private operators to Royal Mail’s network and other operational matters relating to market liberalisation and regulation.
Training Ofcom in postal matters... PLCWW has been training Ofcom staff in postal issues and operations to assist them as they take over responsibilities from Postcomm. Ofcom are experts in Regulation but some staff are not familiar with the workings of the postal industry and wanted to be better informed. A number of training sessions were undertaken to help staff understand the market better. A PLCWW paper on postal regulation is available in the papers section below.
CHASING DOWN THE MARKET... USPS and Poste Italiene add their names to the growing list of postal operators seeing profits squeezed as they chase ever declining volumes. The volume mail postal business model is under challenge across the world. Who can find a new model that secures profitability in a declining market with a fixed USO. Will Swiss Post’s venture into personal newspapers be a new dawn for the industry?
PLCWW speaks at Post Expo Copenhagen... Steve Hannon CEO will be delivering a paper entitled "The Beginning of the end for parcel delivery operators in consumer delivery".
Independent Procurement gains ground... Posters are increasingly seeking to leverage enhanced value for money through the independent procurement of mailing contracts. Public and private sector mailers with 2-5 year postal contracts find it increasingly difficult to keep ahead of the changes taking place in the UK market before the next round of negotiations. Using independent procurement contractors (like PLCWW) ensures the latest developments are included in any negotiations.
THE SHRINKING POSTAL SECTOR... Canada, USPS, and Royal Mail are just 3 of the latest postal operators who have announced plans to restructure their businesses or seek significant job losses. Across the globe the industry is trying to come to terms with a changing or shrinking marketplace. Rightsizing is never easy and USO obligations simply add further complications. What is clear is that mail has entered a significant decline phase and operators look to each other to see who is coping best with these new demands.
These articles are only available to individuals and organisations who have registered for this service.
Postal Regulation in the UK has not worked. Who says so? No other than Ofcom, who took over the mantle of UK postal regulator from Postcomm on 1st October 2011.
The Home Delivery Conference in London was very much around e-retailing and covered the whole supply chain and customer experience. Read about the key conclusions.
Problems and Opportunities offered by the Xmas Mail Market Why do postal operators ignore the marketing opportunities of Xmas?
Is there a future for mail. Is the electronic bandwagon the death of mail?
Advice Centres. An article produced for PTI showing the value of taking advice on mail issues.
Postal Address data, an underperforming revenue stream. PLCWW discuss the opportunities for non postal revenue generation from the use of address data.