DHL trials world’s first in hybrid technology for HCVs in distribution
London, 07/20/2010, 10:00 AM CEST
In partnership with manufacturer Volvo Trucks, DHL Supply Chain will trial the world’s first 18-tonne hybrid distribution truck that could achieve up to 15 per cent in fuel savings. Powered by an electric motor and a diesel engine, which can be used separately or together, the hybrid vehicle will allow for reduced fuel consumption, lower emissions and lower noise levels.
DHL and Volvo are partnering on a number of initiatives aiming at reshaping the logistics of the future by making it cleaner, safer and more efficient.
DHL and Volvo agreed to partner for trialling the vehicle for a two-year period. The partnership arose from a mutual interest in the development of new energy-efficient technologies and has seen DHL work closely with Volvo on the specifications of the vehicle. It will also benefit from a dry freight ‘Teardrop’ body fitted by body builder DON-BUR.
The vehicle was just unveiled in Hatfield and will initially be operated in and around London. Overall, the truck will be used with several DHL customers, also interested in reducing their CO2 emissions, like NHS Supply Chain.
New ways of reducing the carbon footprint of transport
Ian MacAulay, Innovation Manager, UK Fleet Engineering Services, DHL Supply Chain, said: “Reducing carbon emissions is an important issue facing businesses and we always endeavour to make sure we drive positive environmental change. DHL has made a firm commitment to improve its carbon efficiency by 30 per cent by 2020, and new developments in vehicle technology and fuels will be vital in achieving the target.
“This hybrid solution is a world first for 18-tonne distribution vehicles. Energy efficient vehicles also have the benefit of reducing costs and in a time when businesses are keen to drive out inefficiencies this is an important cost saver to recognise.”
Key features and benefits of the vehicle include:
- Considerable fuel savings, potential of 15 per cent compared to conventionally powered vehicles
- Regenerative braking to capture energy for storage in its onboard Lithium ion batteries
- The electrical energy is used for the electric motor to accelerate the truck up to 10 to 15 kph
- Zero emissions when operated in electric mode
- Reduced noise emissions when in electric mode
- Excellent driveability due to combined torque from the electric motor and diesel engine, thanks to the parallel hybrid system
Goran Nyberg, Volvo Group UK and Ireland Managing Director, said: “DHL has ambitious environmental targets and we are pleased to be the selected partner to assist them develop new ways of reducing the carbon footprint of transport.”
Deutsche Post offers confidential letters on the Internet – the online letter (“E-Postbrief”)
- Portal open from today: From now on, customers can reserve their personal “E-Postbrief” address at www.epost.de
- The price for an “E-Postbrief” is 55 EURO cents
- Cooperation partners are SAP and Allianz
Bonn, 07/14/2010, 10:30 AM CEST
Deutsche Post is starting a new era in mail communication: As of today the “E-Postbrief” is ready: From now on, customers can reserve their personal “E-Postbrief” address.
“We’re making secure written communication on the Internet possible for everyone – this is a revolution,” said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL. “This innovation fits to our Strategy 2015 like a glove: It will make our customers’ lives easier and strengthen us to remain THE Post for Germany.”
The “E-Postbrief” allows private individuals, companies and public authorities to communicate securely with each other on the Internet. The “E-Postbrief” is just as binding, confidential and reliable as a letter – and just as quick as an e-mail. “We’re bringing the confidentiality of letters to the Internet,” says Jürgen Gerdes, Board Member in charge of MAIL. “The ‘E-Postbrief’ will make our most successful product, the letter, even better. It is still a letter, but will be even quicker.”
An “E-Postbrief” will cost exactly the same as a traditional letter – 55 EURO cents. Users can choose whether their letter will be delivered electronically to another “E-Postbrief” account or be printed out by Deutsche Post and delivered by the mail carrier. The price remains the same in each case. Additional services like registered letters or color-printed copies will be charged extra. MAIL boss Gerdes says: “Whether our letter is in physical or digital format, it is based on a high-quality service from one single source. And it’s very attractively priced as well.”
Personal “E-Postbrief” address
Deutsche Post is staging one of the largest media campaigns of the year to mobilize Germans in favor of the “E-Postbrief”. At www.epost.de users can reserve their personal “E-Postbrief” address free of charge. The address consists of a first name and a surname and the ending @epost.de. A number behind the surname prevents confusion when two people have the same surname. Anyone who registers quickly can secure the number he wishes, or may even get an address without a number – provided he is the first person to use that name.
All users must identify themselves by using the Postident procedure with their personal identity cards or their passports in a Deutsche Post retail outlet – only then the “E-Postbrief” account will be activated. Thus the identity of the users can be confirmed beyond all doubt – and anonymous e-mails, spam or address theft are impossible with the “E-Postbrief”. In the initial phase after the name reservation, users will have an activation code sent to them by letter. In the run-up phase, Deutsche Post is working to create an evenly-spread use of the system’s capacity, in order to avoid any overloads. From November this intermediate step will cease to apply.
Companies and public authorities can distinctly improve their customer service with the “E-Postbrief” and save money at the same time. The cost of postal processing can be cut by up to 60 per cent by using the “E-Postbrief”. The interest shown by business customers in the new product is accordingly high. Deutsche Post has two other important partners, SAP and Allianz, who have decided to collaborate on the “E-Postbrief”.
Cooperation partner SAP
SAP, with an annual turnover of more than EUR 10 billion, making it the third-largest independent software supplier in the world, is planning to integrate the “E-Postbrief” into its HR management software SAP ERP HCM. So, companies can send pay slips to their employees electronically and securely, or as a hybrid “E-Postbrief”. In addition, SAP will be checking software application scenarios for public authorities. “Integrating the ‘E-Postbrief’ into SAP software represents, in our opinion, an important step towards creating continuous electronic business processes between companies, their employees, public authorities and citizens,” says SAP’s Kerstin Geiger, Head of Industry Solutions.
Cooperation partner Allianz
Allianz too intends to integrate the “E-Postbrief” into its communication systems. In Germany alone, the insurance giant has more than 19 million customers and rapid communication is a crucial success factor in the interaction with customersthem. Ralf Schneider, Head of IT and CIO of Allianz Deutschland, declaresexplains: “In the digital age, customer communication is changing rapidly. Customers are increasingly coming to expect immediate answers. So electronic interaction with the “E-Postbrief” for the first time offers us the opportunity of secure, binding written customer contact via the Internet.”
“We are delighted that SAP and Allianz, two more top players in German industry, have opted for the ‘E-Postbrief’,” says MAIL boss Gerdes. Cooperation partners of “E-Postbrief” include the Hesse state lottery, Mercedes Benz motor sport, the German Soccer Federation and the Zürich Group, Germany.
RPOST AND SWISS POST SETTLE PATENT AND TRADEMARK SUIT
LOS ANGELES, CA – June 14, 2010 – RPost and Swiss Post announced
today that they have resolved the legal issues between them.
RPost had brought suit against Swiss Post and Swiss Post Solutions, a
unit of Swiss Post, alleging infringement of several RPost patents and
RPost’s federally registered “REGISTERED E-MAIL” trademark.
RPost dismissed its action against Swiss Post and Swiss Post
Solutions under confidential settlement terms.
“Swiss Post will no longer be offering it’s secure, verified, and
third-party authenticated email services in the U.S. market,” said
Zafar Khan, CEO of RPost. “We are pleased that Swiss Post takes
intellectual property matters very seriously and has elected to work
with RPost in a productive manner.”
RPost and Swiss Post have agreed to work to resolve issues relating
to RPost’s intellectual property in Europe. RPost holds 27 patents
worldwide with 17 in Europe, including two in Switzerland.
Registered Email® services by RPost® provide the sender legally
valid and court-admissible evidence of delivery, content, and timing
of any document or notice sent by email, without requiring recipients
to download any software, click links, or visit special websites to
open and read messages. It has been adopted worldwide by companies in
a variety of industries, from large multi-national enterprises to
small businesses and home users.
About RPost
RPost has set the global standard for proof, privacy, and
e-signatures with its flagship Registered Email® delivery proof,
eSignOff® electronic signature, and SecuRmail™ encrypted email
services which permit the sender and recipient to prove, sign,
secure, record and collaborate with far less cost, time, paper and
risk. RPost services have been used daily by the U.S. Government
since 2003 and have been endorsed and marketed by most of the
influential bar associations in the United States, including those of
New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and the District of
Columbia. RPost also has worldwide partnerships with innovative
postal services, communications and technology platform providers to
offer electronic communications, transactions and integrated
services. RPost received the 2010 Council of Insurance Agents &
Brokers’ top endorsement for its secure encrypted email service.
RPost services have been granted 27 patents with worldwide coverage
and operate in 8 languages. Register for a free trial at
www.rpost.com.
Press Contact: Deb Payson, RPost Marketing, dpayson@rpost.com,
+1.310.342.0088
COURT GRANTS MOTION TO STAY PITNEY BOWES
PATENT LITIGATION AGAINST ZUMBOX
USPTO To Reexamine All Patents In Suit
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA – May 25, 2010 – Zumbox, Inc., operator of a paperless postal system that connects large transactional, financial and government mailers via the internet to consumers for the delivery of digital postal mail, announced today that the United States District Court for the Central District of California has granted its Motion to Stay a patent infringement litigation brought by Pitney Bowes, Inc. The Stay was issued after the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) commenced a reexamination of the Pitney Bowes patents.
On October 13, 2009, Pitney Bowes initiated the lawsuit against Zumbox alleging that Zumbox’s paperless postal system infringes three of Pitney Bowes’s patents. Shortly thereafter, Zumbox filed requests for reexamination of each of the three patents-in-suit with the USPTO based on substantial new questions of patentability related to the claims of the patents-in-suit. The USPTO granted reexamination of all three patents-in-suit.
Zumbox also filed a motion to stay the litigation with the United States District Court pending the outcome of the reexaminations. On May 20, 2010, the Court issued an order granting Zumbox’s motion to stay the litigation. The Court held:
All three factors weigh in favor of granting Zumbox’s motion for a stay. The case is in its nascent stages; it is highly likely that the patent reexamination will dispose of some or all of Pitney’s infringement claims or at a minimum, narrow and clarify the issues to be litigated; and Pitney has not demonstrated that it will suffer undue prejudice as a result of the stay. The court, therefore, grants Zumbox’s motion for a stay.
Zumbox is represented by McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Zumbox’s lead attorney, Yar Chaikovsky, who is a partner at McDermott, stated “As a result of this order, the patent litigation will not proceed while the reexaminations are moving forward. Zumbox is very pleased with this result.”
Zumbox is the operator of a postal web service that connects large mailers to consumers for the delivery of digital postal mail in the United States. The company also offers its Zumbox Digital Postal Mail Platform for license to postal authorities and commercial providers outside the U.S.
Digital postal mail provides many benefits for large transactional mailers, particularly when compared to traditional paper mail. Benefits range from dramatic cost savings – as much as $.60 to $1.70 per customer per month – to faster collections, dramatic increases in paper suppression rates, better customer service and the availability of a unique new low cost rich media channel for communicating safely and securely with customers.
For consumers, the Zumbox digital postal mail service provides secure digital postal delivery, searchable recordkeeping for life, reminders and notifications, bank-level security, elimination of paper based files, on-demand printed copies and instant mobile access via the iPhone™ and other smartphones.
And everyone benefits from the environmental advantages of digital delivery versus the huge environmental cost of trees cut down for paper, postal trucks on the road and trash thrown in landfills.
About Zumbox
Zumbox is the world’s first paperless postal system. The company has created a web-based platform for the digital delivery of postal mail. For every U.S. street address, there is a corresponding Zumbox – a digital mailbox – enabling mail and other content to be sent as digital files and received online. Zumbox represents a more cost-effective, convenient and environmentally responsible way to deliver postal mail. As a closed system, Zumbox provides bank-level security and complies with PCI, HIPAA and BITS security standards. The company has operated its postal web service for digital postal mail in the United States since February of 2009. Zumbox is privately held and based in Westlake Village, CA. Zumbox Software, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zumbox, Inc. charged with licensing the company’s digital postal mail platform to postal authorities and commercial entities around the world. For more information, visit http://www.zumbox.com.
Media Contacts
Joergen Aaboe
Director of Marketing
818.707.7416
Janice Snook
janice & associates
650.400.4448
RPost sues Swiss Post for Patent and Trademark Infringement
Case sets legal precedent
Los Angeles, CA — March 8, 2010 — RPost®, the global pioneer in
email proof services with its flagship Registered Email® technology,
announced today that it has brought suit against Swiss Post for patent
and trademark infringement. RPost has asked the US Federal Court to
issue an injunction to prevent further damages.
RPost’s flagship Registered Email® service provides senders
legally valid, court admissible evidence of email content and
delivery. Swiss Post and Swiss Post Solutions offer a service called
“Registered Email” that claims to prove delivery of email. RPost
is suing Swiss Post for infringing several RPost patents and
RPost’s federally registered “REGISTERED E-MAIL” trademark.
The suit is likely to attract the interest of legal experts around
the world. Private law suits against foreign governments are rare
enough. A suit against a foreign government agency for infringing an
U.S. patent is a legal first.
“This lawsuit is about Swiss Post’s activities in America,”
remarks Zafar Khan, RPost’s CEO. “We are sending a message to the
world on behalf of all American internet innovators: you can’t
circumvent American patent law just by operating servers off shore,
no matter how big you are.”
But RPost’s quarrel with Swiss Post won’t stop at the US border.
“We have 25 patents issued worldwide including two Swiss patents
that Swiss Post’s operations are clearly infringing,” Khan says.
“We intend to defend all of our intellectual property, everywhere.
I am confident that, by the time we’re through, Swiss Post is going
to be out of the email proof business.”
RPost has business alliances with many national postal services. It
has entered into joint ventures with the government postal services
of Bermuda, Iceland, Colombia and the Cayman Islands to provide value
added email services to their national markets. “Postal services
around the world are partnering with RPost because they recognize
that email presents a new revenue stream for the future and they
recognize our unique role as the world leader in value-added outbound
email technology,” adds Khan. “Swiss Post realizes that too but,
faced with a choice between “build or buy”, they chose
“steal”. And they are going to pay a price for that.”
The suit is only the latest battle in an RPost campaign to enforce
its patent rights. In the past six months, over half a dozen
companies that claimed to offer proof of email delivery have either
withdrawn their services or ceased operation as a result. Competitors
Olympus.net, GProof, and RegisteredEmail.Com have shut down their
special email services altogether (with the domain
www.registeredemail.com transferred to RPost), and several US ISP’s
have stopped hosting web sites of RPost’s offshore competitors. Last
month a suit RPost had brought against Goodmail, which also named AOL
and Yahoo, was settled with Goodmail agreeing to use RPost technology
for all of its proof of delivery products. Florida based GlobalPex,
facing the ramp-up of an RPost patent infringement suit, has opted to
enter into confidential settlement discussions with RPost.
Last week, RPost filed suit against Trustifi, a Canadian-based
startup that claims to provide proof of email delivery time-stamped
by the US Postal Service’s Electronic Postmark. Is a lawsuit by
RPost against the USPS in the offing? “We’re not ruling that
out,” says Khan.
RPost’s 25 patents granted worldwide have priority over technology
dating back to 1996. These patents broadly cover the technologies of
verifiable proof for email delivery and value-added outbound email
processing. RPost patents have been granted in Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland,
Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States; with
numerous additional patents pending. RPost’s federally registered
trademarks include ‘Registered Email®’ and ‘Legal Proof®’,
among others.
About RPost
RPost has set the global standard for Legal Proof® records in
Internet email with its core Registered Email® proof of legal
delivery, eSignOff® electronic signature and contracting, and
SecuRmail™ HIPAA compliant end-to-end email encryption services.
RPost services permit the sender to prove, sign, secure, record, and
collaborate with less cost, time, paper and risk. Available in eight
languages and for all email platforms, RPost’s Registered Email®
services have been granted 25 patents with worldwide coverage, have
been used daily by the United States Government since 2003, and have
been endorsed and marketed by most of the influential bar
associations in the United States, including the bars of New York
City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and the District of Columbia.
With US headquarters in Los Angeles, RPost has offices worldwide.
www.rpost.com
