JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING TRACKED 24 HIGH VOLUME EXTENDED COLLECTION LAT’s AT YDC, NWDC, PRDC AND SWDC

JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING TRACKED 24 HIGH VOLUME EXTENDED COLLECTION LAT’s AT YDC, NWDC, PRDC AND SWDC
Branches and representatives will be aware that Royal Mail and the CWU are working together in order to develop mutual interest solutions and factor into them opportunities to deliver on the core commitments contained in the Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long Term Success Agreement.
That agreement recognised the need for a greater focus on growth via introducing enhanced customer offerings on current product range, creating growth through better utilisation of our existing pipeline and exploring more radical solutions.
It has been decided to introduce an improved collection option from Monday to Friday which will allow our customers to process orders later into the day and get the item to the consumer faster.
This positive development will enable Royal Mail to compete for more of this business and in doing so it is hoped to both build the customer base, attracting new volume and retain traffic volumes that might have otherwise been lost to other competitors.
Branches will recall from the content of LTB 514/15 issued on the 6th August 2015 that we had previously agreed a Joint Statement covering covering the introduction of Tracked 24 High Volume Extended Collection LATs at NDC. This initiative has been viewed to be a success and has attracted significant additional Tracked 24 traffic. In light of this discussions have taken place on proposals to extend this service to other RDC sites.
The attached Joint Statement covering the introduction of Tracked 24 High Volume Extended Collection LAT’s at YDC, NWDC, PRDC and SWDC has therefore been agreed and endorsed by the Postal Executive.
The improvements to Monday to Friday collections and distribution for High Volume Tracked 24 customers accessing the sites listed will incorporate the following from March 2016 and will put the business on par with its competitors:
Extend LAT’s by 3 hours from 17.00 to 20.00 at SWDC and PRDC for core coverage that now includes North East, North West and parts of Scotland, i.e. EH1-17 and G1-84.

Introduce a new T24 LAT of 20:00 at YDC and NWDC for core coverage that covers all but AB/ZE/BT, IV/KW/HS & TR postcodes.

No impact to the existing delivery pipeline, specifications, timings or duty spans.

Road and rail borne Network services only. No air services affected.

Available Monday to Friday for Tuesday to Saturday delivery.

Branches will note the commitment in the Joint statement that the deployment of this initiative does not affect any part of the National workplan and will not affect arrival times in Delivery units.
Branches are requested to ensure that this LTB and its attachment are circulated for the attention of all affected representatives as a matter of urgency.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, e-mail: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 709.02
Yours sincerely
 
Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary
 
JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING TRACKED 24 HIGH VOLUME EXTENDED COLLECTION LAT’s AT YDC, NWDC, PRDC AND SWDC
Background
Royal Mail (RM) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are working together in developing key business policies, mutual interest solutions and a new culture, all of which are at the core of the commitments in the Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long Term Success Agreement.
Both parties recognise that creating the right joint working environment is key to the success of the business and the commitment to provide employment security in all operational functions of the business.
Both parties recognise the pressures of the increasingly competitive and rapidly evolving environment we operate in and are committed to the strategic objective of creating and developing an agenda for traffic, product and revenue retention and growth, and defining a tangible competitive response as a positive alternative to simply managing decline across the RM operational network.
Introduction
Parcels competition continues to increase with competitors expanding their networks and delivering enhanced customer services. Royal Mail is responding to the market challenges through a number of initiatives designed to defend and grow revenue and traffic and to extend Royal Mail service capabilities.
Online retail is increasingly becoming 24/7 with shoppers ordering later into the evening. Retailers are now picking and packing their orders later into the evening to improve delivered service times. Therefore we are introducing an improved collection option for Royal Mail Tracked 24 high volume retailers, which will allow our customers to process orders later into the day and get the item to the consumer faster.
We are introducing these changes so that we can compete more effectively with competitors who are already offering this facility. These changes will enable Royal Mail to compete for business we would otherwise not have access to and in addition we can retain volumes that might otherwise go to our competitors. This is good for our company and our people.
What We Are Changing
Having successfully introduced later customer collections into the National Distribution Centre (NDC), we are now looking to expand and improve our weekday collections and distribution for High Volume Tracked 24 customers. This can be achieved by accessing an additional 4 RDC’s for extended LAT’s as follows:
 Yorkshire Distribution Centre (YDC)

North West Distribution Centre (NWDC)

Princess Royal Distribution Centre (PRDC)

South West Distribution Centre (SWDC)

Details of the change in service are as follows and will improve population coverage from 70% to 90% bringing us closer to our competitors.
Extend LAT’s by 3 hours from 17.00 to 20.00 at SWDC and PRDC for core coverage that now includes North East, North West and parts of Scotland, i.e. EH1-17 and G1-84. 

Introduce a new T24 LAT of 20:00 at YDC and NWDC for core coverage that covers all but AB/ZE/BT, IV/KW/HS & TR postcodes. 

No impact to the existing delivery pipeline, specifications, timings or duty spans.

 Road and rail borne network services only. No air services affected.

 Available Monday to Friday for Tuesday to Saturday delivery.

When Are We Changing
Currently the sales teams are actively talking to high volume customers, who will be able to access this enhancement to collections from March 2016. The changes will be introduced when we have sufficient customers on board, therefore LAT changes in RDC’s are more likely to be on a site by site basis.
Operational Impact
This enhancement to the service will have the following impact on operational units:
 
Each of the 4 “In-scope” RDC’s will be switched on independently from March 2016, dependent on customer take on. 

Vehicle Operating Centres will plan and resource T24HV customer collections according to customer demand. 

The 4 “In-scope” RDC’s will plan and align resource to the new 20:00 T24HV Latest Acceptance Time (LAT) and process to a T24HV despatch workplan of either 21:30 or 22:00 dependent on network connectivity. 

Rail terminals at Warrington & PRDC will plan to receive outward T24HV traffic from their local RDC’s and despatch to existing services to Scotland (Warrington) and the North East (PRDC). 

Rail terminals at SDC and Newcastle will plan to receive inbound T24HV traffic from WRT or PRDC and circulate to existing Mail Centre feeder services. 

An investment in despatch to a final wave of T24 services from each RDC (13 in total including Monday only services) to supply initial service connectivity. 

A further investment in increasing network capacity where volumes match the top end of expectations (a further 7 services and 3 upgrades) where required. 

Network dovetails into existing Phase 2 NDC 01:30 services to improve utilisation & efficiency in particular the EX, G & EH areas.

The introduction of any revised duty/attendance arrangements will be negotiated at local level in line with the IR Framework to meet customer collection times.
This service enhancement does not affect any part of the National workplan, including deliveries.
The change of service will have a minor impact in regard to Network services which will be dealt with in line with existing agreements.
Involvement
Timely engagement will take place between local managers and CWU IR representatives in the process for taking on new customers and appropriate Union release time will be provided for the CWU representatives to ensure meaningful involvement.
Any questions of interpretation, implementation, or application of this Joint Statement shall be referred to the respective Headquarters for resolution.                                   
Davie Robertson Francis Williams
Assistant Secretary Head of Parcels & Design Authority
CWU Royal Mail
Date: 1st March 2016
Email Attachments – Click to download
· LTB 15916