Let's imagine you've just shipped a load of board games from Los Angeles, California, USA to your European distributor in Hamburg, Germany. It's been a few days, and you're getting curious about where your games are. You know they left the port on time, on a train heading east across the United States for Newark, New Jersey. But where are they now? Are they making good time? Did they make the ship they were supposed to be loaded onto in Newark? Will they make it to Hamburg by the date listed on the schedule?

You'll probably have to wait to find out, right? Or maybe call someone in Newark and ask that person to check to see if your container made it on time?

Not anymore!

If you have access to the Internet, APL can give you up-to-the-minute information on your shipment. And it takes hardly any of your time!

Why is this important?

Well, let's say that your container-load of board games is bound for a big game show that's going to be held in Hamburg in a few weeks. You've carefully scheduled the games to arrive in Hamburg just in time for the show. You don't want to have to pay to store the games in Hamburg, so you don't want them to arrive too early. But, obviously, the games won't do you any good if they arrive the week AFTER the game show ends. You want to sell them at the show, not pay to have them shipped back home to you.

When you first arranged to ship the games, you made sure to ship with a reliable carrier that has a good record of meeting the schedules it promises. But even with a top-notch shipper, you're still a little nervous. These games are worth a lot of money to your business. You know you'll sleep better at night if you can keep an eye (well, maybe a virtual eye!) on your games as they cross the United States and then the Atlantic.

And that's where Internet tracking comes in. APL and other shipping companies have learned that even though their primary business is shipping goods for their customers, providing quick, accurate information about those shipments is just as important. And so many of them have become 'e-commerce' businesses, using the Internet to help customers track their shipments. It's a new innovation to keep shipping moving as fast as the rest of the business world.

Here's how APL lets customers tracks their shipments:

Tracking shipments on the web
Want to find the location of a particular container? All you have to do is log on to APL's web site (www.apl.com). Once there, simply enter the container's number in the box marked 'Trace.' In just a few seconds, you'll receive a status report on your container.

Why don't you try it? With your teacher or a parent, log onto the APL web site. Then enter the Boomerang Box container number, NUSU151066, in the box marked 'Trace.' See what you learn. (Please note that this function will not work if the Boomerang Box is empty and waiting in a container yard to be reloaded. But, if it is in transit, you will get a quick update on its whereabouts.)

Tracking shipments by e-mail
Let's say you're just too busy to log onto a web site. You're about to e-mail your distributor in Hamburg and you want to include an update about the location of your games. Well, no need to go to the web site, trace your container, and then copy that information into an e-mail. You can simply e-mail the 'track@apl.com' service and get your answer back in a return e-mail. And to make things even easier, you can 'cc' or copy in your Hamburg distributor on the e-mail so that he will receive the same information you do.

You can try e-mail tracking as well. Again, have a teacher or parent help you. Address an e-mail a message to this address: track@apl.com. Then type in the Boomerang Box container number, NUSU150166, in the subject line. Don't type anything in the text of the message. In a few minutes, you'll receive an e-mail back from APL with information on the Boomerang Box's location.

Tracking shipments by wireless device
Let's say you're too busy even to send an e-mail. You're out of the office at a big meeting and don't have access to a computer today. All you have with you is your cell phone. Not a problem! If your cell phone has Internet access, you can easily set it up to give you information on your shipment. It's a good way to keep your worries under control if you've got a big shipment somewhere out on the ocean.

Tracking many shipments
Now, let's imagine that in addition to shipping a load of your board games to Hamburg, you've also shipped container loads to customers in Shanghai, London, New York, and Houston. You're hoping to get into the game market in a big way!

You're very nervous about all of your shipments… but there's no way you're going to have time to type in all those separate container numbers. What can you do?

Well, for businesses that ship a lot, APL offers a service called HomePort. HomePort is a customized 'portal' or entryway into the APL web site that you create specifically for your business. Using HomePort, you can track all your shipments and get information on all the paperwork each shipment needs.

Shipping companies such as APL still rely on ships, trucks, and trains to move goods around the world. But now, with e-commerce, APL can move information about its shipments a lot faster. And that gives its customers peace of mind.

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