What does "Internet time" have to do with shipping goods around the world?

Quite a lot actually, as George Cavage has learned. George is the Director of eLogistics for APL Logistics. And as he has learned, keeping information moving—at Internet speed, of course!—is just as important in the shipping business as keeping goods moving.

George majored in International Studies in college. He thought that would be a good background to work for an international company like APL. But in the 10 years that he has been working at APL, George has found that his computer skills have been just as important as his international knowledge.

Long ago, shipping goods was a slow process. It took long and dangerous weeks or months at sea or on a pack on a horse's back to get things from one country to another. And sending information about goods wasn't any faster. People expecting goods just had to hope the things they were waiting for would arrive sometime.

That's not the way shipping works today, though. Today, shipping companies like APL promise exact schedules to and from nearly anywhere in the world. No more waiting months for a ship to come in. Today, you can find out exactly when the ship will leave and when it will arrive… almost down to the minute.

APL Logistics, which is part of shipping company APL, takes this need for information one step further. George and his staff at APL Logistics work with businesses shipping goods to get all the information about each shipment on the Internet. Then they alert the customers expecting those goods so that they can track the minute-by-minute progress of the shipments. A business shipping a load of toys—and the customer expecting them—can track their progress on a computer or even on a data-enabled wireless phone.

Today, George and his team are working on a new information application: the XL Project. But how can he get it up and running in "Internet time?" Download the case study to find out!