In our fast-paced world of international trade, business is defined and redefined every second by millions of interactions between customers at opposite ends of the earth. And this high-speed information exchange is, in part, responsible for the phenomenal growth of international trade.

Hardware and Software

If the basic, yet powerful concept of connecting people and products via the physical movement of goods is the hardware of our business, information is the software that makes it run. And it’s the ability to combine assets and ideas — hardware and software — to meet each customer’s transportation goals that enables a company to move beyond its history to prosper in the future.

Customers depend on timely, accurate information.

Many of the same commodities that appeared on the California’s cargo manifest in 1848 are still shipped today — dress coats, shoes, silk handkerchiefs, English playing cards, cheese, coffee, pineapples, and medicines. But it’s how these items are transported and the information customers receive about their shipments that’s changed.

Until containerization was widely accepted, customers sourcing products internationally had to allow more time to bring goods to market. Now, thanks to a more streamlined and dependable intermodal transportation network, goods reach market in days — not months.

Instead of relying on handwritten bills of lading that arrived weeks after goods were loaded aboard sailing vessels, customers now access up-to-the-minute information on Web sites like this one. Make no mistake, customers are using this information as never before. They print bills of lading, trace shipments, and can even drill down to the SKU level of each and every product in any shipment.

A Global Equation

Because transportation links businesses, suppliers, distributors, and customers throughout the world, the movement of raw materials, parts, and finished products from factory to assembly plant to distribution warehouse to store shelf across global supply chains must be coordinated right down to the minute.

Whether the commodity is garments, foodstuffs, or manufactured goods, customers are building their businesses around a combination of accurate, timely shipment information and precise, reliable transportation. In so doing, they can adjust quickly to changing market conditions around the world.

APL has taken a leadership role in responding to the just-in-time needs of today’s businesses. At about the same time the company was making the leap from containerization to intermodalism, former CEO Bruce Seaton was championing the use of information technology to provide customers with maximum visibility to every shipment. Armed with the right information, customers can more efficiently manage inventories, fill orders, and replenish stocks.

Continue>>