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Singapore,
28 Sep 2004 – Global container transportation company, APL, continues to set the standard for IT innovation in the shipping industry with the launch today of a new Customizable Schedules tool, another industry first.
This new, powerful on-line tool enables APL’s customers to access the company’s vessel schedules worldwide and select multiple point-to-point services, which can be customized into a single report.
“This is about putting more control in the hands of our customers, and simplifying the forward planning of shipments,” says Phillip Chin, APL’s VP of Customer Service & eCommerce.
He says APL’s latest research shows that more than 70 per cent of the company’s customers regularly access sailing schedule information via the Web – “This product is a direct response to demand from our customers, and is a value-add service offered to them,” Mr Chin said.
“Customizable Schedules streamlines the entire process of retrieving and compiling sailing schedules information – saving time, data entry, improving productivity and reducing the cost of hard copy print-outs.”
Using the Customizable Schedules tool on APL’s award-winning HomePort® (www.apl.com), customers can create tailored reports of up to 20 global location pairs, which can be saved or sent in a range of formats (HTML, PDF, MS Excel) to suit the customer or their business partners. Leading-edge ‘push’ technology automatically generates reports, which can be scheduled to be e-mailed to a customer or multiple recipients to coincide with their planning cycles.
“This is another example of how Information Technology is transforming the traditional paper-based systems and processes of the shipping industry,” Mr Chin says. “Rather than searching through screeds of paper or web pages and spending time compiling schedules, our customers now have highly customized, personalized information at their fingertips. With this tool they get the information they want, anytime, anywhere,” he says.
“Customized Schedules also allows customers to link directly through to vessel information and make a booking – it’s one seamless process.”
Mr Chin says that with more than half of APL’s active customers globally using e-commerce channels, the company is continually focusing on adding value through IT tools that allow customers to save time, reduce costs and improve control of their shipments.
“We’ve had some very positive initial feedback. Customizable Schedules is a genuine step forward, which we expect will be well-received by our customers – it’s the first comprehensive schedule tool in the industry,” Mr Chin said.
APL’s IT leadership was reinforced last week with HomePort® named one of 10 "Great Web Sites" in the latest rankings by BtoB magazine.
About APL
APL is a global container transportation company offering more than 60 weekly services and nearly 300 calls at more than 90 ports in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. It combines world-class intermodal operations with leading-edge IT and e-commerce. APL is a unit of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global logistics and transportation company. APL Web site: www.apl.com
Media Enquiries:
Americas:
Scott Dailey, tel: +1 650-369-4451 or scott_dailey@apl.com
Asia/Middle East:
David Glendining, tel: +65-6371-5311 or david_glendining@nol.com.sg
Europe:
Michael Haig, tel: +44-1737-248-300 or michael@isiscomms.com
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