[ APL’s Trans-Atlantic Service to Feature Internet Tr... ]

APL’s Trans-Atlantic Service to Feature Internet Tracking & Broadest
Access to North America Market

APL, which this month enters the container trade between Northern Euro
pe and North America with two sailings per week, will offer exporters
and importers a combination of broad North American market reach and I
nternet-based information support that will raise service standards in
the trans-Atlantic marketplace.
At the same time, the 150-year old company, long a force in the trans-
Pacific market, closes the final east-west gap in its service network
and becomes a global service provider.
“APL is now able to support the transportation and logistics needs of
global manufacturers and retailers in virtually any market,” said Ke
ith A. Mackie, APL’s vice president for trans-Atlantic service. He sa
id the start-up of the trans-Atlantic service was facilitated by APl’
s merger last November with Neptune Orient Lines, which had a presence
in that trade. APL--which is the brand name for all of the combined g
roup’s intra-Asia, Australia, North-South America, and North American
double-stack rail markets, in addition to the trans-Pacific and trans
-Atlantic trades.
Mackie said APL plans to add a third weekly trans-Atlantic service by
year-end, in concert with its alliance partners. “We are committed to
providing a competitive service,” he said. He noted that APL will be
entering the market as an independent carrier offering a premier serv
ice.

North American Market Reach

APL’s sailings to and from Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Thamesport and Le Ha
vre will connect at North American East and Gulf Coast ports directly
with the company’s proprietary double-stack rail system. This intermo
dal system is the largest in the world, said Stephen Leong, APL’s vic
e president and managing director for Europe.
“The APL ‘Stacktrain’ system offers nearly 400 rail departures per
week, meaning exporters and importers have fast, frequent connections
to virtually all key commercial and manufacturing centers in North Ame
rica,” he said. And within Europe and the U.K., inland transport can
be arranged for customers by expert staff at full-service APL offices
in Antwerp, Bremen, Hamburg, Le Havre, London, and Rotterdam, and by A
PL’s agency personnel across Europe.
Double-stack rail transport, introduced by APL in 1984, has revolution
ized the way containerized freight is moved in North America. It utili
zes fuel-efficient rail cars upon which containers are stacked in two
tiers. The equipment is controlled by APL itself, rather than by the r
ailroads, helping to ensure availablility and schedule integrity, and
providing single-party oversight of the complete movement.

Unique Information Support

Another element of the trans-Atlantic service that makes it unique is
the high level of information support made available to customers, whe
ther via telephone contact, through electronic data interchange, or, m
ost recently, by means of the Internet. Similarly, a high level of cus
tomer service in the areas of logistics arrangements, documentation, b
illing and other inquiries is available through any of APL’s 37 full-
service offices and agency offices that are located in 18 European cou
ntries. In North America, support is provided through customer service
centers that are noted for their responsiveness.
APL’s award-winning Internet website, offering on-line booking, traci
ng, documentation review and other transactional capabilities, is loca
ted at http://www.apl.com. The Internet-based tracing system allows cu
stomers, on a 24-hour basis, to access current reports on the location
or the customs status or financial status of any APL shipment, whethe
r at sea or transit within the North American ‘stacktrain’ network.
It also minitors shipments in transit between Europe and Asia, and in
all the company’s other trade lanes.
“Because of the growing requirement of retailers and manufacturers to
monitor the status of their shipments in order to more efficiently ma
nage their supply-chain activities,” said mackie, “We have placed gr
eat emphasis on providing easy-to-use, accurate information”
Mackie added that all APL offices and agency representatives in Europe
are connected with the global APL telecommunications system, so they
can provide up-to-the-moment information for customers who prefer pers
onal contact to using the Internet. He also noted that the company’s
information-intensive consolidation unit, ACS, is active in Europe and
other markets, helping customers with complex multi-country sourcing
and consolidation needs.