CONTERM DEVELOPS E-MAIL DOCUMENTATION SERVICES

CONTERM DEVELOPS E-MAIL DOCUMENTATION SERVICES    Conterm introduced an e-mail documentation program Friday that it says is the first available in the non-vessel-operating common carrier industry.
   The new service, named E-Docs, provides electronic delivery of documents for containerload and less-than-containerload shipments to and from North America.
   The system began testing in April and was officially launched in early May.
   “In the first week of operation, E-Docs handled over 20 percent of Conterm's paper transactions to clients by e-mail,” said Joerg “Jay” Hoppe, vice president of import services development for Conterm.
   The system is fully integrated with Conterm's UNIX-based information system, which enables the company to profile customers for automatic delivery of documents. Customers registered with the program can receive quotations, booking confirmations, dock receipts, arrival notices and waybills by e-mail, fax or regular mail.
   Waybills, developed by Conterm in 1996, are a COGSA-recognized bill of lading format that also contains shipment billing information.