APL introduces customer-specific schedules

APL introduces customer-specific schedules    Shippers will be able select multiple point-to-point services of APL and produce a single customized schedule using a new online feature of the carrier’s Web site. APL launched today the customizable schedules tool, which it says is an industry first.
   Customers will be able to produce tailored reports of up to 20 location pairs, which can be saved or sent in a range of formats (HTML, PDF, MS Excel). The reports can be scheduled to be e-mailed to a customer or multiple recipients to coincide with their planning cycles.
   “This is about putting more control in the hands of our customers, and simplifying the forward planning of shipments,” says Phillip Chin, vice president of customer service and e-commerce at APL.
   More than 70 percent of APL’s customers regularly access sailing schedule information via the Web.
   Chin says more than half of APL’s active customers use e-commerce channels. APL is “continually focusing on adding value through IT tools that allow customers to save time, reduce costs and improve control of their shipments,” the company said.