FEDEX INSTALLS DIGITAL-IMAGING TECHNOLOGY ACROSS INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

FEDEX INSTALLS DIGITAL-IMAGING TECHNOLOGY ACROSS INTERNATIONAL NETWORK    FedEx Corp. is installing digital-imagining technology to capture paper shipment documentation for more efficient shipment tracing, faster airbill processing and quicker customs clearance.
   The Memphis-based company is using Bell & Howell scanners with VirtualReScan software and Adrenaline boards by Kofax.
   “The technology provides image-enabled, Web access to documentation on all international shipments,” FedEx said. “This will reduce delays associated with customs clearance paperwork and eliminate the need for country-required physical documentation in the clearance process.”
   So far, the company has installed about 500 imaging systems and plans to have another 200 in place by September. By April 2002, FedEx will operate more than 900 Bell & Howell scanners.
   FedEx processes about 1.5 million airbills in an average eight-hour period. The company pre-clears 90 percent of its U.S.-bound international shipments. The new imaging system will link U.S. and international clearance, billing and invoice operations, and eliminate the need to transfer paper-based documents through the FedEx system or between countries via fax.
   Information collected through the new scanning technology is accessible through FedEx InSight, the company’s Web-based application that expands “visibility” of inbound, outbound and third-party shipments in “real-time status,” FedEx said.