Horizon, Honolulu Freight add Microsoft Web service

Horizon, Honolulu Freight add Microsoft Web service    U.S.-flag ocean carrier Horizon Lines and Honolulu Freight Services, a large provider of shipping services to the Hawaiian islands, have implemented an automated freight tracking and customer service application system for containerized shipments. Horizon described the system as “one of the first applications built with Visual Studio .NET 2003 and the Microsoft .NET Framework in the global ocean shipping industry.”
   The system, called FreightTracker, incorporates customer freight status information using extensible markup language (XML) data interchange. It will streamline operations by reducing the flow of paperwork and manual data entry involved in dealing with containerized shipments, Horizon said.
   “Honolulu Freight is using the .NET Framework to integrate our entire supply chain, including trucking, steamship, and agent delivery partners,” said Tom Beaver, vice president of Honolulu Freight Services.
   The FreightTracker system on the Web was designed for Honolulu Freight Services by Seattle-based TVC Consulting Group with help from Horizon Services Group, the information technology arm of Horizon Lines.