---

ACS Logistics Expands Global Supply-Chain Visibility

28 September 1999

ACS Logistics Expands Global Supply-Chain Visibility to Include Domestic Deliveries in USA

                 This Is Final Link for Tracking Product Flow

    OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 28 -- ACS Logistics is filling a void
in supply-chain visibility by capturing information about the final delivery
of imported cargo within the United States for global retailers and
merchandisers.
    The domestic delivery information will now be visible on a real-time basis
to ACS customers through NetTrac, ACS' Internet-based purchase-order (PO) and
shipment-tracking product, thanks to new Web-based reporting forms that can be
filed by trucking companies upon completion of the final delivery.
    This is believed to be the first Internet service that allows importers to
track their international merchandise from the factory floor to final delivery
at a distribution center or retail store using a single electronic source,
according to Peter Weis, chief information officer for ACS.
    "Global retailers need to receive as much information about the status and
location of their merchandise as they can," said Weis, "and increasingly they
want it from a single source."

    Forms Accommodate Various Delivery Steps
    The ACS Web-based forms, available to trucking firms at
http://www.acslogistics.com, will accept updates for trucker pick-up, trucker
delivery and warehouse receiving for ocean and air shipments.
    Customers will no longer need to rely on estimated pick-up or delivery
times from trucking companies, said Weis.  Instead, they will have real-time
information via Internet about the actual times that pick-up and delivery were
completed.  Warehouse operators will also use the forms to provide information
about cargo receiving.
    Requiring only Internet access, and a password and login ID code from ACS,
a trucking company or warehouse can log into the Web forms at acslogistics.com
and fill out basic information such as container number, bill-of-lading
number, pick-up or delivery date and time, and zip-code location.
    Greater visibility to merchandise as it flows through the supply chain
augments customers' ability to manage and control their inventories in
transit.  The Web-form delivery and receipt information feed into ACS'
operational database, along with other key PO and shipment details that are
made available to ACS customers via NetTrac.
    "Not only do the new Web forms provide an excellent audit trail between
the time the merchandise is picked up and the time it is delivered to the
customer's warehouse; but the additional information about the final delivery
phase of the supply chain gives our customers a competitive advantage in
managing their inventories," stated Weis.
    About ACS Logistics and APL:  ACS Logistics is part of the APL Logistics
group based in Oakland, California.  ACS provides international consolidation,
information and other logistics services for merchandise moving worldwide.
    APL Logistics is part of APL, which provides customers around the world
with container transportation and logistics services through a network
combining high-quality intermodal operations with state-of-the-art information
technology.  APL is the container and logistics arm of Neptune Orient Lines
Limited, a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and
related businesses.

    Media contact:  Rick Ginley, tel. 510-272-7702.