Asian Sources and ACS Logistics, a subsidiary of APL, have introduced ScanFact, which will allow customers access to shipment information as early as 30 minutes after cartons are packed.
Usually, customers have to wait between three and five days after a vessel sails before accessing information.
The product, combining supply-chain management software and specialised logistics services, would provide information to customers well before a vessel sailed, said Peter Weis, ACS Logistics' vice-president of information services.
'If the vendor shipped only 700 pieces of a shipment instead of 1,000 on order, the customer may be able to re-route the shipment to another destination,' he said.
The advance ship notice information is sent via Asian Sources' SupplierLink to ACS Logistics and bundled with other information for forwarding to the customer, giving users information three to 10 days earlier than at present.
ScanFact also will help manufacturers and merchandisers track purchase orders from source to destination.
Specifically, ACS Logistics will integrate Asian Sources eTrade management applications - known as ScanLink and SupplierLink - with its own electronic data interchange (EDI), and its Internet product, NetTrac.
