APL has overcome some logistics managers' problems, with products including a powerful report-generating software system called QuickReport, which sorts and filters the contents of shipment data.
'For the first time in our industry, the customer could view quickly the few 'exceptions' that may be of interest at any given moment without having to search through the haystack for the needle,' said Hans Hickler, APL's vice-president of customer service and information strategy.
He said the Internet had the potential to overload logistics managers with unnecessary data.
Logistics managers did not have the time to sort through data looking for a single 'exceptional' shipment that could represent a special opportunity or problem, he added.
Mr Hickler said that was the task they faced.
QuickReport is the latest offering on APL's HomePort, the industry's first customisable Web page.
