When the dotcom craze reached its zenith in Hong Kong late last year, it was not uncommon to see traditional property companies attempting to add a little sex appeal to their stock price by announcing alliances with new Internet ventures.
Those strategic alliances often included recently formed e-logistics services, as property companies sought to leverage the synergies between their existing array of businesses involving warehousing, transportation and storage.
Now that numerous high-flying e-business ventures have been quietly shelved, or laid to rest in the dotcom graveyard, the long-term players with vision and financial strength are coming to the forefront of the logistics business in the Internet era.
Among the emerging power players are Kerry Logistics Networks, which has undergone a rapid restructuring in the last three years to transform itself from a warehouse and transport operator to a one-stop Pan-Asian logistics provider.
Max Jones, the group's director, said instead of just hopping on to the e-logistics bandwagon last year, the company has been acquiring key physical assets and building its e-fulfilment services in an ongoing strategy.
'We've been successfully building the real world bricks- and-mortar side of logistics, and combining it with information technology,' Mr Jones said.