Horizon Lines and Honolulu Freight Implement Web Solution for Ocean Shipping
Dallas, TX (January 22, 2004) * Horizon Lines, the largest U.S. flag ocean carrier, and Honolulu Freight Services, one of the largest shippers to the Hawaiian Islands, have implemented one of the first applications built with Visual Studio .NET 2003 and the Microsoft .NET Framework in the global ocean shipping industry. The new solution, called FreightTracker, will streamline operations by reducing the flow of paperwork and manual data entry involved in dealing with containerized shipments.
"XML has allowed us to unlock efficiencies in our operations, and the Microsoft .NET Framework has been our strategic technology for leveraging XML," explains Tom Beaver, Vice President of Honolulu Freight Services. "Honolulu Freight is using the .NET Framework to integrate our entire supply chain, including trucking, steamship, and agent delivery partners. We tie all this data together into our FreightTracker Web site, offering customers a single information source for their shipments with HFS. The .NET Framework has helped us reach a superior service level."
Designed for HFS by Seattle-based TVC Consulting Group with help from Horizon Services Group, FreightTracker is a .NET Framework-based freight tracking and customer service application that includes a Web application and a Web service. The new system incorporates customer freight status information using XML data interchange technology, allowing Horizon Lines to integrate information seamlessly into their enterprise management system.
"With the flexibility and versatility of .NET technologies, we were able to help Horizon Lines and Honolulu Freight Services streamline their operations," said Michael Kneip, a consultant with TVC Consulting. "FreightTracker is a testimonial to the effectiveness our technology has in making e-business work."
"Microsoft is excited Honolulu Freight Services utilized Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework to build its FreightTracker application," said Jennifer Ritzinger, Lead Product Manager on the Developer and Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft Corp. "This new solution enables Honolulu Freight Services to streamline its business processes and ultimately cut costs."
Horizon Services Group, the IT subsidiary of Horizon Lines, helped TVC integrate the FreightTracker solution to Horizon Lines systems. The Microsoft .NET Framework has allowed Horizon Services Group to build and deploy applications more quickly and efficiently at Horizon Lines, paving the way for seamless data exchange between Horizon Lines and shippers, including Honolulu Freight Services.
"When Honolulu Freight Services needed a solution to allow for seamless exchange of information with Horizon Lines, we knew that Microsoft technologies would do the job versus the traditional methods of data exchange such as EDI." said Duncan Wright of Horizon Services Group. "The new front end now allows for real time data exchange, ultimately cutting costs and reducing expenses."
