From: ASAP
APL Logistics, a leading international supply chain solutions provider, has opened a state-of-the-art flow centre in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to cater for the rise in demand for point-of-origin inventory management in South China.
Mr David Lim, the President and CEO of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), APL Logistics’ parent company, declared the facility officially open.
He was joined by fellow executives, from left, Mr Antonio Leung, Vice President North Asia, (partially obscured) and Mr Koay Peng Yen, President, Greater China; and guests Mr Xu Cha Lu, Deputy Governor of Yantian District, Shenzhen; Mr Rui Heng Qiu, President of Shenzhen Hongkai (Group) Co., Ltd.; Mr Sheng Li, Deputy Director of Da Peng Custom, Shenzhen; Mr Yue Hua Long, Vice Governor of Yantian District, Shenzhen; and Mr Jin Lian Lim, President of ALM Holding Limited.
The centre, which is located near the busy Yantian port, has a total floor area of 27,700m2 (298,000 sq ft) – roughly the size of four football fields – and provides onsite customs clearance, cross-docking, product assembly, and barcode scanning. The centre operates with the latest warehouse management system (WMS) and shipment visibility and information management tools including APL Logistics’ See Change Services.
At the opening, Mr Lim said, “With fast paced consumer goods manufacturers such as fashion and sports footwear producers outsourcing so much production to South China, supply chain services need to be both fast and flexible.
“By providing consolidation, quality checking, storage, information management and inventory visibility in one centre at origin, our customers have more control over the flow of their goods. They have the ability, for example, to call on or hold stock depending on market needs. This ultimately improves efficiency and reduces costs.”
The facility also allows customers to benefit from consolidating and shipping free on board (FOB) China rather than only FOB Hong Kong. This capability is particularly important given the expected robust growth of South China-origin textile exports when quotas are lifted next year as part of China’s membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
APL Logistics has operated in China since 1988 and was the first foreign logistics company to receive wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) status. Innovations the company has introduced to China include electronic bar code scanning and factory-based scan and pack services. APL Logistics operates a network of sophisticated logistics centres throughout China, including a 14,000m2 flow centre in Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone also opened recently.
APL Logistics provides international, end-to-end supply chain services in more than 50 countries, including both origin and destination services such as freight consolidation, warehousing and distribution management. It uses innovative IT for maximum supply chain visibility and control. APL Logistics is a unit of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global logistics and transportation company. APL Logistics Web site: www.apllogistics.com
June 2004
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