Shipping containers are fairly simple things. They're basically big boxes that, since the 1970s, have been standardized for intermodal transport. They can ride on ships, trains, trucks, and just about anything else big enough to haul them over seas and land.

However, what is not so simple is coordinating the many moving parts that make sure they arrive where they are needed, when they are needed. This is where the use of technology has taken container transport from the paper trail to bits and bytes.

That is certainly the case for Musket/Melburn Transport, an intermodal container transport company that primarily works lanes in Ontario, Quebec, and the U.S. east coast.

"The company is very innovative and very electronically focused," says Rod Alafriz, VP of Musket/Melburn Transport Ltd. "We basically understand that in this day and age we cannot function without electronics.

"From my background (I spent 16 years working for a steamship line), our track and file system has grown in the industry from the time when we used a card system, to where we now track shipments electronically through the websites of various steamship, seaports, and rail entities in conjunction with the system devised by our own in-house programmers."

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the company was originally founded in 1952 as Melburn Truck Lines and, through organic growth and mergers and acquisitions, has become one of the largest carriers in Ontario. The company currently has a fleet of 210 trucks with 650 state-of-the-art light-weight chassis and varying trailing equipment.

Further, the company has two full service garage facilities (the Cawthra and Royal Windsor terminals) with road transport procedures in place to meet both the Canadian Ministry of Transport and the U.S. Department of Transportation's stringent requirements.

Beyond the company's size and expertise, though, is its innovative and thoroughly integrated use of technology.

"Our website is based on being a means for us to provide a higher level of service to our customers, as opposed to solely being a resource for information on the company," says Bill Vandevalk, operations manager for Musket/Melburn.

"All of our local trucks have GPS on them, and a customer can call up a container number and a map of the exact location will come up in real-time to within a minute," Vandevalk says. "If the customer is wondering where a particular shipment is, they can call it up and find out that it is only a few blocks away, and that they have to be ready to receive it in a few minutes."

Alafriz adds, "We can even track and trace a shipment before it is in our care. For example, we can find out if a container has left the Port of Vancouver and that it is on its way to Toronto or Montreal via rail."

Vandevalk takes the story from there: "We do this in partnership with the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways. The owner of our company designed a program that will log onto the CN and CP websites, download data on all of the containers we are tracking for our customers, and make sure that the data on our website is synced with that of the railways'. No one [else] in Canada can do this.

"Without a system such as this, we would need a staff of people to follow shipments as they are transported. Our system frees up the customers' staff as well, because this work is done electronically, and is accessible by the customer on our website."

The system is so unique to their company, say Alafriz and Vandevalk, that they haven't even named it yet.

According to Alafriz, the company is also able to handle coordination tasks such as completing releases for their customers' containers as they travel along the supply chain.

A release is the term used for when a particular piece of cargo has been through whatever inspection process is required, such as at an international border, and all duties and fees have been paid. Once these functions are completed the cargo can be released to the next set of hands in the chain.

For example, steamship/broker releases mean that all of the financial and legal obligations have been satisfied before the broker will relinquish control of the cargo.
"These releases appear on our website as they are issued," says Vandevalk. "The use of releases establishes a line of ownership of the cargo that can be traced."

As a container travels on its merry way, the company can also release periodic reports to customers on the status of the container. Within these reports, any new or changed information can be highlighted for the ease of use of the customer.

"They get a full recap on what their cargo is up to," says Alafriz. "The customer can also select the frequency at which they receive these reports as well as particular bits of information that are of particular importance to them."

Given the current heightened state of alert at most border crossings, cargo is now undergoing increased scrutiny, and more information is needed by border control agents in order to allow a container to pass to and from the U.S. and Canada.

To mitigate what could be longer down time at borders for their containers, Musket/Melburn uses an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system for its customers. An EDI system is a standardized format for the electronic transfer of documents between businesses, government entities and other organizations and is the data format commonly used for electronic commerce transactions worldwide.

In the case of Musket/Melburn, the EDI system provides border agents with all of the paperwork needed to confirm necessary information about a container in electronic format.

"Customers send information regarding the cargo via EDI and that will be uploaded into the system and actions are taken on the cargo automatically," says Alafriz. "For example, when a particular shipment reaches the border with the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security needs to have information on it and they need to have it by the time the container reaches them. They want to know what is coming to the border and when to expect it. The EDI system makes sure this information is sent in an acceptable format, and in a timely manner."

With its unique use of technology, Musket/Melburn also has its own unique history leading to its somewhat hyphenated name.

According to Alafriz, Melburn was originally a refrigerated carrier, but transitioned to containers when they were standardized for international transport in the 1970s.
In 1999, the company was acquired by Musket as part of that company's overall

expansion plans. However, rather than adopting it suitor's name, the company felt that the name should be kept in order to maintain continuity with Melburn's rather loyal and long standing customers.

Under the Musket/Melburn umbrella are a number of divisions.

These include the Intermodal Refrigeration Service and Intermodal Container Repair Service, which both handle repairs for refrigerated trucks and shipping containers respectively.

The company also operates Commercial Heavy Equipment Training, Ltd., (CHET) which is responsible for training drivers and the people who handle the heavy equipment used to move the containers around.

"This is the main source for all of our drivers," says Alafriz. "All of our drivers except for maybe five or six are employed by the company, and what we offer through CHET is that if they do well, we will pay for some of the cost of their training as well as offer them a job - which is a pretty good deal."

The Canadian government also recognizes CHET as a fully accredited commercial driving school.

"In Canada, the government has a program where anyone looking for a job Û such as those that are looking for a career change, new to the country or are on social assistance Û the government may help by offering to fund this job training," says Alafriz. "Because our school [CHET] is a fully accredited driving school, we receive some government funding and it will refer people to us for training."

Musket/Melburn also uses a logistics forwarding service in order to provide transport for its customers' containers that may not be within range of the company's area of operations.

Basically, it is a service used by a pool of companies that is provided by TransCore Link Logistics, under the title LoadLink, through a subscription. Companies can post on a Web page where a particular container is and where it needs to go.

"It's like having thousands of additional trucks that aren't yours," says Alafriz. "It allows trucking companies to link to others in the business across North America and is a pool that you can dip into.

"For example, you can post on an electronic bulletin board that there is a load in Los Angeles that needs to go to Ontario. A trucker in LA with the availability and whose equipment matches with what needs to be carried can see that posting and respond to it. That way the cargo can make its way to its destination and we have served our customer."

Asked how they would like to see the company grow, both Alafriz and Vandevalk say they want to stick with what has worked.

"We want to get better technologically-speaking," says Alafriz. "This is pretty much where the industry is headed. We want to develop new programs that help us adapt to the ever changing needs of the customers and the industry, and make us more efficient and better at what we do."

Vandevalk adds, "Improving on our technologically will also allow us to increase the volume of business we are doing without having to increase our staff. For example, in 1999 we had 12 people in our billing department. Through the use of automation through technology, we now have one and that person is handling 25 to 30 percent more business."

Asked about the possibility of more acquisitions, Alafriz says, "Three years ago we were more focused on acquisitions, but now we are more focused on increasing our core competency."

Vandevalk adds, "Customer service will also be a critical aspect of how we increase our customer base."

"Absolutely," agrees Alafriz, "the number of mergers among our customers means that our customer base is getting smaller, but the customers are larger. So focusing on customer service is a very good way for us to grow our business."