Airfreight 2100

"I would like to welcome other companies out there to join us in realizing the connectivity for our country. We can do this with the combined talents of our country's ICT professionals," said Mr. Bert Lina, Chairman of Airfreight 2100, Inc.

This is the vision of Airfreight 2100 that serves as the driving force in the company's effort to use Information and Communications Technology in improving its services and operations. At the same time, this is also the company's way of doing their share in contributing to nation building.

Customer-driven vision

As a customer-driven quality company, Airfreight 2100 is committed to providing time-definite, totally reliable, efficient and innovative pick-up and delivery, and logistics services for international and domestic shipments. With over 20 years of remarkable performance in the freight and cargo forwarding industry, Airfreight 2100 Inc. has indeed gone a long way in serving the shipping needs of Filipinos from all walks of life.

One of the most significant turning points in Airfreight 2100 Inc.'s history was when it officially became the sole licensee of Federal Express Corporation in the Philippines in 1989. Airfreight 2100 handled 100 percent of all pick-up and delivery for FedEx in the country, and was granted the sole authority to use the FedEx trademark.

With services ranging from door-to-door delivery, to seafreight, trucking, and warehousing of virtually any shape, weight, and size of shipment to a growing coverage of destinations, AIR 21 is truly the country's total logistics solutions provider.

Airfreight 2100 has also been awarded Most Outstanding Cargo Forwarder by the Consumers Union of the Philippines two years in a row at the Annual National Consumers Awards - a confirmation of the company's continued dedication to provide its customers, with the kind of service they deserve.

Today, the company continues to provide unmatched, world-class service to its expanding clientele, prioritizing the development of innovative, up-to-date technology to ensure that we provide you with a means to take your business from one point, to anywhere in the archipelago.

Globally competitive efforts

Airfreight 2100 is slowly realizing its ambitious goal of shifting from a forwarding company to being a total logistics solutions provider. Through this move, the company is continuously striving to be globally competitive, as well as aligning this move with the existing ICT efforts and projects in the pipeline.

Mr. Lina added that the company is consistently upgrading its resources and manpower, and developing its manpower's competency and the company's technology. These are all in line with the company's vision to harness the power of ICT to maximize growth and efficiency in its operations and ultimately bridge the gap between the government and the private sector, thus helping the government realize the advantage of ICT. Airfreight 2100 is doing its own share of improving government service.

Ms. Sotto added that most of the projects they are doing now is with the government sector. This is clearly in line with the vision of Airfreight 2100 to link the government to the private sector.

Current Projects

Presently, there are several ongoing projects with various government agencies. With the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), there is the Tax Relief Project, a solution summary of sales receipts and purchases in connection with VAT. Another is the Electronic Registration, which allows the professionals to register with BIR on the web. This is simply an online registration for professionals who do not have the time to process their BIR needs manually.

One of the most important projects of E-Konek is the Portal Network for the export community. This is like a hub (intranet) for the export community where everyone is identified. This ensures the security of the network. In simpler terms, this is a web site that hosts a lot of services. One of which is the vital Automated Export Documentation System (AEDS).

AEDS allows a more efficient and faster export processing. From the tedious half-day processing time, it now only takes 30 minutes to complete everything for one to get their product. This system is wired with the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA). The implementation with PEZA is intended also to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology. On hindsight, this is the company's way of convincing the government that with ICT, so much can be accomplished with so little time.

Another feature is the E-Procurement System, which is also an automation of one of the processes in the export trade.

The intranet is now undergoing expansion and the areas covered are General Santos City, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. Connecting exporters will be done via frame-relay.

E-Konek is also working with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) with a project called the Trade and Facilitation System. The role of E-Konek is to set-up the system, operate and maintain it for SBMA. This is also in line with vision of helping the government improve its services through technology.

Projects in the Pipeline

According to Mr. Reuben S.J. Pangan, VP of Airfreight2100, the company is looking at offering Business Process Outsourcing for both local and foreign companies. Another is the Logistics Outsourcing for Warehousing, Inventory Management, Customer Service and Delivery.

With these projects lined up, Mr. Pangan stressed that technology is really a must if one is to help in nation building. This also translates for the company's continued drive for nationwide connectivity and improved operations.

Internal Technology

True to its ideals, Airfreight 2100 is not only employing the power of technology for its various projects but internally; the company is using state-of-the-art system to maximize efficiency in its operations.

Ms. Sotto said that they are using SMS/GPRS technology for their Forwarding Distribution business. This is for the remote locations where the company operates. Specifically the SMS will enable Airfreight 2100 to determine the status of the delivery. In this way, all goods will be monitored properly, thus eliminating the chances of failed or missing deliveries. On the other hand, the GPRS is an ongoing project with Smart Communications and Globe Telecom.

Major Undertaking

One of the major endeavors of Airfreight 2100 is the creation of an Information Data Center. As the technology requirement of the company grows, there is a need to have a reliable data center. Naturally, the first step is to set-up the IDC. There will also be a need to have a back up or mirror site. The target date for the completion is within the year.

This bold and ambitious plan of Airfreight2100 is a proof on how committed the company is in harnessing the wonders of ICT in fulfilling its vision. Indeed, this is also a concrete step by which the company is slowly metamorphosing from a forwarding company to a Total Logistics Solutions Provider.

The company will also be offering outsourcing through a new company, Dynamic Outsource Solutions Inc. (DOS-I). Mr. Pangan will be the President and COO of DOS-I, concurrent to his position as VP of Airfreight 2100.

Challenges

The numerous current projects, as well as the ones in the pipeline, definitely means daunting challenges ahead. Both Mr. Pangan and Ms. Sotto equivocally said that challenges for the company are not internal. In fact, both are very confident in saying that the internal structure and infrastructure are already aligned with the company's vision.

The challenges then are external in nature. The two crucial aspects are getting the commitment from the government and the telecommunication companies they are working with to move as fast as Airfreight2100 wants them to. Another crucial aspect is how to prioritize the numerous undertakings the company is pursuing.

Ultimate Goal

Other than these, Airfreight2100 is poised for greater heights as a company. More significantly, the company is one of the prime movers in bridging the government closer to the private sector. Other companies, as Mr. Lina quipped, should also embrace this noble vision so that each Filipino company does its share in the ultimate goal of nation building.