Amtrak Express Parcels, the British parcels company, has extended its delivery network worldwidefollowing a strategic alliance with SkyNet Worldwide Express. Its customers can now select a wide
range of international services to directly access SkyNet’s network allowing next day delivery todestinations around the globe.Amtrak now delivers international overnight consignments at 4.30am every morning to SkyNet’sHeathrow office ready to catch the first commercial flights out of the UK, it said in a statement.SkyNet, which operates from Heathrow 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then delivers Amtrak’sconsignments the same day via its 200 offices around the world.
The international services have been underpinned by a technical breakthrough usingNetDespatch web services. This allows international shipments to be booked at the same time asdomestic whilst logged into Amtrak’s Online Despatch system. The service provides all the necessarypaperwork online, such as pro forma or commercial invoices and manifests, and prints labels whenrequired. The result is a single point system that prepares all shipments for collection.
Details of Amtrak’s international consignments are uploaded electronically to SkyNet’smanagement system, with live tracking of shipments through a state-of-the-art SkyNet communicationsnetwork called SkyWare.
“SkyNet has allowed us to offer our customers a fast, reliable next day service across theglobe. Because of the complexities of international delivery paperwork, existing domestic shippingsystems are unsuitable. With Amtrak’s industry-first booking system, customers are free to simplybook and track domestic or international consignments by just clicking the appropriate buttons onour website,” said Amtrak CEO Jonathan Smith. “The Online Booking System makes it really easy andeliminates laborious paperwork”.
