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FedEx Archives: 1999 Press Releases

( BW)(CA-VIKING-FREIGHT)(FDX) Viking Freight's New Web Site Enhancements Make It Easier To Manage Shipping Operations

    Business Editors

    SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 1999--Viking Freight, Inc., the leading LTL (less-than-truckload) carrier providing western regional transportation service and a subsidiary of FDX Corp. (NYSE:FDX), today announced it has added Advanced Tracing and electronic Management Reports to its web site to enable shippers to more easily manage their operations.
    Viking's web site can be found at www.vikingfreight.com.
    Viking's new Advanced Tracing feature gives shippers the option to trace their shipments using either their own Purchase Order, Bill of Lading, or Shipper numbers. The ease and flexibility of using their own reference numbers not only saves shippers time, but also allows their customers to trace the same shipments. This capability is especially critical for retailers who are striving to keep inventories low and need to know exactly when product will arrive at distribution centers and stores.
    Another key enhancement to Viking's web site is timely access to an electronic version of Management Reports, compilations of transit activities and performance data typically used by customers who are frequent shippers with multiple sites. Being able to download this valuable information directly from the web -- in a weekly, biweekly, or monthly report -- gives shippers an advantage in making fast yet strategic shipping and logistics decisions. The reports on the web site, which are password protected, are text files so users can edit them as needed for their own internal reports.
    The Management Reports provided by Viking are a tool utilized by nearly everyone in a shipper's company who is dealing with the supply chain, including traffic and warehouse managers, billing clerks, sales managers, logistics directors, transportation executives, and senior financial management. The reports provide them with detailed data on inbound and outbound shipments, on-time performance, costs, and the number of pieces and pounds per shipment, all by individual site and for their entire organization. This information enables shippers to track market trends and patterns and to make accurate budget projections. Perhaps most importantly, shippers may also use the report data to simplify the difficult task of determining the total delivered price for their products.
    "Our goal with these web site enhancements is to arm shippers with the information they need to make better business decisions," said Keith E. Lovetro, Viking's vice president of marketing. "We have even more improvements for the web site under development because easy access to information is just as important to shippers today as our 99 percent on-time delivery performance."
    Along with the new shipping information features, Viking unveiled a new graphic look for its web site. The new design mirrors that of parent company FDX Corp. and its sister subsidiaries, Federal Express Corp., RPS, Inc., Roberts Express, Inc., and FDX Global Logistics, Inc. These complementary sites provide the many shippers who utilize more than one member of the FDX portfolio with a consistent look and feel.
    As part of FDX Corporation and its powerful family of companies, Viking Freight, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, California, specializes in award-winning next-day and second-day regional freight service. Viking operates in nine western states and also provides intermodal service to Alaska and Hawaii. Synonymous with an EZTDBW(R) (Easy-To-Do-Business-With) operating philosophy, Viking has a tradition of posting an on-time service record that is consistently among the best in the industry. In addition to a full range of electronic information services, Viking also offers its customers value-added services, such as assembly and distribution. More information about Viking can be found at the company's web site at www.vikingfreight.com.
    FDX Corp., a $16 billion holding company, provides comprehensive transportation, logistics and supply chain management solutions. FDX Corp. principal operating subsidiaries are Federal Express Corp., the world's largest express transportation company; RPS, Inc., a business-to-business ground small package carrier; Viking Freight, Inc., a less-than-truckload carrier operating principally in the western U.S.; Roberts Express, Inc., a critical-shipment carrier; and FDX Global Logistics, Inc., a contract logistics provider.

    Note to Editors: EZTDBW(R) is a registered trademark of Viking Freight, Inc.
    Note to editors: Photos available upon request

     --30--azs/sf*

     CONTACT: Viking Freight, Inc.
              Kathy Keller, 408/323-4238
              Keller-Kathy@vikingfreight.com
              or
              Just Marketing
              Jean E. McClymonds, 831/438-4800 ext. 2
              justmktng@aol.com

     KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
     INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET
TRANSPORTATION