Dubbed SeeChange Lite, it can be used on Apple, Android and BlackBerry mobile and handheld devices. SeeChange Lite is a free, downloadable application available from the Apple App Store, Google Play and App World. Customers can use the tool to monitor shipments and activity on their purchase orders, access route information and retrieve shipment, equipment and booking summaries. It is currently optimized by iOS5, with a version for iOS6 due soon. APL Logistics also announced the formation of a joint venture with Vascor, a third-party logistics provider specializing in the automotive industry. Based in Delhi, India, the venture will operate under the name APL Logistics Vascor Automotive. Vascor's expertise includes inbound-to-manufacturing, outbound finished vehicle and value-added services throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. APL Logistics has also acquired Carmichael International Service, a customs brokerage and trade-compliance firm based in Los Angeles. It employs approximately 200 individuals in 10 U.S. metropolitan markets. APL Logistics said it has enjoyed a "close working relationship" with Carmichael for nearly two decades. In a related corporate development, APL, the global container-shipping arm of Neptune Orient Lines and sister company to APL Logistics, is introducing a weekly intra-Asia service. The Japan Thailand 2 service will operate via a vessel-sharing agreement with Hanjin Shipping, deploying three vessels of 1,700 twenty-foot equivalent units each. The first northbound sailing is scheduled for Dec. 21 from Laem Chabang, with the first southbound sailing due on Dec. 24 from Osaka.
