Hong Kong is an important market in the company's global operations. Currently FedEx operates 194 flights per month and 44 charter flights in and out of Chek Lap Kok connecting it with some 19 Asian cities overnight and 215 countries around the globe.

But as it turns out that Hong Kong is more than just another hub in the company's vast distribution network. It has become something of a laboratory for testing new technologies designed to track individual packages, lower costs and speed the deliveries to the final destination.

FedEx has a strong history of being very "technology driven". As early as 1978, five years after it began operations, the company established an automated customer service centre in order to handle customer requests more quickly and efficiently. It was the first package handler to integrate meaningful Internet applications (as opposed to simply posting a simple website) into its services. These days, FedEx spends an estimated US$1.3 billion a year enhancing its IT capabilities.

"We integrate everything from the time the courier comes to pick up the package until the delivery," says Linda Brigance, Vice-President and Chief Information Officer for FedEx Asia Pacific. The veteran executive, from the package carrier's home base in Memphis, Tenn., is in charge of the company's information technology interests in the Asia-Pacific Region.

"Every time the package changes hands we scan it so that the customer can track it wherever it is - on the plane, in customs or on the delivery truck. We want positive proof of the location of the package, since it improves the comfort level of the customer," she said. The customer can go anytime to the FedEx website or contact customer service.

FedEx is testing two of its latest technological gizmos designed to speed up deliveries in Hong Kong. The territory is considered an attractive test bed for new technologies, because Asian customers are more receptive to changes and are early adopters compared to some other regions, Ms. Brigance says.

The first is the "Powerpad," a new generation, Windows-driven and Bluetooth empowered handheld scanning device. Utilising new wireless technology, it allows the courier to both input and receive information on the spot without having to go back to the delivery van to hook up to the computer. This means virtually everything about the packages, whether related rates, customs clearance, or weather conditions that may affect deliveries are immediately assessable in real-time.

"This way the courier is always receiving information," said Ms. Brigance. This new technology has obvious advantages for a city of high-rises such as Hong Kong, since the courier can be away from his delivery van for quite a while. The company estimates that the Powerpad can cut ten seconds off of each transaction.

Next up is the Anoto Pen, which is being pilot-tested this summer in Hong Kong. If you have visited the FedEx World Service Centre at the Admiralty Center, you may have been handed what looks like an oversized pen. The writing device incorporates a tiny, infrared camera, an image processor and a Bluetooth wireless transceiver.

The customer uses the new digital pen like any other to fill in the usual shipping information on a specially treated pad. But instead of having an employee transcribe the information again, taking up time and opening the way for errors, the digital pen transforms the handwritten information and transmits it into digital data. This data is then relayed in real time to FedEx processing hubs.

The result is a streamlined information flow, considerably less waste of paper and ultimately greater speed and efficiency for the company and for the customers. "It's different, and we're the first express transportation company to incorporate this into our business," Ms. Brigance said. How has it been received? "Feedback has been good, so far."

What is the next high-tech solution down the road? FedEx has been experimenting on a limited basis with new RF radio frequency chips, which can be placed directly on the package. It allows sensors to hone in on it. However, says Ms. Brigance, "the costs would have to come down substantially before we start putting millions of them on packages."

"We'll continue to maintain our position by continually delivering superior customer experiences through the use of information technology, while at the same time, enhancing our own efficiencies."