SITC Logistics plans to invest more than CNY100 million (US$13 million) over the next two years to acquire the latest technology and expand its distribution network to cover 75 per cent of China, including all major and secondary cities.

The formation of SITC Logistics was completed in December 2006 following the merger of the logistics unit of Qingdao-based SITC Maritime with Beijing-based New Times International Transport Service (NTS), China's largest privately-owned forwarder of outbound airfreight.

SITC Logistics said it is now taking advantage of all the synergies created by the tie-up to capture a major slice of this rapidly growing market and become China's leading supply chain management and integrated logistics service provider.

To realise this goal the company last year purchased Oracle's Transportation Management System (TMS), which is a web-based application that allows authorised internal and external users to execute booking/tendering and en route planning, plus receive status updates. TMS also supports multiple currencies, languages and measurement units and can be used for inbound and outbound shipments.

"We are now working with Oracle's consultant and system developer in Australia and India to carry out the second phase integration of the TMS suited for the Chinese market," said Yang Shaopeng, chairman and CEO of SITC Logistics.

Mr Yang said in a company statement that when the first stage of the system is completed in April, SITC Logistics would become the first logistics company to utilise this technology in its daily enterprise resource planning (ERP) management in Asia.

SITC Logistics also plans to purchase a customer relationship management (CRM) system and order management system (OMS) from Oracle and SAP software suppliers over the next two years to provide customers with logistics information management.

"We plan to complete the ERP system and other core technology developments within three years," Mr Yang said.

SITC Logistics anticipates net profit to increase by more than 30 per cent in 2007. It forecasts that its sea freight business will rise by about 16 per cent, while its airfreight business, particularly exports, will increase more than three-fold this year.

The main source of the growth is expected to be from the development of the supply chain management business, which it forecasts will help increase the group's business by 35 per cent; other income will be obtained from the acquisition of logistics companies in China.