Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, has personally led the e-commerce charge at GE,
with great success - - from critical parts for aircraft engines to pipeline visibility for its
coal utility customers. GE has also had an impact on the industries it serves,
stimulating the railroads to move quickly to reap e-commerce benefits.

Web-enabled Rail Supply Chain Management Drives Customer Efficiency
In an increasingly competitive manufacturing marketplace, boosting margins
can come down to one thing: operating leaner. Until recently, however, manufacturers
experienced a major gap: commodities shipped via rail were not visible or integrated
into their management systems. Now, that gap is closing.

GE Capital Rail Services and Atlanta-based IntelliTrans, Inc., recently formed a venture called
IntelliTrans, LLC. IntelliTrans LLC brings tracking and tracing capabilities to rail cars, provides
detailed information about the commodities shipped on those cars.

That's big news for manufacturers. With easy Web access to better information about rail
shipments, companies can forecast their supply needs better, and plan production accordingly.
For example, before having access to this information, a coal-burning utility formerly inventioned
massive quantities of various grades of coal, called a "buffer inventory", to ensure the right mix of
sulfur dioxide levels. Now coal consumers can access information about the sulfur dioxide
content of car loads further back into the supply chain to manage that inventory
rather than build expensive buffers.

Business Week, June 26, 2000