The vision of Airfreight Limited (AFL) was to be an acknowledged leader in providing world class "Integrated Logistics Solutions" (ILS). The company was a family business involving clearing and forwarding, dating from 1867. AFL came formally into existence in 1945. In 1979, a tie-up with DHL Worldwide Express permitted AFL to introduce in India the concept of "Express Delivery", giving birth to the term "courier". In 1988, AFL began a new untried service: express distribution, which involved providing distribution service with time guarantee, thus adding more value to its already existing niche services. With its wealth of experience and expertise, AFL decided to enter new growth phase, towards becoming the "integrated logistics solutions" provider to corporate India by the year 2000. In this context, the chairman and managing director of AFL was concerned with building the appropriate information technology infrastructure and physical infrastructure. The question was `How will we do it?'