Con-way Multimodal Unveils New Twitter Feed to Help Match Carriers with Available Freight
PORTLAND, Ore., and ANN ARBOR, Mich. — June 8, 2010 — Con-way Multimodal, a division of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), today announced the launch of Con-way TweetLoad™ — an innovative, patent-pending tool that helps carriers find freight loads leveraging Twitter, the popular and convenient social media platform. Starting today, carriers can now easily access available loads from Con-way Multimodal by following TweetLoad on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ConwayTweetLoad. Carriers following @ConwayTweetLoad can quickly see the latest available shipments, along with links to further information on the Con-way Multimodal link board where the carriers can place bids on available loads daily.
“With this novel use of Twitter, Con-way Multimodal is leading the industry in maximizing the best features of new technology to improve their processes,” said Bill Graves, president, American Trucking Associations (ATA). “This is a great example of how innovative transportation companies can make it easier for carriers to do business with them, which will be a benefit to our industry overall.”
Freight carriers registered with Con-way Multimodal have always been able to bid on available loads by signing in to the company’s web-based load board, LINK. Now, by following the company on Twitter, carriers will have more convenient access to load information that is updated every 15 minutes. Users — whether registered with Con-way Multimodal or not — are able to sign in to Twitter and follow the load posts, or “tweets,” for any period of time without repeatedly logging in on a separate load board. To accept loads, a carrier must be a registered partner of Con-way Multimodal’s third-party capacity network.
“We’re always looking for ways to make Con-way Multimodal easier for carriers to work with and through Twitter and Con-way TweetLoad, we have found an innovative channel to continue in that direction,” said Tyler Ellison, president, Con-way Multimodal. “Twitter is where the carriers are, and Con-way TweetLoad enables us to reach them by pushing shipment information directly and automatically to any carrier who wants it, even on mobile devices.”
To create the TweetLoad functionality, Con-way Multimodal IT professionals designed a patent-pending application that extracts key information on available loads from the company’s load board, LINK, and uses it to populate individual load tweets viewable by TweetLoad followers. The application checks and transmits any new loads every 15 minutes to keep information up to date for carriers following it.
Con-way Multimodal arranges third-party carrier services for over-the-road, intermodal, flatbed, heavy haul and specialized transportation for freight shipments.
View a YouTube demonstration of TweetLoad at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zL7h7kTU1M.
About Con-way Multimodal
Con-way Multimodal, a division of Menlo Worldwide Logistics, provides expanded freight brokerage capabilities and services in the third-party logistics and multimodal freight transportation business, focusing on flexible, efficient capacity solutions for the marketplace. Con-way Multimodal complements Menlo’s best in class 3PL and 4PL services for large customers by offering leverage and personal attention to small- and medium-sized buyers of logistics. Through its network of more than 15,000 carriers, Con-way Multimodal arranges resources to meet the capacity needs of its shippers using over-the-road, intermodal, dry van, flatbed, heavy haul and specialized transportation solutions. The Portland, Ore.-based company is an operating unit of Menlo Worldwide Logistics, LLC, a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $4.3 billion freight transportation and logistics company. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.con-way.com.
Media contacts:
KG Partners
Amber Caouette
(207) 773-0700
acaouette@kgmoment.com
Con-way Inc.
Gary Frantz
(650) 378-5335
frantz.gary@con-way.com
“With this novel use of Twitter, Con-way Multimodal is leading the industry in maximizing the best features of new technology to improve their processes,” said Bill Graves, president, American Trucking Associations (ATA). “This is a great example of how innovative transportation companies can make it easier for carriers to do business with them, which will be a benefit to our industry overall.”
Freight carriers registered with Con-way Multimodal have always been able to bid on available loads by signing in to the company’s web-based load board, LINK. Now, by following the company on Twitter, carriers will have more convenient access to load information that is updated every 15 minutes. Users — whether registered with Con-way Multimodal or not — are able to sign in to Twitter and follow the load posts, or “tweets,” for any period of time without repeatedly logging in on a separate load board. To accept loads, a carrier must be a registered partner of Con-way Multimodal’s third-party capacity network.
“We’re always looking for ways to make Con-way Multimodal easier for carriers to work with and through Twitter and Con-way TweetLoad, we have found an innovative channel to continue in that direction,” said Tyler Ellison, president, Con-way Multimodal. “Twitter is where the carriers are, and Con-way TweetLoad enables us to reach them by pushing shipment information directly and automatically to any carrier who wants it, even on mobile devices.”
To create the TweetLoad functionality, Con-way Multimodal IT professionals designed a patent-pending application that extracts key information on available loads from the company’s load board, LINK, and uses it to populate individual load tweets viewable by TweetLoad followers. The application checks and transmits any new loads every 15 minutes to keep information up to date for carriers following it.
Con-way Multimodal arranges third-party carrier services for over-the-road, intermodal, flatbed, heavy haul and specialized transportation for freight shipments.
View a YouTube demonstration of TweetLoad at www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zL7h7kTU1M.
About Con-way Multimodal
Con-way Multimodal, a division of Menlo Worldwide Logistics, provides expanded freight brokerage capabilities and services in the third-party logistics and multimodal freight transportation business, focusing on flexible, efficient capacity solutions for the marketplace. Con-way Multimodal complements Menlo’s best in class 3PL and 4PL services for large customers by offering leverage and personal attention to small- and medium-sized buyers of logistics. Through its network of more than 15,000 carriers, Con-way Multimodal arranges resources to meet the capacity needs of its shippers using over-the-road, intermodal, dry van, flatbed, heavy haul and specialized transportation solutions. The Portland, Ore.-based company is an operating unit of Menlo Worldwide Logistics, LLC, a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $4.3 billion freight transportation and logistics company. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.con-way.com.
Media contacts:
KG Partners
Amber Caouette
(207) 773-0700
acaouette@kgmoment.com
Con-way Inc.
Gary Frantz
(650) 378-5335
frantz.gary@con-way.com