Con-Way NOW Expands Expedite Options by Adding Air Service
3 April 2000
Con-Way NOW Expands Expedite Options by Adding Air Service
ANN ARBOR, Mich.--April 3, 2000--Con-Way NOW, an expedite carrier specializing in emergency ground shipment services, has announced the addition of air service as a new option for moving urgent shipments. The service was initiated and tested in March with outstanding results and high customer satisfaction levels according to company officials."Customer response has been very positive," said J. Edwin Conaway, vice president, general manager of Con-Way NOW, an operating company of Con-Way Transportation Services (CON-WAY). "In fact, the air service option was added in direct response to shipper requests. About ten percent of the calls we receive seek a solution to get a shipment farther and faster than can be done on the ground. Now we have the answer, and the frequency of use is literally `taking off.' To date, on time performance has been 100 percent.
"The first call we received proved the value of giving customers both air and ground service options. The customer was frantic. He had a plant in Illinois that was going to shut down if a 7,000-pound order was not on site within eight hours. The move from Texas to Illinois was just too far for our expedited truck service within that timeframe. We asked the shipper how much of the order had to be in Illinois to avoid the shutdown and he said that only a portion of the shipment was needed immediately. We sent that smaller portion of the shipment by air at a fraction of the cost of airfreighting the entire shipment. The rest was sent via Con-Way NOW truck. This merging of the two modes of expedited service not only kept the plant running, but also saved the customer money. A single call to Con-Way NOW found the perfect solution," Conaway added.
Conaway also announced the addition of Myles Nichols to the Con-Way NOW staff as the manager in charge of all air operations. Nichols has more than 12 years of experience in airfreight sales and operations. "Myles brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of air- freight service to his position and has moved quickly to prove the value of this new service option to our customers," said Conaway.
Nichols and the air operations are based at the Con-Way NOW control center in Ann Arbor, MI. Air service options include full airplane charters, counter-to-counter and next-flight- out service. According to Nichols, the company has had numerous cases where they've been able to link ground and air services to make airplane schedules on short notice and deliveries beyond normal airport delivery areas.
The Con-Way NOW air option is available in 24 major cities throughout the United States, providing coverage to most major markets. Customers are notified within 30 minutes of all shipment pickups and deliveries. Shipments are also traced throughout the entire process. A single call to the Con-Way NOW operations center at (800) 950-7670 provides access to all the Con-Way NOW service options.
Con-Way NOW is an operating component company of Con-Way Transportation Services, a $1.9 billion transportation company that provides time-definite and day-definite freight delivery and logistics services for commercial and industrial businesses. Within the Con-Way family are regional less-than-truckload carriers Con-Way Central Express, Con-Way Southern Express and Con-Way Western Express; Con-Way Truckload Services, providing multi-modal, full truckload shipping; Con-Way NOW, an expedited carrier specializing in emergency shipment service; and Con-Way Integrated Services, a contract supply chain execution service provider.
CON-WAY is a subsidiary of Palo Alto, California-based CNF, a $5.6 billion management company of global supply chain services with businesses in regional trucking, air freight, ocean freight, customs brokerage, global logistics management and trailer manufacturing.
Further information about Con-Way and additional press releases are available via the Internet at www.con-way.com