Technology Briefs - June 11 - June 18
The Latest Headlines:
- GM Launches Internet Sales Site
- XM Names New Director of Truck Fleets
- Airborne, Motorola Complete Wireless Test
- Pacer's IPO Price Set at $15
- Online Retailing Still Going Strong
- FedEx Offers Online Calculator for Foreign Shipping Fees
- Service Offers Savings, Schneider Says
- XM Names New Director of Truck Fleets
GM Launches Internet Sales Site
General Motors Corp. will set up a Web site, GM Dealer Supply Advantage, to sell office supplies and other equipment to its dealers online, Bloomberg reported Monday.For a fee, dealers will be able to subscribe to the site and order office materials at a discount of up to 15%, which GM hopes will allow them to invest more in their outlets and sell more cars and trucks, the story said.
The more retailers purchase using the online system, Bloomberg said, the more of a discount they will be able to provide.
XM Names New Director of Truck Fleets
XM Satellite Radio Inc. named Gloria Clements director, truck fleets on June 14.Her primary duty will be to generate subscriptions to XM’s nationwide service among owner-operators and fleets, spokeswoman Ildiko Novak said.
Clements will be based in Nashville, Tenn., where she previously worked for 10 years generating new business sales in the western part of the country for fuel card company Comdata Corp.
During her tenure with Comdata, Clements managed relations with J.B. Hunt, FedEx Corp., Swift Transportation Co., United Parcel Service and other clients.
Clements also is president of Super Driver, an audio magazine for truck drivers, according to an XM news release. Eric Kulisch
Airborne, Motorola Complete Wireless Test
Airborne Express and Motorola said Thursday they have completed the test phase of Airborne's wireless handheld data system that allows for faster sharing of information.Based in Seattle, Airborne is the third-largest package delivery company.
More than 3,000 Airborne drivers are already using wireless data terminals and are able to scan tracking information quickly to Airborne's main shipment tracking system. The terminals also enable signature capture for proof of delivery.
his system, which could be used by as many as 20,000 Airborne drivers in the future, replaced a two-way radio communications system drivers used to use for dispatch information and a separate scanning device for tracking. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Pacer's IPO Price Set at $15
Logistics company Pacer International said its initial public offering of 14 million shares of common stock Thursday is priced at $15.The company plans to sell 9.25 million shares and the remaining 4.75 million will be sold by institutional stockholders. Proceeds will be used to repay outstanding borrowings under its bank credit facility, the company said in a release.
Pacer, which is based in Concord, Calif., earned $3.7 million during its fiscal first quarter. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Online Retailing Still Going Strong
Online retailing grew more than brick-and-mortar retailers during the recent hard economic times, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The Journal cited the State of Retailing Online report, published annually by a shopping Web site,
Internet sales are important to the trucking industry because trucks carry goods to and from warehouses and deliver products to the customers.
While many online retailers still faced losses due to operating costs from handling Web-based individual customer sales, online retail sales as a whole rose 21% to $51.3 billion last year, compared to a 2.8% increase in total retail sales, the Journal reported.
Internet sales are expected to jump 41% to $72.1 billion this year, compared with a predicted 4.2% increase in total retail sales to $2.25 trillion, the Journal reported. Transport Topics
FedEx Offers Online Calculator for Foreign Shipping Fees
FedEx Corp. introduced a new service through its Web site that allows customers to calculate the fees involved in shipping items overseas, including taxes, import duties and other charges, Bloomberg reported.The service will let shippers avoid estimating costs and charges associated with shipping freight to 42 countries around the world, Bloomberg said.
The service costs $5 for customers who do not ship through FedEx, but there are discounts available for frequent shippers, the company said.
The service is currently only available through the Memphis, Tenn.-based company's U.S. Web site, www.fedex.com.
FedEx is ranked No. 2 on the 2000-01 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest trucking companies in the United States. Transport Topics
Service Offers Savings, Schneider Says
Schneider Logistics says shippers can save between 5% and 50% per contract by using its new automated consulting service for rating carrier bids.The transportation procurement product, Sumit CVA, is being packaged as a new tool in Schneider's Sumit freight management software suite. So far, $200 million in long-term contracts have been awarded since last fall, Schneider announced last week.
Sumit CVA gives shippers the ability to customize requests for proposals to take advantage of volume discounts from multiple lane bids, Schneider officials said.
The bidding system recommends optimal purchasing arrangements by comparing bid prices with weighted values for other requirements.
The software develops a numerical score for each carrier and ranks them on a spread sheet. Carriers can bid on lanes individually or offer bundled rates.
Schneider developed the Sumit application suite to manage freight for its logistics customers and began offering the software over the Internet last year to shippers that want to manage freight moves themselves.
Net Exchange, a company founded by California Institute of Technology researchers that creates algorithms for complex trading arrangements, helped develop Sumit CVA. Eric Kulisch
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