In a move designed to bring together disparate less-than-truckload (LTL) freight offerings that interline with everything from ocean to air express modes, Con-way Freight is creating a Global LTL division – a move that should help attract more business from shippers operating far-flung supply chains.
“We’ve already been providing a lot of LTL to global shippers, but it’s an effort that’s been screaming for some organization for some time,” Bill Wynne, Con-way Freight’s vp-marketing, told FleetOwner.
The carrier already offers “LCL” or “less than container load” service for ocean container shipments coming from Asia to the U.S. in partnership with APL Logistics as well as expedited LTL in partnership with TNT for air freight service to the U.S. from Europe, Wynne noted. Now the trick is to bundle Con-way Freight’s part of those operations into one division to move shippers a step closer to “one-stop shopping” for global freight service.
“The need for shippers to connect LTL service to a worldwide customer and supplier base has increased significantly over the past few years,” added John Labrie, Con-way Freight’s president. "Global LTL brings all of our worldwide solutions under one umbrella, making it more convenient than ever for shippers to quickly and intuitively locate the LTL service that best meets their needs.”
“In a lot of ways, this is the result of good, old-fashioned product and market development being applied to the fast moving supply chains of today,” Wynne said. The focus of Global LTL, he said, is to split the difference between fast, time-definite, but hugely expensive air express service and cheap yet slow-moving ocean freight. For example, the OceanGuaranteed service provided by Con-way Freight and APL Logistics from 11 Asian ports to the U.S., Canada and Mexico costs 60% less vs. airfreight with a 15- to 19-day delivery window and simplified port-to-door pricing on a single invoice.
The same strategy is at work in Con-way Freight's alliance with TNT, said Wynne. The offering here consists of transit times of 3 to 6 days from continental Europe to the U.S.; door-to-door service; simplified pricing that includes customs services; and full visibility online for tracking and tracing of shipments.
“Customers receive the same [service] they experience when shipping within the U.S. – namely exception-free delivery, on-time service performance and faster transit times,” noted Labrie. “Additionally, with state-of-the-art online tools and the convenience of a one-stop solution, customers gain visibility and control from country to country and shipment to shipment. And we will continue to explore opportunities to establish or expand our presence to bring customers the end-to-end solutions their shipping requirements dictate.”
