Featured Shipments on Shiply

As you will no doubt have noticed, there are now up to 3 shipments at the top of the shipment search results pages which are orange and very prominent!

These are the new featured shipments. Featured shipments are a great way for users to increase the exposure of their shipment listings on Shiply, attract more bids and ultimately a lower price.

Featured shipments are displayed randomly to ensure fairness and are shown on relevant searches only. These include all locations, category searches, along a route and local.

With hundreds of new shipments being uploaded to Shiply everyday and several thousand live, it is increasingly important to make sure your shipment gets the attention is deserves.

As a launch special, we have priced these featured listings at just £4.99 across all categories. However, this low price is limited, so do take advantage while you can!

Boris Johnson's Lorry Crash Near-Miss - video

The Mayor Of London, Boris Johnson had what he describes as a near-miss with a lorry whilst scoping out some new bicycle routes in London.

As the lorry overtook Boris, the back door pinged open and hooked the windscreen of a parked car, dragging it some distance before coming to an abrupt stop.

Here is the CCTV footage:

Red van shortage - white van man rules!

Now, we've all heard of the issues that car and van manufacturers are facing. LDV Vans for example are really struggling. However, you would think that when a successful courier firm comes knocking on any manufacturer's door the colour of the requested vehicle wouldn't be an issue!

However, that is exactly the problem currently faced by Scotland's Eagle Couriers. They have been told that there is a Europe-wide shortage of red vans.

Jerry Stewart, director, said: “It’s incredible. Here we are, a Scottish success story, business improving thanks to our growing reputation for quick delivery across the UK and we’re stumped for red vans.

“If we can’t source red vans soon – or if we don’t hear of red vans being available – then we may have to look at changing the fleet over to another colour.

“Apparently there’s something like 23,000 white vans lying unsold in Europe, so that may be the way forward, but it would be a shame to lose our distinctive livery as it’s built up a lot of goodwill over the 30 years we've been in business.

What is interesting however, is the research carried out by Daimler Benz a few years ago, which found that white was the safest colour for a vehicle in most lighting conditions.

Another study, carried out in 1995 in Europe found that white fire engines tended to be in less accidents than red ones. Similar results were recorded in the USA.

So, despite the age-old stigma attached to the "white van man" and his own rules of the road, perhaps they are safer in white. And do couriers really even have a choice!?

Lorry Driver Racing Game

It's Friday, and instead of our weekly video pick, we've gone with something a bit more interactive!

Have fun, and comment below to tell everyone how well you got on! We've not got above 20 here in the office. So, I'm sure you all can do better!

(Use the left and right arrow keys to steer your lorry.)

Rate, Comment and More! | Personalize This Game | Visit The Sims Carnival

HGV's on the road fall 12%

Department for Transport official figures have been released showing that there has been a drop of some 12% of HGV's on the road since quarter 1 2008.

The RHA has been speaking with BBC about the severity of the drop off and it's knock on effects on the industry as a whole.

The number of lorry drivers looking for work has increased five-fold in the last year and the RHA says that the industry is losing more jobs quicker than any other sector.

As to be expected in a recession, the fall-off is closely related to a fall in consumers demand, especially in car manufacturing and general goods like furniture.

Simply, fewer goods are being bought and so less are being imported, reducing the need for logistics.

This time last year, there were some 3,000 lorry drivers claiming unemployment benefits. Today, that number has jumped to over 15,000.

The RHA told the BBC that unlike other industries where diversification is often the key to survival in a downturn. Haulage and logistics suffer from a lack of options in this respect and so feel the pinch that much harder.

Lorry accidents caused by foreign drivers increase by 10%

There has been a lot of talk recently about the poor safety standards of foreign HGV drivers on Britain's roads. Most notably the much-publicised case of the foreign driver using a laptop for directions whilst driving.

According to the Department for Transport:

Up to 30 people a year die in collisions with left-hand drive trucks from abroad, often as a result of 'sideswiping' where the vehicles pull out to overtake unaware of a car on their blind side.

10% of such accidents result in the smaller car being written off, while the average damage bill is £1,872.

Department for Transport have attempted to solve the problem by distributing some 200,000 magnifying mirrors to foreign lorry drivers over the past year.

However, according to Accident Exchange, the number of overseas trucks at fault in collisions has gone up 10 per cent in the 12 months to the end of February.

Lorries registered abroad are involved in about 9,000 accidents each year.

Shockingly, almost 1/2 of the accidents on the M25 are caused by foreign drivers, representing some 25% of all accidents across the UK.

What makes matters worse, is that many of these drivers leave the scene of the accident without stopping or leave false details.

The biggest culprits are truckers from Poland, according to Department of Transport statistics last updated at the end of 2007, followed by those from the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Hungary.

Michael Killoury, managing director of Accident Exchange, said: "Non-existing policies, difficulty contacting foreign insurance companies, drivers pulling off without leaving details are all reasons cited for why motorists are likely to be unsuccessful in recovering damages from foreign-registered HGVs."

Hector Brocklebank - flat tyres!

Given that Eddie Stobart recorded record profits this week, which we posted up on Tuesday. We thought it only right that our Friday video should include them.

It's a big long for a prank phone call, but had us laughing anyway! Enjoy and have a cracking weekend.

Telegraph Disrupters!

Today, in the Daily Telegraph Shiply were featured as "The Disrupters" in the business section. The feature is well known in the business world as showcasing SME's demonstrating rapid growth and those shaking up industries.

The piece, written by Andrew Cave was very complimentary and went deep into the core of our business to explain the purposes behind what we are doing here at Shiply.

You can read the Telegraph article in full here.

Eddie Stobart shows the way!

Despite the economic downtime and the road haulage industry in turmoil, Eddie Stobart have increased their year-end revenue nearly 400%. Their big secret - avoiding empty running.

Pre-tax profits have jumped to £23.9m from £3.5m.

Here's what the chief exec Andrew Tinkler had to say:

“Our innovative cost model is really the key to our continued success. In simple terms, the customer only pays for what he needs. If he wants 50 trucks one day then 100 the next we can do this because of our size and national reach. We also pool all our customers together and view them as one large customer.

“This means our own-branded Eddie Stobart trucks can drive into a customer to drop off and then go to another customer nearby to load up. The key difference is that our trucks are planned to avoid empty running.

“Minimising empty running and maintaining high fleet utilisation enables us to share savings with customers. This model is very different to most hauliers', who operate more traditional open book arrangements.

“Stobart is able to provide a flexible service because of its advanced IT planning systems and its 'Tramper' drivers, who sleep in their cabs; allowing them to travel the UK freely as they follow the collection and delivery details that are uploaded electronically direct to their in-cab displays.”

Now, of course we all know that Eddie Stobart is a giant, however, the same business principles can be applied no matter what your size.

What Eddie Stobart have demonstrated (on a large scale) is what can be achieved by keeping your fleet running as close to full as possible at all times.

We hope this provides some inspiration and demonstrates what is possible. We hope Shiply is one part of the jigsaw which will enable you reach full business potential.

Road opens up!

Firstly, apologies for missing our usual video post on Friday. We've gotten emails from avid followers who are far from happy at missing our weekly pick.

However, better late than ever. This one we couldn't quite believe, it was in the major papers, but what makes it even more shocking for us is that it is about a 10 second walk from our Manchester office! Glad I am no longer driving over this road!



What makes us laugh most is the guy who thinks it's a good idea to wander up and take a look in just after it collapses.

Good to know our council tax is being used well though, eh?! Shocking.

Shiply shortlisted for Observer Ethical Awards 2009

Shiply has been shortlisted for the 2009 Observer Ethical Awards.

The Observer Ethical Awards are instrumental in bringing green issues to the forefront of consumer minds and making businesses reassess their attitudes towards sustainability. The awards recognise those who pioneer a sustainable future and identify products, ideas and companies that make ethical living possible.

We are up for the Jupiter Big Idea award along with Nature Paint and RSA. Judging was conducted by a celebrity panel including: Jo Wood, Ben Okri, Rick Edwards and Deborah Meaden.

We look forward to the awards ceremony in early June.

We want your feedback!

As you may have seen (if and when you are logged in), we now have a link to leave feedback. It's located on the left of the screen.

We work hard to ensure that we are performing as best as we can and so need your feedback to let us know if you think we are on the right tracks or to suggest improvements.

We love constructive criticism, so please do use the feedback tab to let us know what you think!

Shiply Mobile - Live

http://m.shiply.com

We are very pleased to announce that after countless hours of development, Shiply Mobile is now officially live. It is completely FREE OF CHARGE to all of our members.

Shiply mobile can be viewed from any mobile device, such as the iPhone, blackberry, PDA's, smartphone, or even that banged up old Nokia sitting in your drawer at home. So, now you can access Shiply in a friendly, quick format wherever you are.

Shiply mobile has been designed for both transport providers and users. Here are the main features:

Transport Providers

• Keep track of your current bids
• Keep on top of your messages requiring a reply
• See if you have new bids accepted whilst out on the road!
• Carry out searches (all location, route and local)
• Place new bids
  

Users

• View your active shipments and keep on top of new bids
• Answer any messages transport providers may have for you - whilst you're out and about
• Accept bids (don't miss out on that great price just because you can't get to a computer)
  

We are really proud of Shiply Mobile and hope that it will make using Shiply on the go, that much easier and quicker.

The platform is under beta status, whilst we have carried out loads of testing, we do expect there to be the odd little bug here and there. So, if you do find any, please let us know! Also, please do tell us what other functionality you would like to see.

We hope you enjoy using Shiply Mobile as much as we have enjoyed making it. Expect more exciting developments soon!

The mobile site can be accessed via: http://m.shiply.com.