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Fedex Auto Transport Selects Blackline GPS to Deliver Unique Fleet Tracking Solution Company-Wide
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA –
May 18, 2010 - Blackline GPS Corporation, a leading innovator of
solutions for tracking, security products, and social media
applications is pleased to announce that, following the
successful conclusion of an extensive pilot program, FedEx Auto
Transport has selected Blackline's signature GPS service to
deliver a freight tracking and logistics solution. The system
offered combines the latest in GPS technology, virtual mapping
applications and unique customer-dictated shipping updates - all
globally accessible from a smart phone or computer.
Providing a strong competitive advantage operationally for FedEx
Auto Transport, while offering a first of its kind interactive
customer experience, Blackline's GPS products and software offer
the ability to track a shipment using Blackline's BlipPlus
iPhone and BlackBerry applications, in real-time and at the
touch of a button. Empowering customers to know up to the minute
where their shipment is while in transit is unique to the fleet
services market and will increase customer satisfaction while
delivering security and peace of mind to both FedEx Auto
Transport and their valued customers.
The benefits of
this arrangement for FedEx Auto Transport will be a decrease in
operation costs while providing the latest available anti-theft
fleet protection.
The Wall Street Journal reports truckloads containing $487 million of goods were stolen in the U.S. in 2009, a 67% increase over the $290 million worth of products swiped a year earlier. (February 1, 2010, The Wall Street Journal, Robberies Are "Wreaking Havoc" on U.S. Highways, Endangering Consumers)
Blackline CEO Clark Swanson said,
"Blackline's innovative social networking application BlipPlus
enables customers to receive up to the minute location updates
of their precious cargo while monitoring the progress of a
shipment. A customer also has the ability to use other rich
features of our platform, such as setting proximity alerts based
on the location of the shipment relative to where the customer
happens to be located."
He continues, "Demand for
connectivity continues to grow exponentially and we have
positioned ourselves to take advantage of this emerging market.
Our unique offering opens the door for high level strategic
partnerships like that of Blackline and FedEx and keeps them,
and us, a step ahead of our competition."
Neil Pitt,
Managing Director of FedEx Auto Transport said, "The Blackline
solution extends untapped benefit to our customer base and field
operations simultaneously. I can now manage a fleet of vehicles
from any remote location using my iPhone." He continued, "I can
easily segment my BlipPlus experience to include family members
and friends, allowing me to stay in touch with the best of both
worlds so I'm never out of touch with either".
The
BlipPlus application has allowed social media enthusiasts to
stay in touch through connected devices, whether they are using
a GPS enabled smartphone, or one of Blackline's many products.
Unlike traditional systems which allow customers to see when a
shipment has reached a destination or waypoint, the Blackline
service will "share" with a customer the access to a designated
transport vehicle's GPS tracking system for a pre-determined
period of time.
Clark Swanson stated, "Considering the
value of social network applications such as Foursquare,
Multiplied Media's Poynt, and others, we are well positioned to
capitalize on a different target segment of business
applications which are underscored by the success of nearly
100,000 downloads of our BlipPlus application". Customers who
download the BlipPlus application, available to them in the
iPhone App Store, or Blackberry's App World, can continue to use
the software program for personal use even after their shipment
arrives.
Contact:
Clark Swanson, President & CEO
Blackline GPS
Corp
Phone: 403 441-0327 ext. 307
