Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MARCH 2014 59 INNOVATORS AVERITT EXPRESS Cookeville, Tenn. project, listening to customer feedback and applying it to a website that works no matter what you're using to access it," Pierce says. The decision to revamp the site was driven by Averitt's commitment to being an information technology leader in the transportation industry, Pierce says. "We're constantly looking for ways to make our website faster and easier to use," he says. "Plus, we continue to see more customers accessing our site using smartphones and tablets. So instead of just creating a single app with access to three or four tools, we decided on a more forward-thinking vision. Mobile fl ex- ibility on this scale is unprecedented in the industry." Developers spent months completely rebuilding the site using an approach known as responsive Web design, which is aimed at crafting websites that provide an optimal viewing experience – easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning and scrolling – across a wide range of devices, from mobile phones to desktop computer monitors. "The entire process took about a year and a half," Pierce says. "About half of that was research and planning, while the other half was design, testing and imple- mentation." The redesign's focus was to provide a better user experience by offering faster speeds, simplifi ed navigation, expanded A s a company that's been in business 40 years and has grown every step of the way, Averitt Express has no thoughts about resting on its laurels. The Cookev- ille, Tenn.-based company (CCJ Top 250, No. 26) continues to seek ways to push ahead and set itself apart from the pack. Averitt operates at 143 locations and serves thousands of points throughout the Southern United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and has an international reach to more than 100 countries. The company is a founding U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency SmartWay partner and a member of The Reliance Network, a team of carriers that provides seamless less-than-truckload services throughout North America. Besides LTL, Averitt's service offerings also include cross border/domestic off- shore, dedicated, expedited, intermodal, international ocean/air, local customization, transportation management, truckload (dry van, fl atbed, brokerage), warehousing and value-added benefi ts such as a centralized call center, performance metrics and an ongoing focus on "green" sustainability efforts. Averitt's technology capabilities include a full suite of Web-based shipping tools, elec- tronic data interchange and transportation and operations management systems. But the company always continues to search for ways to hasten the freight delivery process, from the initial shipper's request to fi nal invoice. "The input we get from our customers is invaluable as we continue to fi nd ways to improve our service and provide them with value-added benefi ts," says Phil Pierce, executive vice president of sales. Redesigned website To that end, Averitt recently launched its redesigned AverittExpress.com, which the company describes as the industry's fi rst 100 percent mobile-enabled website. Every shipping tool available on the site – literally dozens – was reformatted to be mobile-friendly across all types of devices, including smartphones and tablets. Averitt says this aspect makes the new site unique among transportation providers in its class. "Redesign really doesn't accurately describe the process our team has spent on this The less-than-truckload company revamps its website and invoicing and recruiting technologies to appeal to a mobile, younger base. Averitt Express makes its technology more personal BY DEAN SMALLWOOD