Author: admin

Improved Messaging Functionality

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As no doubt many of you will have seen, we have made some improvements to the “my messages” section of your “My Shiply” section for transport providers.

You will notice that not only is it all much faster generally but also we have tidied up the display to limit just 20 messages at a time and sort by columns. You will also now get an alert of received new messages when you login or indeed no matter what page of the Shiply site you are on (top right of pages):
We hope these new features and improved performance will really help you with managing your Shiply account day to day. Please feel free to drop us any feedback, we really appreciate it.

The Great Lego Haul

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Lorry drivers carrying known valuable goods in their trucks are most likely to be very alert to the risk that carrying such valuables brings.
However, one unlucky trucker and his HGV fell not victim to robbers who were after high-end consumer electronics or a truckload full of antiques. The unlikely stolen goods in a robbery in Northamptonshire last week were …
Lego bricks!
As a child most of us probably wondered what we would do with a truckload full of Lego. Maybe something like this?

Don’t trust the Sat-Nav!

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Sat-Navs can provide a welcome help for any lorry driver navigating through unknown territory. However, it pays not to trust the friendly Sat-Nav voice too much as the following pictures show:

Two HGV drivers followed the recommendations of their navigation system and consequently found themselves stuck in narrow roads, unable to maneuver. These two incidents happened in Cumbria and Falmouth, funnily enough on the same day. It even is the second incident at the same place in Cumbria within two weeks.

Wedding Surprise for HGV Driver

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When newly-wed HGV driver Andy Seller was waiting for his bride Jenny to arrive at their wedding reception in York, he probably was expecting a white stretch limousine or horse-drawn carriage.
Instead, much to the surprise of Andy and passers-by, Jenny arrived in a Scania Lorry – decorated with Siberian tigers!

Still, quite a fitting entrance: Andy proposed to Jenny inside his own lorry last year and Jenny currently aims at becoming a lorry driver herself.

Shiply founder named BT Essence of the Entrepreneur by Peter Jones

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Shiply founder, Robert Matthams (pictured below), was last night named as Most Outstanding Entrepreneur and overall BT Essence of The Entrepreneur 2009. Amongst hundreds of entries and 20 finalists, Shiply were awarded a £10,000 cash prize and photo shoot from world renowned photographer Rankin:
The award itself was presented by Peter Jones from Dragon’s Den at the oxo gallery on London’s South Bank. He said: “I wish I had known about Shiply before it was so successful, as I would certainly have been looking to invest!”.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQIq8FLYm74]
The Rankin exhibition featuring all 20 of the competitions finalists will run for a period of one month at the oxo gallery until 28th February 2009. You can also see all of the photos from the finalists online here.
Once again, we want to thank all of our members for their support with Shiply over the past 18 months and we look forward to bringing much more success to the transport industry in the time to come.

Trucker and daughter reunited after 50 years thanks to Facebook

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With the help of Facebook, Frances Simpson has found her father Tony Macnauton, a retired trucker after nearly 50 years. The last time Frances saw Tony was when she was three. After that her parents split and Tony went away.

Tony and Frances’ emotional reunion after 50 years

Frances has spent years trying to trace her dad without success. A friend then researched her family tree as a birthday present and Frances was surprised to know that she had a half sister Kim Macnauton.

She then looked Kim up on Facebook, sent her a message and got replied just a bit later: “Do you want to talk to dad? He’s next to me.”

Frances, of Market Drayton, Shrops, said: “I couldn’t believe it. I started talking to him and we haven’t stopped since.”

Frances then organised an emotional reunion with her dad and introduced him to the family he never knew he had.

Tony said: “Even though we lost touch I never forgot Frances. I always dreamed of us being reunited. I don’t know what cloud I’m on.”

At Shiply we were all very happy for Tony and Frances when hearing this story. It clearly shows what a good job Facebook does in helping people reunite with old friends and family.

By the way, we just re-launched our very own Facebook fan page, feel free to come and join as a fan at:

Trucker rescues unconscious driver from burning car

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A trucker was hailed a hero after jumping to a burning car to save a driver’s life yesterday.

Jim Corrigan was doing his normal daily run when he saw the car accident near Coatbridge, Lanarkshire. The brave lorry driver then grabbed a heavy hammer from his cab to smash the windscreen of the crashed car. He then pulled the unconscious driver out of the car safely just before the engine exploded like what you might see in Holywood action movies.

One driver sho witnessed the amazing rescue said: “This lorry driver appeared from nowhere. He smashed the glass and was in the car in no time. You could see the flames. It was an incredibly dangerous thing to do. But it was also a very brave thing.”

Former miner Jim, of Moodiesburn near Glasgow said: “There were others who had stopped and were trying to help. I just happened to have something to hand which could shatter the glass.”

What a brave man he is! Unfortunately we haven’t got Jim’s picture to show you yet, we will upload it straight away once we get it.

A trucker and his £600 sausage

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David Highham, of Irlam, Manchester, had to pay more than £600 after he was seen throwing a sausage out of his cab window.

The lorry driver was caught in the act by environmental officials throwing the half finished sausage at Ainley Top roundabout in West Yorkshire.

David was given a fixed penalty notice of £75 but failed to pay and was later found guilty in court due to his absence.

Eventually, he was fined £175 plus £429 court costs and £15 victim surcharge, totalling £619.

So there’s a lesson for all of us: never waste a banger!

Haiti disaster and the importance of logistics

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The emergency response to the Haiti earthquake disaster has shown how critical logistics is in recovery missions. Haulage and courier companies are the key to the emergency responses with their global network of delivery service channels which are probably greater than the military’s capability.

DHL, for instance, has a “Disaster Response Team” who are working in Haiti to advise on logistics management with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Other courier firms such as TNT and UPS are also providing teams to the UN’s World Food Programme.

DHL & other courier companies are helping to deliver emergency packages to Haiti

As many main roads have been heavily damaged during the earthquake, getting the emergency supplies to Haiti remote areas is highly challenging. However, courier companies are trying their best to make sure people get food and medical packages.

And although there has been a great focus on emergency supply shipments in the last few days, strong transportation services will still be important to Haiti recovery with the massive amount of re-construction now required to get the country back on it’s feet.