Carriers get paid in eight hours for FREE with Convoy QuickPay for loads booked this week

Driving a truck is one of the most common and underappreciated professions in America today. Every day, truck drivers transport the goods that make life easier and more accessible for all of us. As the saying goes, “If you bought it, a truck brought it.”

Life on the road is challenging. Imagine spending multiple nights away from family each week, driving a large, heavy truck through inclement weather, and dreading the inevitable (and costly) mechanical issues common in the industry. Truck prices and insurance premiums are expensive, especially for new drivers. After a long day, many truck drivers even struggle to find a safe place to park their trucks so they can sleep. Between COVID, high fuel prices, and low rates, many trucking companies are struggling to stay in business. 

At Convoy, we are committed to improving the lives of truck drivers and carriers. Our team obsesses over enhancing the trucking experience and making it easier to earn more with less hassle. In the past year we’ve expanded the ways our carriers can get paid, added new benefits to our TruckYeah savings program, and made renting dry van trailers more flexible than ever. In celebration of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, we’re giving eligible carriers free* same-day payments via Convoy QuickPay on loads booked between today and Friday. 

From all of us at Convoy, we want to thank each and every truck driver for keeping this country rolling. If you happen to see a truck on the road today (or any day), give them a smile, say thank you, and give them space to safely merge onto the freeway. You might even get a trucker salute in return!

Grant Goodale,
Convoy co-founder and CXO

— — —

*Terms apply

The post Celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week appeared first on Convoy.

Convoy is excited to announce a bold new program to increase productivity and bring employees even closer to the customers they serve. Inspired by Founder and CXO Grant Goodale’s recent journey across America via semi truck (coverage here, here, and here!), Convoy is moving to support a 100% mobile workforce. “Seeing the experience of America’s truck drivers first hand was an amazing experience, and my productivity during the trip was completely unimpacted. I want everyone at Convoy to have the same experience,” said Grant. 

Convoy is enabling this experience by putting employees in the passenger seat of a heavy truck, traveling the country full time and working from the comfort of an Air-Ride equipped seat. Seeing the nation while working at a tech company has never been easier. 

Starting in Q2 of this year, Convoy will pilot the new program, Convoy ToGo, with ten selected employees. They will travel with ten separate carriers for 12 months, experiencing all of the joys the trucking life has to offer. Each truck and driver will offer a unique experience that showcases the drivers’ personal tastes and interests.

Convoy will also be updating employee benefits in support of its new mobile workforce. Workstations for in-cab productivity will be provided, and Convoy will provide each fully mobile remote employee a stipend usable at any Loves or Flying J truckstop (found nationwide) for food, incidentals, and showers. As additional benefit, Convoy will be providing Roller Dogs: cute canines to aid in companionship, cuddles, and cab karaoke. 

In addition, Convoy announced the launch of Convoy Crash Pads, a solution for the challenges faced by 100% mobile workers operating for months at a stretch on the road. Also in partnership with major truck stop chains, Convoy Crash Pads will place chic, industrial steel micro-apartments at truck stops and select rest areas across the nation. A nod to the tiny-house movement, Crash Pads enable seamless productivity when employees want to pause their endless fun on the road and enjoy the sights and sounds of one particular location for a brief period.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be on the forefront of our mobile, remote work future,” said Dan Lewis, Founder and CEO of Convoy. “Our research has shown that our employees are capable of performing their roles from almost anywhere. Additionally, select studies show germs from sneezing travel at 50 mph; working at a constant 65 mph helps employees avoid getting sick (and seasonal allergies)! The many lifestyle and corporate tax advantages of a permanently mobile, interstate workforce make this program a win-win for everyone. I look forward to when Convoy is 100% on the road, 100% of the time.”  

Editor’s note: This is an April Fools joke.

The post Introducing Convoy ToGo, a Bold New Strategy for Work on the Road appeared first on Convoy.

The past few weeks have shed a much needed light on centuries of privilege, ignorance, and inequalities inherent in our society. The tragic deaths of Black Americans at the hands of those meant to protect them must end, and we must put in our share of the work to ensure that no one else suffers the same fate.

As a small and growing company, we’ve asked ourselves what actions we need to take and what commitments for change we need to make. We believe change starts with listening. 

Last week, the Convoy team spent several hours with hundreds of employees in small group discussions led by facilitators to create open, honest, conversations and hear the perspectives of our Black employees. Many of these were difficult conversations. We shared, we cried, we created better understanding and empathy, and most importantly we listened to one another. The discussions raised dozens of questions, many internal to Convoy, and others focused externally on the broader community and industry we operate in. We certainly don’t and won’t have all the answers. But we know that enough is enough, and our path forward requires a commitment to action and change. 

We anticipate a number of actions to come from our listening sessions, many internally oriented,  but to start we wanted to share three steps we are taking to support the broader community we operate in. 

First, Convoy established an employee matching program to provide financial support to the organizations leading this movement including ACLU Foundation, Equal Justice Initiative, Black Lives Matter, and many others. These funds include donations from the Convoy leadership team as well as our employees. 

Second, to support diversity amongst our carriers, for the next three months, Convoy is helping offset the cost for minority-owned carriers to receive their Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification. Certified carriers gain access to loads that businesses allocate specifically for diverse suppliers. The supplier diversity program at Convoy is specifically designed to increase opportunities for diverse carriers, and we hope that by helping to cover the certification cost, more diverse carriers will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to grow their business. Carriers can visit Convoy’s Supplier Diversity page or email supplierdiversity@convoy.com for more information.

Third, starting this month, we will launch a monthly content series produced by underrepresented Convoy employees with the support of their peers. This series will provide perspective into the challenges of people of color as well as the LGBTQIA+ community face in our industry and discuss how Convoy is delivering on our promise to listen and act together.

As a young company still shaping its identity, we must ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of our DNA as we grow and that every voice is represented. We’re not there yet. We know this requires a long-term, consistent commitment and holding ourselves and each other accountable along the way. Black@Convoy, an employee resource group, is being established to make sure Black employee voices continue to be heard and to help guide our work in this area. 

At Convoy, a core value of the company is to “Bring Out the Best in Others.” Building an environment of openness, inclusion, and belonging is core to helping each other thrive and driving a culture where people feel safe to bring their whole selves to work each and every day. Systemic racial inequality has no place in our environment and demands our attention and action. 

It’s time for change. Enough is enough.

The post Black Lives Matter | Enough is enough: driving change at Convoy appeared first on Convoy.

And make no mistake, it’s very hard work. Truck drivers frequently have to contend with long hours away from home and family and an industry that seems designed to make trucking as challenging as possible. Long wait times at facilities to get loaded or unloaded, slow payment for services, and the challenge of finding enough work to keep a truck loaded and moving week after week are among the many difficulties that face the average trucking company. 

Here at Convoy, we think it’s time for the industry to recognize that making the lives of truckers and trucking companies easier has a positive impact across the supply chains of America. We love solving problems that help make life on the road hassle-free for drivers, maximizing their earnings by keeping their trucks full on the lanes they like to run and making it easier for them to run their businesses. And because Convoy is a technology company first and foremost, we love solving those problems using cutting-edge technology.

Convoy’s technology reduces time spent finding work and running a trucking business

Many truckers — particularly owner-operators — are expected to spend a significant portion of their working hours on unpaid tasks like paperwork and scheduling appointments. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 25% of businesses that employ heavy truck drivers expect drivers to do paperwork. Those responsibilities may be seen as part of the overall job of being a truck driver, but the overhead quickly adds up. 

Convoy’s app allows drivers and dispatchers to instantly book a load at the touch of a button. They can use features like Convoy’s Request a Load to find the kind of freight that they like to run and receive alerts when that freight is available, making it easy for them to quickly schedule work for their trucks. Convoy’s app also allows drivers to instantly submit bills of lading following their jobs, greatly reducing the amount of follow up paperwork. Once Convoy receives that paperwork, drivers receive payment in days rather than weeks, eliminating the need to pay fees to a factoring company (think payday loans but for trucking companies) and increasing truckers’ take-home pay.  

Convoy also reduces wasted time and money from driving empty

Truck drivers drive an average of 35% of their miles empty. Not only are they not getting paid for that time on the road, they’re actually losing money due to the costs associated with operating their vehicle, such as fuel and maintenance. The American Trucking Research Institute estimates that setting aside wages, marginal costs per mile to operate a truck are about $0.963. For a carrier who runs 100,000 miles per year, that 35% of empty miles ends up costing the carrier nearly $34,000 in out of pocket expenses. 

Convoy’s technology enables carriers to find “batches” of jobs that minimize the amount of empty miles driven from one job to the other and maximize the number of paid miles over the course of a day or week. This, combined with the increased efficiency  that comes from running their business through Convoy’s app, means more money in their pocket at the end of the week. Over time, that can lead to more than just extra time at home with the family – it can mean a growing, thriving trucking company that runs more trucks and employs more drivers.

Here are a few more of the ways Convoy is working to make carriers more successful:

We’re in it for the long haul 

We are still in the early days of transforming this massive industry. The forces that have shaped the American economy and the labor market for truck drivers over the past four decades will require substantial time, energy, and dedication to overcome. But by focusing our efforts on where technology can reduce the hassle, inconvenience, and waste associated with trucking today, we’re empowering truck drivers to make the most of their time on the road. They deserve it.

— Grant

The post Improving the lives of America’s 3 million truck drivers appeared first on Convoy.

At Convoy, speed and innovation are rooted deep in our culture – they’re a part of who we are. We believe that when we remove boundaries and free people up to truly run, great things happen.

Last week was Convoy’s first #MoonshotWeek, during which the Convoy team had the opportunity to take a step back from their day-to-day responsibilities and work hard toward whatever project or goal they felt most passionate about.

Day-to-day meetings were cancelled, food and drink provided; the result was over 40 unique, creative, impactful projects. Each team had the opportunity to demo to the company to show off their hard work and creativity.

I was blown away by the ingenuity, drive, and scrappiness shown by the project teams. The level of finish, the complexity of the work completed, and the vision displayed by everyone was an inspiration and makes me proud to work with this team every day. Their work is a reminder that however far we’ve come, and we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. I look forward to seeing these projects become core parts of Convoy’s software and service offering, and can’t wait to see what the team comes up with next year. Check out what the team had to say about the week below. If this sounds like something worth being a part of, we’re hiring!

Best week at @convoyteam #MoonshotWeek pic.twitter.com/4wu0D6cnjH

— Jennifer Wong (@Jenerationy) October 19, 2018

We are wrapping up Moonshot week for the @convoyteam! Project presentations, prizes, and most importantly happy hour to celebrate. I wish every week was Moonshot Week. #MoonshotWeek pic.twitter.com/UpJ2KWytb1

— Allison Smith (@eco2logy) October 19, 2018

The post #MoonshotWeek 2018 Was Trucking Awesome appeared first on Convoy.