With intention-based shipping spreading like wildfire, we're not surprised to see that it's now catching on in the UK, too. Shiply, which set up shop in 2008, is a free online marketplace where transport companies bid for listed shipments.
After creating an online account, consumers list what they need to ship and provide details about pickup, delivery and shipment dates. Anything from a pet carriage to a car can be listed. Transport providers then bid for the shipment, potentially turning unused space in their trucks into profit. Shiply's system means that as companies try to outbid one another, users typically save about 75% on their shipping costs. Users can contribute and read feedback left by other customers, and accept the bid with which they feel happiest.
The company states that 25% of European lorries run completely empty. By filling up this space, Shiply makes sure trucks get extra cash for unused space, and saves consumers money. Of course, it’s hugely beneficial in terms of reducing carbon emissions and congestion, too. Which is why Shiply was awarded a EUR 100,000 runner-up prize in this year's Green Challenge. (RidgeBlade, which we featured last week, won the top prize of EUR 500,000.)
As the success of services like this depends on reaching a critical mass of users, it’s interesting to see Shiply helping itself along with a special eBay widget, which can be integrated in eBay listings, letting potential bidders get cheap courier quotes from Shiply on the spot. In addition, 4,000 shipping companies have already listed their services on Shiply. Saving the planet by intelligently linking wants and needs—there’s plenty of mileage left in that.
Web: www.shiply.com
Contact: www.shiply.com/docs/contact.php
Spotted by: Green Challenge
With no checks on service providers legitimacy, operating procedures or legality I see no environmental benefit.
Looks to me like Shiply is just a clone of uShip.com, right? Most of the site looks identically copied, in fact! They won an award for this?
they are the same company. u-ship the u.s. version and shiply the u.k. branch. both are linked with ebay.
They are not the same company. Shiply is a brutal clone of uship - they even stole the look of the site and it looks like some of the html maybe.
Uship and Shiply are not the same company, Shiply is a rip off of Uship and I can't believe that they have pulled the wool over everyones eyes and like the comment from Maurice, I too can't believe that Shiply has been awarded the Nectar small busines award. What a bunch of clowns we have giving awards to counterfeit companies.
I thought this sounded familiar – I learned about uship from a springwise post in 2007. I am a forwarder based in Hamburg and have been on uship for about 2 years. I don't know Shipley although at first glance I agree it appears like a sloppy clone of uship. Even their logo looks quite similar.
The squiggly S logo of shiply looks like the S in Uship.
Shiply won £90,000 in the Dutch postcode lottery. I agree with Ravi, they are a bunch of clowns awarding money for fake stuff.
I wonder if SHIPLY will have the same problems as USHIP has with all the Illegal haulers ripping people off and stealing shippers deposits and property? One good thing is if they use SHIPLY for overseas shipping and get ripped off they can go to their door and confront them not like when they use the Illegals from the states USHIP has when shipping something to the UK.
To all,
I would be very cautious about how these comments are read and how much you can trust them.
We have seen a number of the same people posting defamatory comments about Shiply across the internet.
There has been digging up of forum threads and press releases over a year old.
So, please do take what you read with a pinch of salt, these are certainly not genuine comments.
Many Thanks.
Regards,
Robert Matthams
MD Shiply
Robert,
There is nothing defamatory about posting the truth, everyone can read that this article was posted on the 2/10/09 not a year ago, all comments are posted with their dates after this date, quite recently in fact.
The only person trying to pull a fast one is YOU.
Your site is NOTHING NEW, in fact your site is a clone of uShip, you did not think up the idea and quite a few other sites do the same, only they care about the transport industry, the drivers and the law.
You are a blagger and have managed to pull the wool over some 'judges' eyes, that is all, but people out there will learn the truth about you, I for one will make it my mission to tell them from now on.
You are by no means an entrepreneur by setting up shiply, you have simply cloned another website and taken ideas from other sites and passed them off as your own ideas as if no one had thought of them before when its simply not true, there are 10-20 such sites in the UK alone that I know of that do this, many years before you were even born!
I will be writing to the judges myself, and all the newspapers who you claim have printed quotes about you, and informing Co2 Commission about your claims on your home page. Further more I will also be writing to the BBC with the same information that I am now gathering about you.
All is fair in business, but only if you do it by fair means, not foul, you will be caught out one day.
Bob Mason
It's quite amusing how Robert Matthams comes on saying that ALL these comments are fake and singularly intending to defame him when he is making himself look a tit by writing this rubbish instead of sorting out the shiply concerns and/or replying to the messages with sensible comment.
Jealously of my award winning, profitable company will get noone anywhere.
Maybe if time was spent thinking up your own ideas than tarnishing mine you might start making money. Or even join Shiply, many have and are repaing the rewards!
Businesses can be based upon bidding and winning jobs on our site alone. We have looked into some complaints and have happily resolved a few rare instances of problems.
Regards,
Robert Matthams
MD Shiply
Robert Matthams has now gone further by alienating everyone by suggesting that everyone is jelouse of his compnay. I give respect to entrepeneurship and hope more young business people are born in Britain.
But for Robert to blatently rip off another business and not accept that he has done so makes himn and his company weak and decieptful. Robert you should just accept and make public that you have cloned uShip.com and maybe all this will then go away.
I am a true believer in what goes around comes around. The success of Shiply will soon turn into ruin and by the looks of things uShip are now on a worldwide rampage with alreday operations in shiply planned countries and terrortories.
I agree with Bob Mason that there is nothing new about the shiply idea and i hope Bob compiles his dossier and sends it to the judges who have awarded this crook hunderds of thousands of pounds.
The idea of such a website is very good but shouls the credit go to shiply. I congratulate uShip for taking shiply on and taking the throne rightfully.