Company leads way in trucking software

Beachwood-based TMW had $18 million in revenue last year.
BEACHWOOD, Ohio (AP) -- A northeast Ohio company is at the center of a movement to make the trucking industry more tech savvy.
TMW Systems Inc. makes and sells computer software that helps trucking companies manage everything from accounting to trucking routes. Later this year, TMW will introduce a service connecting customers' empty trucks to nearby loads that need hauling. The nation's top trucking software firms reported double-digit revenue growth in 2004 because trucking firms are using more technology to organize their fleets.
"As fleets are growing, there's a lot of business right now," said Mark Stephens, director of marketing at McLeod Software Corp., a TMW competitor in Alabama.
Fighting a battle
Despite the growing trend, TMW is fighting a battle to get its name out there. It and other software firms say trucking companies that use the software don't know who makes it, and about half the industry still doesn't use productivity software at all.
"We weren't well enough known in the industry, even though we have the largest market share," said Tom Weisz, TMW's chief executive officer. "And people didn't know to come to us to make the decision. We wanted to be at the top of people's minds."
A few analysts who watch the industry say Beachwood-based TMW, which had $18 million in revenue last year, is the industry's leader.
An important time
The next few years will be important to trucking software companies. They are introducing sleek new designs that process and display more information about the business.
Last year, for the first time, TMW hired its own marketing manager and slathered on advertisements featuring testimonials from executives in trucking industry trade magazines. It also launched an e-mail newsletter for customers.
Weisz said he also wants to keep ahead of his competitors by offering more innovations. The company's Carrier Alliance Network, which will launch later this year, would make TMW Systems a middleman between trucking companies and potential customers.
The service would display available jobs, similar to an online message board, plus automatically suggest matches between haulers and companies with available cargo. TMW would charge a one-time set-up fee and collect money when deals are made.
"Look at the trucks on the road: Ten to 20 percent of them are empty," Weisz said, describing a situation in the industry known as "empty miles."
"If we could reduce empty miles, that makes a tremendous difference," he said. "Trucking companies can be more profitable, and it's a win-win situation because we can make a little money at it."