(Source: MARKETWIRE)Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW) today announced that it ranked 101st in the 2009 InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation's most innovative users of business technology. The publication honored Con-way for its Linehaul Simulation tool, an innovative Web-based solution designed for its less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary, Con-way Freight. The 2009 InformationWeek 500 companies were revealed at a recent awards ceremony held during the InformationWeek 500 Conference at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif.

"For over 20 years, the InformationWeek 500 has honored the most innovative users of business technology," said InformationWeek Editor-in-Chief Rob Preston. "Year after year, InformationWeek 500 companies harness technology to improve efficiency, boost productivity, drive revenue and establish a competitive advantage. We applaud this year's winners, and the CIOs and other executives whose ingenuity and risktaking are at the center of business technology innovation."

The Linehaul Simulation tool quickly produces an analysis of the effects of potential changes to Con-way Freight's linehaul network. By simulating the flow of freight through the proposed system, it measures how the changes would affect performance and reveals whether the changes would be beneficial from a variety of perspectives. Before the company created the tool, implementing even minor alterations was extremely time- and labor-intensive, due to the complexity of dependencies within the network. Con-way Freight utilized the tool in the implementation of a major 2008 network reengineering projected to significantly cut costs and reduce the company's carbon footprint.

"Our Linehaul Simulation tool represents the very successful end result of months of hard work by Con-way employees," said Jacquelyn Barretta, vice president and chief information officer, Con-way Inc. "It is a prime example of how technology can be integrated into business practices to achieve significant cost and time savings and improve processes throughout our operations. Being named to the top 250 of the InformationWeek 500 list is an honor and a tribute to the team whose dedication made this solution possible."

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, now in its 21st year, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America's best-known companies. Top winners have included: Con-way, National Semiconductor, Kimberly-Clark, Hilton Hotels and Unum.