3PL is all a-twitter

This will interest people who want information to follow them everywhere. Aspen, a third-party logistics firm that operates 2.5 million square feet of temperature-controlled warehousing space for retail and healthcare customers, is making alerts available to customers via Twitter.

The increasingly popular online service lets users send instant updates to "followers" on their computers and cell phones. The "tweets," as the transmissions are known, are limited to 140 characters and allow users to brief each other on their activities and whereabouts in real time.

Aspen says it's providing operational performance data via a secure Internet pOréal and using Twitter to send updates to clients about facilities and company developments. A check of the 3PL's Twitter account about three weeks after its launch found that Aspen had 24 followers, who receive such missives as "Our Columbus Ohio Facility Sets a New Record in Throughput!" and "We are Very Excited to Open up Our Temp Controlled Ontario, Ca Warehousing Facility This Month! All Inquiries Accepted."