Has the air cargo digital pouch become the modern-day golden fleece?
I HOPE I won’t bore you by reminding everyone of the much-lamented air cargo burden of the 14 ‘vital air transportation associated paper documents’ — all of which are held in the pouch that allows one freshly plucked juicy Spanish strawberry to timely land on a dining table somewhere across the world.
Surely, in the new digital age, something is being done about eradicating the need for that paper-strewn airfreight pouch, argues Thelma Etim.
It exists because the airfreight industry consists of a complex mix of stakeholders, including the Customs agencies of mercurial governments, and it has become a well-worn excuse for delaying digitalisation, even though the continuing need for the pouch is singlehandedly keeping supply chains more vulnerable than they need to be especially during geo-political and macroeconomic shocks and natural disasters.
One only needs to recall the worldwide scramble for vital commodities and life-preserving vaccines following the outbreak of Coronavirus. That deadly disease forced the air cargo industry to finally take e-commerce processes seriously and it altered many attitudes towards traditional business models, especially regarding the purchase and conversion of suitable additional aircraft, as well as the augmentation of each supply chain contributor’s medical infrastructure and the number of specialist personnel equipped to handle, manage and uplift pharmaceuticals.
Despite, COVID’s seismic global trade lane trauma — from which the world is still recovering amidst the Ukraine/Russia war — the airfreight industry is still leaving digitalisation to the usual trailblazers.
Lufthansa Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo, Air France/KLM Martinair Cargo, ECS Group, Kuehne + Nagel (K + N), Kales Logistics, Jettainer to name just a few, appear to be carrying most of the current digital burden, whilst other supply chain contributors are resting on their laurels and are not actually following suit.
Unsurprisingly, Lufthansa has recently made yet another digital leap forward by establishing its first ‘paperless corridor’ — including the electronic airwaybill (e-AWB), accompanying documents and paper pouches — on flights between Germany and Hong Kong.
This significant move has come after it transported paper-free general cargo shipments in collaboration with K + N, one of its trusted freight forwarder business partners, during a pilot trial earlier this year.
More lanes will be targeted in the next phase, according to the carrier. “By increasing the number of paperless lanes, a whole paperless corridor between Europe and Asia will be built for general cargo where the transport of paper could [finally] be eliminated,” a statement has said.
Any logistics company interested in the Lufthansa Cargo paperless corridor is required to participate in the carrier’s electronic airwaybill (e-AWB) Single Process and then select the e-Freight Special Handling Code (EAW) for all general cargo when preparing the shipment and paperless delivery to the airline, it explained.
That all seems quite simple, so what is all the fuss about?
Both entities have confirmed they are “seeking to eliminate the unnecessary burden of physical documentation” — by successfully gradually introducing more paperless lanes, initially between Europe and Asia.
Kolja Mahler-Wingen, vice-president of air logistics operations Germany for K + N explains: “In addition to the positive effect of paperless handling, which primarily saves time and gains efficiency, a purely digitally supported process also offers further potential for automation in order to reach the best possible transparency and data quality for our customers around the globe. We as Kuehne + Nagel are highly committed to further expanding our digital ambitions on the way to a fully digitised airfreight process.”
Dr Jan-Wilhelm Breithaupt, vice-president of global fulfilment management at Lufthansa Cargo, believes he transition to a paperless environment will significantly reduce processing times and complexity — and offers just-in-time shipment status information. “However, it will only be a first step towards a fully digitalised airfreight future; especially accompanying documentation of special cargo will come into our focus soon enough.”
Elsewhere in the airfreight world, Qatar Airways Cargo has been busy optimising its digital real-time pricing mechanism “to improve accuracy and competitiveness” by enlisting help from Texas-based software company PROS whose system is now live on all of the carrier’s online bookings channels across its network.
Employing PROS “is part of The Next Generation initiative,” the carrier says. “Qatar’s Digital Lounge places the emphasis on the user experience and ease of use, allowing customers to price and book cargo shipments without the need to call or e-mail the sales team directly,” a Qatar Cargo statement says.
Florent Bonello, vice-president of cargo revenue management at the Doha-based airline, insists: “As a next phase of our implementation, we are seamlessly integrating PROS Smart Configure Price Quote within our sales ecosystem, so that we can quickly manage and deliver omnichannel quoting across our spot-, contract- and allotment-sales.”
This story first appeared on aircargoeye.com on 16 August 2023
