Cargo iQ adds air cargo intelligence hub

Cargo iQ has launched a new intelligence hub giving members real-time information on performance and  allowing them to compare themselves against the organisation’s standards and the community overall.
The performance data measures each individual cargo journey from shipper to consignee against 16 milestones.
Through analysis of the data generated by these measurements, members can work with their customers and suppliers to improve performance, develop new products, and drive quality in the air cargo industry, Cargo iQ said.
Cargo iQ executive director Ariaen Zimmerman explained: "Our members can now analyse their data and see it in an easy to understand, meaningful way; giving them the tools to focus their resources to where they need to improve processes, and supporting them to optimise their products and requirements both for their industry partners and of course, our customers, the shippers.
“Members will be better able to explain to current and potential customers exactly what it is they are paying for, and offer them a choice of products – something new and refreshing for the somewhat traditional air freight sector.”
The hub is one of a series of initiatives aimed at improving the value Cargo iQ delivers to its members and to the industry as a whole, which has included the appointment of independent auditors.
Zimmerman recently called on the industry to stop focusing on speeding up transport times and to instead concentrate on differentiating products based on the level of reliability on offer. Being able to compare reliability against industry standards using the Cargo iQ portal, would play a part in this, he said at the time.
He said that the industry has spent too long trying to speed up transport times when there are already products on the market that offer faster services.
He explained that shippers were not necessarily willing to pay extra for faster times, and if they were, they could use a whole array of existing air cargo products or even choose one of the integrators under a completely different cost model.
He added that only two of the 5.4 days of air cargo’s average door-to-door journey time were under carrier control, offering little room for improvement.
He suggested carriers should offer different pricing structures based on reliability rates.
“We should create a reality where if people are unhappy about a product they can go out and buy a better product or talk to an airline and ask if there is a way to create another product that better suits their needs.
“People should be perfectly happy to value, for instance, an 85% reliability within a certain performance window at a specific price level and then accept that a higher reliability at a stricter performance window should be valued at a different price.”