Cargo iQ outlines drive for air cargo quality standards

Cargo iQ has outlined its plans to continue to drive the development of quality standards in air cargo.

Following its annual general meeting, the air cargo standards group revealed plans to better monitor the trucking leg of the air cargo supply chain and expand its usage amongst independent forwarders.

On the developments in trucking, Cargo iQ said that it is testing new trucking milestones so that it can track the timeliness of shipment as they are transported on the road.

This is part of wider efforts to measure 100% of shipments along its route map monitoring the end-to-end journey of air cargo shipments.

Elsewhere, Cargo iQ will also target independent forwarders with its small and medium enterprise (SME) solution that offers a route map and status updates for individual consignments in line with common business practices and milestones along the supply chain.

The SME solution already has three Cargo iQ users and was developed by third-party IT provider Cargo Start, working with Cargo iQ use cases and reporting definitions.

Henrik Ambak, chair of Cargo iQ and senior vice president, cargo operations worldwide, Emirates SkyCargo, said: “The pandemic did teach us a lesson in agility, and we should embrace a ‘create and they will follow’ mentality.

“The next year will see us further push for 100% reporting, ensure we are the true quality management system that the industry uses to facilitate its commercial customer promise, and we must broaden and grow our membership, including with SMEs.”

Gianni Mauri, director of business processes air cargo, Cargo Start, added: “Enabling independent freight forwarders to work with air cargo carriers is a benefit for the overall air cargo industry.

“Forwarders that have started using the SME solution have chosen to do so to improve visibility and to streamline internal processes when it comes to air cargo shipment planning and quality measurements.”

Summing up the past year for the group, Cargo iQ executive director Ariaen Zimmerman said that despite a difficult twelve months, the group had adapted well to new working conditions, and Working Groups had pushed ahead with ongoing projects.

“We launched more training than ever before, and the videos of those sessions are now online for members to learn from as a resource,” he said.

“We are pushing ahead with changes to the Audit and Reporting to improve the quality of the data we provide.

“After the unique and challenging year that we have had, we are ready for 2021.”