Air cargo set to speed up and increase visibility over the coming years
13 / 03 / 2019
Digital Cargo session at IATA WCS 2019
Over the coming years air cargo supply chains are expected to speed up, information will be shared more widely and transport operations will become more efficient, according to speakers at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium.
During the digital cargo session, panellists from cargo software providers were asked to outline how they saw the air cargo industry evolving over the coming years.
Descartes vice president of network integration strategy Jos Nuijten said that there is currently a gap in the information chain as the receiver of goods is not kept up to date with shipment data.
“That is one thing that will change in the near future because it is such an obvious gap,” he said.
Nuijten added that he also expected cargo to spend less time at a standstill as a result of processing by customs authorities.
“Why do you want to do customs declaration when goods are at destination? Start the process once the goods are moving,” he said.
CHAMP head of business development Christopher Shawdon said he expected air cargo supply chains to become more secure in the future, following the lead of pharma operations where cargo can be accounted for at each stage of the supply chain.
Shawdon is also expecting cargo to become much more visible through to the shipper, with the industry utilising internet of things technology to enhance tracking.
He also agreed that the speed of processing through customs would improve in the future.
IBS Software senior vice president and head of cargo and logistics solutions Ashok Rajan said that data would be able to help remove some of the slack in processes, while he felt that the air cargo industry would become more connected across all players.
Speaking earlier in the day, Seng Thiam Khoo, senior vice president of cargo services at SATS, also outlined how he felt the air cargo industry needed to develop.
He said that the industry needed to improve its collaboration and develop shared platforms in order to lower costs across the industry and compete with potential disruptors entering the market.
