Lufthansa Cargo partners with Plug and Play

Germany’s biggest airfreight carrier, Lufthansa Cargo, has been chosen as an ‘anchor partner’ of global technology accelerator Plug and Play.
Based in Sunnyvale, California, Plug and Play describes itself as the world’s largest technology accelerator, working to bring technology start-ups and relevant companies together.
The goal is to combine forces to further develop and quickly implement new digital solutions, and Plug and Play’s programme provides the opportunity for players in the logistics industry to network with and learn from each other, exchange ideas and drive digitisation.
“By working with start-ups, we get to try out innovative ideas and new technology,” said Lufthansa Cargo’s head of digital transformation, Boris Hueske.
“These innovations might be the basis for new services for our customers or process optimisations. They are a major factor in the digitisation of logistics.”
Having Lufthansa Cargo as one of its supply chain anchor partners represents a “perfect fit for our ecosystem of industry-leading corporate partners”, added founder of Plug and Play Supply Chain & Logistics Mike Zayonc.
“Having partners like Lufthansa Cargo, ExxonMobil, Panasonic, DHL, Prologis, the United States Postal Service, Ericsson, Maersk, and BASF working together to collaborate with the most advanced technologies is a perfect venue to digitally transform any global fortune 500 company’s end-to-end supply chain.”
Fleet of foot
In January this year it was revealed that Lufthansa Cargo was one of a number of companies that had invested in start-up logistics marketplace Fleet Logistics Inc.
Fleet was founded in 2014 and serves as an online marketplace, matching demand for freight services with available capacity from logistics companies.
The investment will see Lufthansa Cargo chief commercial officer Alexis von Hoensbroech take a seat on Fleet’s board of directors.
The air cargo carrier stated: “By acquiring shares in Fleet Logistics, Lufthansa Cargo underlines its strategic commitment in lifting the airfreight industry to a superior digital maturity level.
“The acquisition is part of the Lufthansa Group’s overall digitisation strategy and was strongly supported by the Lufthansa Innovation Hub in Berlin.”