Airlines want buy-in from forwarders and shippers

There’s been strong support for the creation of a tripartite alliance between airlines, importers/exporters and freight forwarders as a means of improving efficiency in an increasingly competitive environment. “We need more collaboration. All stakeholders need to become involved on an equal basis and it must include the customers, not just forwarders and airlines,” said Ivin George, vice president of airfreight at DHL Global Forwarding. He added that a tripartite alliance would never work unless “everyone is in it together from the beginning.” David Shepherd, global head of commercial for IAG Cargo, believes that airlines’ strongest area of service is where it has strong tripartite players. “In the perishables and pharmaceutical markets, the end-customers are focused on the product and want to get involved,” he said. And integration between parties can be achieved if the right systems are in place. Swissport Cargo Services senior vice president, Africa, Colin Baldwin, believes cargo handlers should also be included in the alliance. “One of our major challenges is to work more closely with the freight forwarders. We have contractual agreements with them and the cargo comes and goes but that’s where the relationship ends,” he said.