IT apathy grounds airfreight growth

Strong information technology (IT) solutions could help to address a number of trade barriers impacting airfreight growth – globally and in Africa – but the air cargo industry’s adoption of IT solutions is absolutely shocking, said David Shepherd, head of commercial at IAG Cargo. “The best thing airfreight has going for it over other modes of transport is its speed-to-market. It could hugely increase that competitive edge if it utilised IT solutions correctly and to their full potential,” he told FTW. “E-commerce is rising as customers’ demands change and they increasingly expect the same kind of service delivery they would get from their local retail store. The airfreight industry is wellpositioned to leverage off that growth globally,” said Shepherd. For that to happen, the industry needs harmonised systems and end-to-end visibility across the supply chain – which, according to Shepherd, is only possible with strong IT support and innovative IT solutions. And one only has to look at how well the airlines have implemented and leveraged IT solutions from a “human cargo” perspective, he said. “E-tickets for passengers have been in use for over a decade. Online bookings, pre-assigned seating and quick luggage check-ins have made the lives of passengers easier for years now. But how far has air cargo gone?” asked Shepherd. According to Glyn Hughes, International Air Transport Association (Iata) global head of cargo, only 37% of African carriers have adopted the electronic air waybills (e-AWB) to date. “Furthermore, cargo bookings are far more complex than they are for passengers. There are fewer than a handful of global distribution systems (GDS) agencies for passenger bookings, but over a dozen for cargo bookings,” commented Shepherd. “The industry needs to galvanise itself and start collaborating by aligning IT systems and cutting down on complexity or airfreight growth will be stymied.” INSERT & CAPTION The air cargo industry’s adoption of IT solutions is absolutely shocking. – David Shepherd