Having seen significant positive developments in the industry, particularly on the commercial side, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) has been looking to digital developments within its operational sector to optimise capacity, enhance visibility and better serve customers.
One area where this is in action is through the process of demand forecasting, analysing when and where customers are requesting quotes, allowing the carrier to better understand and anticipate demand.
This proactive approach helps AFKLMP to optimise its cargo offering, adjusting to new demands in the market and across specific regions.
“The key element is transparency. We are working on our IT system because we have an interface that we want to make as transparent as possible for our partners, forwarders and suppliers,” Christophe Boucher, Director of Cargo at Air France, explained.
“The more accurate and transparent, the better operations will be in the future.”
Digital barriers
It’s not been all plain sailing. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has sought to move towards paperless operations but this has proved challenging on occasion as many electronic airway bills often don’t meet the carrier’s quality standards.
With accuracy in cargo handling being a crucial aspect, often there are discrepancies between bookings and actual deliveries, complicating operations. As such, the carrier still has to perform many manual activities, such as comparing documents with system records, which they are hoping to facilitate through digitalisation.
To address this, Air France has decided to implement a new system next year to measure the weight and volume of each shipment unit accurately when entering its CDG warehouse. This will help optimise cargo handling and reduce issues with shipments that result in unnecessary delays.
“The first element is to get the right data. At the present time, the cargo industry is not strict enough in the way it is accepting cargo,” Boucher stated.
“The key is not only to get the right system but to get the right system linked to accurate data.
“That’s the first step that we are implementing, with the system learning from experience what is the best way to handle cargo and optimise the pallets.”
Pace of change
Although digitalisation is a frequently discussed buzzword throughout the airfreight industry, Boucher expressed concern about the speed at which the sector is embracing available innovative tools, blaming the fragmented nature of the industry.
“As far as the pace, it has been disappointing,” the Air France Cargo chief stated.
“We’ve talked about electronic waybills and not needing paper documents for years, if not decades, but the pace is very slow. The industry is very scattered.”
To speed up digital developments, Boucher proposed penalties for those who fail to embrace technological advancements or more positive incentives for those who comply.
“We really need to be as strict as possible,” he said.
“I think we will have, at one point in time, we have to differentiate between the players who make the effort to comply and the others because I think it’s in the interest of everybody to go there, send the information, send accurate data, the latest available information.”
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