David Shepherd, CEO, IAG Cargo,” says, “We are looking forward to expand our business operations in the Indian market because of the recent negotiation between the UK and Indian government, which has resulted in an expanded air service agreement. We hope British Airways gets to increase its capacity here in the Delhi market.” He adds, “India has been the most consistent performer for our business. It’s an important part of our network. Be it pharma, perishables, automotive, e-commerce, or high-tech products, India is exporting all these products which makes India an important player for us. We fly to a lot of places, a lot of countries around the world, and India is the most consistent and strongest performer and remains that way.”

“Technology has always been there, but the need is to embrace it fully. There’s an urgent need to go paperless, said experts at the recently concluded ACAAI’s 47th Annual Convention. They added. “Cargo movement can be done without a single paper. Airlines, shippers, customs house agents, airports – need to come together and collaborate with each other to make this happen.” The discussion was on ‘Impact of Emerging Technology in logistics.’ Session Chairperson Chaitaly Mehta and venerable panellists, including Priyanka Ann Saini, Charlie Pesti, Kenneth Chan, MASkargo, Nomita Kothari, CEO, New Globe Logistic, and Vikram Kumar, Secretary, ACAAI emphasized on the pros and cons of implementing advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain, Internet of Things etc., in air cargo business.

Joshua Law, CCO & VP, MAB Kargo says, ” Digitalization is part of our DNA. It’s very important for us. Airlines have evolved in the last two decades. With passengers, cargo has also moved along. As an airline, we are currently actively working on the area where we want to make sure that the data that is come in, is as clean as possible for efficient operations. Accurate, reliable, clean, and transparent data is the need of the hour so that it can be used and interpreted to make conscious business decisions. It will help us drive the business decision correctly.  People need to understand what AI is, how does it actually help you, what benefit it brings to you and how does it improve the area. This will require heavy investments. Data integrity is needed to ensure that the information is actually correct. So currently we have actually put in quite a lot of efforts and Introduced a lot of new systems. We are integrating them together, so that the data can flow seamlessly, more efficiently so that we can see the information faster, and we can make a more conscious business decision with that. We hope that it will drive the cargo industry forward.

Parvinder Singh, Managing Director, Hans Infomatic says, “AI is poised to bring about a profound transformation in the air cargo sector by leveraging its capabilities across various aspects of the industry. Predictive analytics, for instance, will empower companies to anticipate demand fluctuations more accurately, enabling them to allocate resources and plan routes more effectively. This will not only reduce the transit times but will also lower the operational costs. One of AI’s most significant contributions is in demand forecasting. By analyzing historical data and current trends, AI can predict demand patterns more precisely, preventing overstocking or understocking of goods. Real-time monitoring powered by AI ensures that cargo is tracked throughout its journey, allowing companies to promptly address any deviations from the planned route, ensuring timely deliveries and enhancing customer satisfaction. The data-driven insights offered by AI foster smarter decision-making in capacity planning and risk management. With accurate information at their fingertips, companies can adjust their operations to accommodate fluctuations in demand, thereby reducing waste and inefficiencies.”

At the recently concluded ACAAI’s 47th Annual Convention, Ramesh Mamidala, Head – Cargo, Air India shares,  “There are few areas that would be heavily impacted as a result of evolution of Artificial Intelligence. CRM services, revenue management and pricing, demand forecasting which will depend on data availability, reliability and how your business analytics skills are and intelligent decision making using accurate data analytics are some of them. These functions will be positively impacted and they will help us in the coming decade in terms of the industry becoming more intelligent, better and more profitable. That’s what I foresee coming as a result of AI evolution in the industry.”

The much-awaited and India’s biggest Air Cargo Agents Association of India’s (ACAAI) 47th Annual Convention kickstarted in Kuala Lumpur on 23 NovemberMl. The 3 day mega event is being hosted at The Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, with invitees and dignitaries gracing from across India. The theme for this year’s convention is AI The Game Changer- Embracing The Intelligent Future”. The inaugural session saw the welcome address by Anil Vazirani, Convention Chairman, and Presidential address by C. K. Govil, President, ACAAI. Mark Jason Thomas, CEO, MAS Kargo, was the Guest of Honour, while the keynote address was delivered by Kartik Sharma, AI expert and author. This was followed by  the release of the convention souvenir, and vote of thanks delivered by Samir Shah, Vice President, ACAAI. All other dignitaries were also present at the occasion.

Bolloré Logistics announced their partnership with collaborative platform Winddle, for enhancing transport operations by integrating the management of product orders and encouraging collaboration with suppliers. The Winddle solution has already been applied by Bolloré Logistics towards handling orders of a renowned French luxury cosmetics brand, that replaced a purchase order (PO) management system which relied on shared files. Over 80 users have utilised the platform over a period of three months, which included industrial logistics managers, transport managers, customs managers for the brand, and implant and origin managers for Bolloré Logistics. The tool enables monitoring of all operations that start from the announcement of product handover by suppliers to the final delivery of several thousand shipments annually. The customer also obtains tools to oversee supplier performance metrics (OTD, OTIF, etc.) and optimize transport performance like reducing reliance on air freight, cost optimization, etc.

According to a report from consulting firm McKinsey & Company, both shippers and logistics providers have sustained and grown their technology investments since 2020, despite deteriorating market conditions. The report, “Digital logistics: Technology race gathers momentum,” gathered results from more than 250 logistics leaders, who agree on market forces propelling shippers and logistics providers towards technological innovations for increased flexibility, predictability, efficiency, and resilience. The common pain points that they share include cost management, productivity of the workforce, labour, and performance, according to the report. This indicated that shippers and providers can address these shared challenges amongst others to increase capability and coordination.

Menzies Aviation renews and secures several cargo contracts with various airlines at London’s Heathrow Airport, which includes Thai Airways Cargo, Middle East Airlines, Royal Air Maroc Cargo, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines Cargo and Tarom. Menzies is also now partnering with Thai Airways for cargo handling and airside trucking services, with 14 turns per week that will transport more than 16,000 tonnes of vegetables and fresh fish from Thailand to the UK. Apart from that, Royal Air Maroc Cargo, which is the cargo business of Morocco’s national airline, has also partnered with Menzies to manage their cargo handling at Heathrow.

Data provider Rotate launched a live air cargo capacity tool which is accessible to air cargo company users for free. The tool consists of live updated flight data from an exhaustive list of airlines, more than 9,000 airports and over 200 aircraft types and will let users see the amount of air cargo capacity on various trade lanes. The data has been “filtered, cleaned, and enriched to deliver unique, real-time insight into changes and trends in air cargo capacity”, according to Rotate. Gert-Jan Jansen, co-founder of Rotate, said, “The air cargo industry has long been investing in digital and technology solutions, which have led to ever-increasing amounts of data being produced and stored every day. Our Rotate Live Capacity tool supports a range of functions within the air cargo industry, from network design to business development, benchmarking, carrier management, pricing, and market trend analysis. Access to real-time data also opens up a whole new range of use-cases going forward – such as pricing and revenue management”