Much ado about e-Freight FullScreen View


IATA held a workshop on the e-Air Waybill late last Autumn; DB Schenker Logistics is promoting its e-Business solutions for all modes of transport from one single portal; the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group has produced a roadmap for paperless air cargo, outlining how its members intend to “bring the vision to reality”. And yet airlines,


forwarders


and ground handlers are still reluctant to wholeheartedly embrace e-Freight, which is being touted as the one thing that will revolutionise airfreight and bring efficiency and cost savings for everyone. Why? According to Henrik Ambak, VP


general services and commercial IT at Cargolux, e-Freight is a little too ambitious. “Iata wants e-Freight to be the cargo equivalent of an e-Ticket,” Ambak pointed out, speaking at EVA International’s Aviation IT Solutions conference in December. “But passengers still have a paper passport or visa to carry with them as identification. “e-Freight is meant to cover


everything: invoice, packing list, certificate of origin or Cites and so on. It touches several different authorities, including customs, veterinary and food health, and transit licensing offices. And the benefits are not obvious enough to drive investment. “Airlines need just a few documents and don’t see the


By Marcia Macleod


benefits, either. Only forwarders have document management systems - but few of those are pushing the move to e-Freight. No one has done a true return on investment analysis for e-Freight for each of the parties involved in the airfreight transport chain. Airlines and industry bodies are not even really talking about it properly; it’s at the bottom of the agenda at most industry meetings.” One would think that


security and other international requirements would speed up the take up of e-Freight, but no says Ambak - it’s had the opposite effect. “The speed of introduction of additional security and other requirements set new challenges for airlines and forwarders,” he says, indicating that these take precedence over an e-AWB. However, some of these new


requirements could add impetus to Iata’s push towards e-Freight. Steve Hill, a consultant for cargo systems company Champ, a joint venture between Cargolux and Sita, warned conference delegates of yet more security regulations.


“Three types of cargo screening are coming in next year,” he said, “including the need to screen airmail. That means screening millions of items. Ground handlers and others involved in screening will need to undertake a huge transformation of their IT systems to cope with this; paper transaction will no longer be acceptable.” Even with the help of portals,


which offer an easy way for smaller forwarders to enter the e-Freight race, the introduction of paperless cargo is a long way off. “It will be at least a decade before we reach full e-Freight in the airfreight industry,” believes Roni Harmel, chief technology officer at Hermes Logistics, handling systems provider. “The regulator will eventually


make it happen, but it might mean that documentation has to change. The air waybill is 80 years old; the quality of information it provides is poor. It will need re-designing, just like an e-Ticket does not look anything like an old paper ticket, why should a electronic AWB look like a paper one?” Why indeed.


Keeping track


Tracking airfreight containers has become possible thanks to advances in tracking technology - and United Cargo is one of the first carriers to take advantage. The US airline is now accepting three kinds of advanced tracking and monitoring devices from Cubic Global Tracking Solutions - the GS- 5L, GS-5B and RSU-3. These provide location,


environmental sensing, virtual security fencing and temperature monitoring. Initially, tracking equipment was not allowed on aircraſt for fear of them interfering


with operational instruments. However, the technology companies have worked hard to develop new devices that comply with the authorities, in this case the US Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics.


Federal Express has


expanded its SenseAware to provide more


accurate, near


real-time location information, improved cellular connectivity and longer battery life. Geographical use of SenseAware has also been expanded; initially it was only


available for shipments in the US, but it can now be used in Canada, the UK, Australia and Singapore. Further international expansion is planned. SenseAware can be used on aircraſt operated by United, Delta and Southwest Airlines, as well as by ground carriers. New functions include


route geo-fencing, to alert users if the shipment deviates from a pre-established route; environmental data collection; and geo-fencing of events, to alert users if an event does not occur by a specified time.


Keeping control of containers


Airfreight container management company, Jettainer has joined forces with Luſthansa to trial a smartphone tracking application, JettApp. Although customers have long been able to track their containers


in Jettainer’s system, JetWare,


now they can do so on the move. Smartphones can be used to scan barcodes on containers, too, making it easier for handlers or forwarders to provide real-time information. “Jettainer customers can also


do stock takes, view the history of any container, and record the handing over of containers from one party to another - essential if there is a need to prove liability in the case of damage,” explains Ralph Hoelper, IT director for


Issue 1 2013


Jettainer. “They can also have a list of ‘my tasks’ to remind users what needs to be done next, and the system can be used to provide communication between handler and forwarder or airline.” Luſthansa is testing the


system at Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich and Singapore, using 10 Android smartphones to check all functions of JettApp. In future, JettApp will be available on different types of smartphones and it should be available in 2013.


33


Luſthansa will decide whether to continue with the smartphone application early in the year. Jettainer is also considering


taking the soſtware to the market to enable companies which are not customers of Jettainer.


The e-airwaybill – a good idea or just a flight of fancy?


Fundamentally the drive for electronic airwaybills is a good initiative, says chairman of freight industry soſtware specialist ASM, Peter MacSwiney, but he believes that without a one-system directive it remains flawed. There’s little doubt that the


electronic airwaybill (e-AWB) is good for airlines. It is more reliable than paper, offering quicker shipment acceptance and better data quality. However, Peter MacSwiney believes that it is being held back by limited industry agreement and a ‘sticking plaster’ approach. He states: “The success of electronic commerce demands workable standards. Currently, there appears to be no real ability for IATA to mandate the same version of the FWB across all carriers.” On a positive note, in the UK, British Airways/IAG


continues


to engage with the trade to help drive through acceptance of e-AWBs through its FWB website designed to help forwarders complete the FWB and resolve any errors. MacSwiney supports this: “Malcolm Fowler and the team at IAG Cargo have done a lot of work and developed a good initiative. BA has accepted the responsibility for helping forwarders to get the FWB correct rather than avoiding the issue and passing problems back to them. Perhaps the inference is that by default the FWB will spread across the entire network. However, the likely result is BA will end up with a significantly increased proportion of FWBs but with limited take up


by other carriers.”


Benefits – for whom? MacSwiney continues: “From the carriers’ perspective, FWB transfer is preferable. But unfortunately this means additional effort for the forwarder. Also, as multiple versions of the FWB message exist, each newer version contains more data, not all of it supported by every carrier. Regrettably, carriers support different versions and data requirements are ‘open to interpretation’ - and are not interpreted in the same way.” Essentially, the AWB which


has not changed in decades, now has new data requirements shoe- horned into differing versions of an archaic structure. Forwarders have to produce an e-AWB, press ‘send’ and hope. They don’t know which version an airline is using and an old version will simply strip out data it doesn’t support. MacSwiney explains: “The


latest version of the FWB includes security certificate data. If forwarders can support sending the latest version of the FWB message and include the security information they could reasonably


assume that the


information will reach the carrier. This however is not always the case and forwarders will be none the wiser.”


If only everyone used the same system... There has been much discussion on implementation of XML (Extensible Markup Language) messaging for the FWB. It’s


currently suggested that all airlines will stop using the EDI-based Cargo-IMP (Cargo Interchange Message Procedures) by the end of 2014. MacSwiney confirms: “I can’t


say that the trade universally supports the FWB in its current format but XML could change that. However, IATA must be prepared to bite the bullet, replace Cargo- IMP, with its massive differences between users, embrace XML and insist that everyone operates it. IATA may want that but could it enforce it?” XML defines rules for encoding documents in human


and


machine-readable format, based on open standards. Even though some forwarders are concerned that XML messages take up more space, around ‘3 meg’ as against ‘400k’, it’s a mainstream format that will enhance uniformity, accuracy and economy of data exchange. MacSwiney


concludes:


“The e-AWB is here but with limited acceptance and no true standard, moving to XML would give everyone the opportunity to be on the same system. The objective should be to enhance airfreight rather than overhaul an ancient pencil-and-paper system by trying to computerise it – that’s just a ‘sticking plaster’. The chances for success lie in the difference between an attitude of: ‘wouldn’t it be good if we did this’ to organisations like BA taking steps to make it happen and giving it a fighting chance of working.”


Rational!


Since choosing the ForwardOffice software package, and Forward Computers as IT partners, we have not looked back. The whole system has been the bedrock of our Company since 1999 and the advances, past, present and future, help us to stay at the forefront of our specialised fi eld of NVOC services.


Bob Andrews, Managing Director, Globelink-Fallow


Speak to the freight software experts today call +44 (0)115 938 0280 or email sales@forwardcomputers.co.uk


www.forwardcomputers.co.uk K10110_fbj 70x133-aw.indd 1 25/04/2012 11:44


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