14 than


Issue 7 2019 - Freight Business Journal


///IT Equipment exchange made easy


An updated version of the skypooling ULD global exchange platform has been released that offers additional tools and easier sharing of containers and pallets. Verion 2.0 was unveiled at


mid-September’s ULD Care Annual Conference in Montreal. The updated version – described as “entirely reworked” - enables the more


50 airlines


currently using the ULD sharing platform to make better use of available aircraſt cargo capacity, to avoid deadhead moves and to minimise the need for storing empty ULDs. The skypooling 2.0 interface


is more user-friendly, while new features include a new auto-matching function, which automatically links up airlines


with ULD over- or under-stocks, saving time on manual searches. Communications have also been improved such that bookings can also be made directly on the skypooling system. All functions are now available via smartphone or tablet. General manager of


skypooling, Christine Klemmer, comments: “In the future, there will be many more solutions to find on the platform that will make ULD sharing even more easy and comfortable; skypooling therefore will become an essential work tool for many ULD controllers and will help them to save time, effort and costs. Due to the avoidance of empty runs, the CO2 balance of the airlines will improve as well.”


Head of marketing, Martin


Kraemer, adds the new design and additional features “are just the first step among many more to improve the platform and its services to become the leading place for ULD sharing.”


Customer feedback


Klemmer tells FBJ that the changes incorporated in 2.0 were made as a direct result of feedback from the platform’s airline users. “We based our changes on extensive surveys and several personal discussions with current users and different stakeholders,


held interviews and


telephone received


feedback from current and potential customer airlines,


ULD controllers, top managers, ground handling agents, airport authorities, ULD manufacturers and so on.” There were also demo


versions at various events such as Air Cargo Europe in Munich and the Innovation Forum in Belgium. Changes to the system had


been planned for some time prior to the release of 2.0 in September. In fact, Klemmer explains: “Nine months ago, we announced that the platform was going to be developed to a new level. Deep development started in March and, only six months later, we were proud to launch www. skypooling.com.” She continues: “We will keep developing skypooling


Agility promises a green digital revolution


Agility recently announced that it had invested a total of US$18 million in what it calls ‘green supply chain technologies’ by way of Agility Ventures, its specialist corporate venture arm. Agility Ventures is all about


placing logistics venture capital, explains Mariam Al- Foudery, Agility’s head of global marketing and corporate social responsibility (pictured). It not only helps start-ups to develop and grow, but also allows Agility to learn from these industry ‘disruptors’ and how they go about innovating and inventing. Amongst the start-ups who are


benefiting from the $18 million investment are Hyliion and TVP Solar. Hyliion is a hybrid technology trucking industry that reduces fuel consumption and


corresponding emissions by up to 30% through recycling kinetic energy from braking that would otherwise be wasted.


fuels to provide cheaper, cleaner, solar heat. The investment in start-ups active in green supply chain


its portfolio of warehousing and light industrial facilities across the Middle East and Africa. It


is also incorporating


sustainability into business discussions with customers and offers emissions reports using a methodology certified to ISO 14064 standards. Agility Ventures


has made TVP Solar uses solar thermal


technology in applications including


air conditioning,


desalination and process heat. Already used in the Middle East – notably at Agility’s corporate headquarters in Kuwait. TVP systems are used in place of fossil


technologies is just part of a wider environmental strategy for Agility. By 2025, it plans to have cut its emissions by 25% relative to 2016 levels. To reach that goal, the company is investing in a range of new ‘greener’ buildings as it adds over 300,000sq m to


green technologies one of its four core investment areas, while Agility itself has placed environmental strategy front and centre. Agility chairwoman Henadi Al-


Saleh says: “Green technology is a major focus of our investment strategy, and we’re always on the lookout


working in an agile way, releasing regularly new features. We keep the dialogue with customers continuously ongoing to understand which improvements they expect in our platform.” And, looking ahead: “Our


next big step in enhancing our service is that colleagues will be able to cover each other’s shiſts and have inside and revise all transactions that came from their team-mates.” The skypooling platform


continues to grow in popularity. At the moment, it has about 100 users, a number said to be growing every day, and 50 airlines. Up to 9,000 ULDs are being offered each week on the platform. Feedback is encouraging,


says Klemmer: “Qatar Airways, for example, sees us as a “great


and digital industry leadership is based on a three-part strategy, she continues. One part of that strategy is Agility Ventures, which as we have seen is investing in start-ups; these are active not only in green technologies, but also other industry game-changers such as Blockchain, artificial intelligence and e-commerce technology enablers. A second aspect of the


strategy concerns digitising and investing in Agility’s core business technologies, while the third is moving towards a wholly new digital version of a supply chain enterprise. Thus, for example, it has invested in a new digital logistics platform, Shipper, which supports online freight


businesses that can revolutionise the supply chain to help protect the planet. “We are looking at innovative


Forward thinking, Forward moving Since purchasing ForwardOffice in 1998, our business


has evolved considerably. ForwardOffice has developed with us throughout this period. We have developed a


fruitful relationship with FCL and see them very much as a strategic partner, rather than just a software supplier.


Jerry Cook, IT Manager, Meachers Global Logistics


solutions that drive business value by reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and reducing energy consumption at the same time.”


Digital transformation forwardcomputers.co.uk


Investing in green supply chain technologies is just one part of Agility’s wider programme to transform its business in a new digital age. Indeed, the company has set a goal of becoming “the digital leader for the logistics industry”, says Al-Foudery. Agility’s digital transformation


platform”, on which airlines that are “willing to assist each other in their day-to-day ULD management are a click away”. Meanwhile, US carrier United


finds it “exciting to see such a valuable tool as skypooling being modernised for now and the future”, she reports. For Delta, it is a “one of a kind crowdsourcing tool” and Kenya Airways says that it has helped the carrier to resolve ULD deficits within its network. Users say that the platform


gives them easy and fast access to solutions that they wouldn’t have found otherwise, Klemmer continues. What is more, having access


to more functions within version 2.0 allows users to update their ULD stocks and communicate via the platform almost in real time, she concludes.


forwarding and e-commerce shipping. “We want to move into new


ways of forwarding, as well as into new customer segments,” says Al- Foudery. But while she believes Agility is certainly already amongst the industry leaders in digital transformation, the change isn’t being made for the sake of staying ahead, she emphasises. It is all about serving Agility’s


customers better while also taking care to meet its environmental and social responsibilities. This is an exciting time of huge change in the industry, Al-Foudery notes. “Change can be difficult but this is also a period of huge opportunity… and this is how Agility sees it.”


for dynamic new IAG offers enhanced tracking IAG


Cargo has signed a


partnership to offer customers a new tracking service using Cargo Signal’s sensor-based logistics platform. The service provides end-to-


end monitoring and notification using cellular networks to communicate with tracking devices on cargo. These in turn transmit real time data, when in cellular range, on location, light levels and temperature and humidity readings. Three service levels,


Visibility, Quality and Security & Quality, are available. All service levels include the use of a sensor-based tracking device, and visibility of the shipment


light and


through web and mobile applications. Quality also offers live


temperature


data, 24/7 enhanced condition monitoring and notification from the Cargo Signal Command Centre, while Security & Quality adds data summaries post- shipment. The Cargo Signal service and


24/7 support and monitoring from


the Cargo Signal


Command Centre is available to all customers using IAG Cargo’s Critical, Prioritise, Constant Climate, Secure, Perform and Constant Fresh products, subject to pre-program start-up arrangements, with GPS devices delivered directly to origin.


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