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24


Issue 5 2020 - Freight Business Journal


///IT The caring, sharing airfreight programme


Franco-Dutch airline Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is piloting a new platform for forwarders looking to book a small amount of freight on cargo charters. Called KickCharter, it allows freight forwarder customers to share a widebody belly charter with other customers to one or more of the carrier’s selection of cargo destinations that


lie outside of


its current skeleton passenger or scheduled freighter network. By combining shipment


requests from various customers, the freight carrier can offer more competitive charter prices. Forwarders can choose the


flight on which they want their cargo to fly via the KickCharter portal, but the flight will only operate if sufficient capacity is sold before the deadline set for each charter. The cargo will be carried in the belly of one of the carrier’s widebody aircraſt. On the portal, forwarders


see a selection of lower-deck destinations, each with an associated fixed price per pallet (although if a pallet weighs more than 3 tonnes, an ‘over pivot rate’ will be applied). Only full pallets can be booked.


AFKLMP describes


KickCharter as a solution “unique in our industry”, one devised in response to customer needs in these unprecedented times, as well as a “new step” in its own digital transformation. The carrier’s cargo senior vice


president, GertJan Roelands, comments: “KickCharter reflects our ambition to keep extending our service range based on customer needs, offering next- level technology in combination with the expertise and insight of our teams, who help us make the difference worldwide.” Vice president distribution


and customer service Robert Kunen, tells FBJ that AFKLMP’s


own digital commercial team developed KickCharter in-house. The current service on the website is a pilot that was developed based on Salesforce.com technology, “which allowed us to develop the facility in a short amount of time”, he continues. “KickCharter deliberately only offers flights to destinations that we do not offer in our scheduled network, “so as to not interfere with our regular booking process.” Kunen says that the idea for the


service came up spontaneously as a result of the covid pandemic. “Our team came up with the idea and even though we were not sure our customers would embrace such a


revolutionary way of


selling charters, we decided to go forward.” KickCharter’s introduction


required a redeployment of in resources at the cargo carrier. “Our existing organisation only catered for charter requests for


ICHCA sees a digital shipping future


The International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (better known as ICHCA International) acts as a focal point for sharing and shaping industry views as part of a broader effort to improve cargo handling throughout international supply chains. It describes itself as dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. Based in London and


representing the global cargo handling industry since 1952, it is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose members include such major industry players as APM Terminals


(APMT), Associated British Ports (ABP), CMA Terminals and DP World, as well as many smaller port operators, cargo handlers and others. It has joined forces with other


shipping and cargo handling industry bodies to call


for the


acceleration of the process of digitisation of the maritime trade and logistics space: a process that it regards as particularly important given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global trade and international shipping. ICHCA International, the


International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), BIMCO, the


International Chamber of


Shipping (ICS), the International Harbour Masters’ Association (IHMA), the International Maritime Pilots Association (IMPA),


the


International Port Community Systems Association (IPCSA), the International Ship Suppliers’ Association (ISSA), the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents (FONASBA) and the PROTECT Group have combined their voices to call for a programme of change to be based around the following nine action points: 1.


Assess the state


of implementation and find ways to enforce the already mandatory requirements defined


full-freighter operations. It is only since the Covid-19 situation [developed] that we have crew and fleet availability for widebody passenger aircraſt. “We put a dedicated team in


place to handle charter requests for these passenger aircraſt, because these have different requirements. However, this process still requires one single customer for a full charter rotation. The beauty of KickCharter is that several customers can participate in one charter, which saw us enter a different market segment.” KickCharter is by no means the


carrier’s only digital development of late. In fact, says Kunen, “Air France-KLM Cargo has been front- runner in the industry in online digital distribution solutions. Our aim is to offer our customers all the services we offer through our customer service channel also online, not only on our website but also through our API offer


in the International Maritime Organization’s Facilitation (IMO FAL) Convention supporting the transmission, receipt and response of information required for the movement of ships and cargo. 2.


Ensure harmonisation


of data standards beyond the IMO FAL Convention to facilitate sharing of port and berth-related master data. 3. Work towards the


introduction of Port Community Systems and secure data exchange platforms. 4.


guidance on maritime cyber risk management. 5.


Raise on


connecting to their own systems or through third-party portals. “Today, we already offer


quotation facilities with dynamic rates and booking options with real-time access to our free-sales capacity. We are soon to launch a new functionality for managing bookings in allocated space, and for modifying bookings. We are also continuously improving our on-line track and trace facility. “Before the Covid-19 situation


[developed], in February 2020, our direct online share was 28% of our all-in sales worldwide. This trend had been growing for a long time, but the growth definitively accelerated as a consequence of the pandemic. “With our customers as well


as our own service staff working from home, our digital front-end has become a more attractive offer for our customers and we reached a direct on-line share of 38.5% of our all-in sales in the month of May. We have never seen such a steep growth of adoption for our digital channel before…our digital offer is


port community service providers and users can share data under secure data sharing protocols. 8.


Establish a coalition of


willing stakeholders to improve transparency of the supply chain, starting with the electronic bill of lading. 9.


Establish a capacity


building framework to support smaller, less developed and under- staffed port communities. The various NGOs involved


Review existing IMO awareness


and promote best practices and standardisation


how port


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


communities can apply emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, internet of things, digital twins, robotics process automation, autonomous systems, blockchain, virtual reality and augmented reality. 6.


Facilitate the


implementation of such emerging technologies and other innovative tools to increase health security in port environments. 7.


forwardcomputers.co.uk


accept the requirement for high levels of collaboration across the shipping industry if these action points are to be fulfilled, as well as inter-governmental collaboration, “as the acceleration of digitalisation will require change management at local, regional, and national levels.” Moreover, they jointly argue


that national trade facilitation committees


implemented


according to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement “could be


an excellent instrument


for member states and port authorities to drive the change”.


Collaborative approach Develop a framework


and roadmap to facilitate the implementation and operationalisation of digital port platforms in which authorised


Richard Brough, head of ICHCA International, tells FBJ that many of these same NGOs have been working together for some time in order to develop a joint approach to the problems facing


more important than ever before and we intend to keep that trend growing.” Kunen believes that the whole


industry is heading towards a new era in which digital becomes a much more, if not the most important, distribution channel. “I personally believe that API


technology is the way to go, as this enables true integration of systems of various players in the logistic chain, going far beyond what is currently possible on the individual airlines’ websites,” he says, adding: “To enable forwarders to adopt easily and without too much investment to the online API offerings of airlines, it is crucial that airlines collaborate to establish and respect standardised API endpoint structures. Air France-KLM Cargo has taken a leading role in IATA’s Modernizing Cargo Distribution initiative, where IATA and several participating airlines collaborate to establish such standards, under the umbrella of IATA’s ‘ONE Record’ initiative.”


the maritime industry. Moreover, working together allows them to pool their resources and offer what becomes a stronger voice by way of the combined weight behind it. The Covid-19 pandemic


encouraged them to speak out now because so many industry players are today working differently as a result of the crisis (for example, making greater use of IT to facilitate remote working), but primarily because


ICHCA


International and the other NGOs involved believe the acceleration of the process of digitisation in the industry is so important. Multi-port and bigger single


port operators are already on board with most of the concepts of efficiency through digitisation and are already investing in the creation of ‘smart ports’, ‘virtual ports’ and the like by making use of the new technologies such as AI, Big Data and so on, Brough observes. They are


beginning


to make full use of these new technologies that are coming onto the market, but smaller facilities are falling behind. The smaller port operators or


cargo handling businesses might be more risk averse, they might have less money to spend, they might not even fully understand the need for greater digitisation, he suggests. As a result, something of a ‘two-tier’ situation has developed.


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