AIR CARG O WEEK


WEEKLY NEWS BY Edward HARDY


The daily grind of road feeder service (RFS) providers in the airfreight sector is defined less by long-term planning and more by a relentless need to extinguish operational fires. According to Asparuh Koev, co- founder of logistics tech firm Transmetrics, this chronic firefighting mentality is the primary roadblock to meaningful digital transformation. “One of the biggest reasons is that RFS providers operate in an environment of constant unpredictability—flight delays,


last-minute


load changes, customs bottlenecks,” Koev explains. “When your teams are putting out fires all day, strategic digital initiatives get sidelined.” But unpredictability isn’t the only culprit. Systemic issues rooted in


disconnected systems and incompatible data structures compound the challenge. “There is no overarching real-time standard data exchange between airlines, handlers, and road operators,” Koev says. Standards like IATA’s ONE Record and AIDX XML messaging are gaining traction, “but these do not inherently integrate with Transport Management Systems (TMS), telematics, or third-party fleet systems used by RFS providers.” This lack of integration forces RFS providers to rely on a mishmash of


tracking tools, emails, and Excel spreadsheets, creating what Koev calls “isolated data pockets” that ultimately lead to blind spots. “Planners still have to pick up the phone to find out what is going on,” he adds. “It makes transformation extremely difficult to embed into daily operations.”


The problem with manual inputs While airfreight continues to evolve with new digital initiatives, the fragmented IT landscape within RFS operations remains a serious drag on progress. According to Koev, even when digital links are technically possible, “the underlying data quality is poor or inconsistent.” This fragmentation results in practical consequences that hurt


operational efficiency. “If a flight gets delayed for two hours but the updates reach the dispatcher 45 minutes late due to a lag in data exchange,” he explains, “we have trucks arriving too soon and waiting idly at the airport, blocking docks and potentially causing delays to the next pickup.” The manual nature of many workflows introduces additional risks.


“Paper-based or manually completed Excel workflows introduce the risk of human errors and potentially illegible or missing information,” Koev says. These problems are especially acute among smaller RFS providers, “who might struggle to justify the budget to overhaul systems so that they can better integrate.” RFS providers also face a unique tempo that differentiates them from


long-haul trucking. “They are syncing to specific flight schedules,” Koev points out, “which means dealing with narrow delivery windows and hard cutoffs. A single 30-minute delay can mean missing the aircraft cut- off time.” Missed SLAs, disrupted downstream schedules, and spoiled temperature-sensitive cargo are just some of the potential consequences. That’s why Koev believes automation tools for RFS need to be both


proactive and deeply integrated. “They must support dispatchers in real- time, not just in planning, and they must factor in airport slot availability, driver hours, and customs time in one unified view.”


From chaos to control The idea of “operational clutter” is central to understanding why so many digital initiatives fail. “If we think of operational clutter as all the disjointed processes and data dumps,” says Koev, “then yes, reducing this can make a huge improvement.” Koev describes how traditional dispatching—bogged down by emails,


calls, spreadsheets, and misaligned updates—can be


replaced with predictive tools that integrate disparate information sources into a single operational view. “By consolidating all this into one integrated platform—one with built-in analysis that learns from historical and real-time patterns—you go from reacting to disruptions to anticipating them.” These systems can trigger alerts ahead of problems, giving dispatchers


time to reroute vehicles or shift driver schedules before issues escalate. “This kind of smart automation gives dispatchers ‘strategic space’ to act like air traffic controllers, not firefighters,” he explains. He points to a Bulgarian fleet operator who made a successful leap


from analog tools to a scalable, automated system. “Orders were managed manually in Excel, and their internally built software had very limited functionality,” Koev says. But after implementing modern TMS, GPS, and telematics systems, the company was able to automate driver tracking, salary calculations, and key KPIs like fuel consumption per route. “It took several months, but they did it in short, focused sprints, avoiding major disruption.” For small to mid-sized fleets, Koev says this transformation is


entirely replicable. “What’s needed is leadership that sees the long- term value of data and a partner who speaks both the language of logistics and modern software.”


www.aircargoweek.com 18 AUGUST 2025 ACW 03


HOW ROAD FEEDER SERVICES CAN BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE


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