AIR CARG O WEEK


WEEKLY NEWS


HAS IATA ONE RECORD DELIVERED ON ITS PROMISE?


From messaging to data sharing Traditional standards like Cargo-IMP and Cargo-XML supported digitised communication, although data fragmentation remained an issue. Airlines, forwarders, handlers, and regulators all held their own data, often duplicating or correcting it. ONE Record flips the existing model on its head by leaving the data in its owner’s location, where access is controlled by the owner, and partners access the data from the original source. This increases data quality and accountability and


facilitates between disparate plug-and-play systems. Federated


interoperability security


infrastructures, which support authentication and confidentiality, alleviate historic concerns around shared operational data. Essentially,


the change


moves air cargo from document exchange to real-time collaboration.


BY Osman JAMIL


FOR a significant period, the digitalisation of the air cargo industry focused on the replacement of paper- based processes with their electronic equivalents. The e-freight program had laid the foundational groundwork, with electronic air waybills now used for over


two-thirds of global shipments, thereby


proving the industry’s capability to transform. Yet, the digitalisation of documents did not change the fundamental nature of how information moved throughout the supply chain. The data still lived in


silos, passing through traditional messaging systems designed decades ago. IATA’s ONE Record solution was born out of the


need to change this fundamental reality. Instead of duplicative data exchange between parties, ONE Record creates a single digital record that can be accessed by all relevant parties using standardised web APIs. Based on a common data model using JSON-LD, it aligns with the current standards of web technologies already adopted within other sectors. The objective is both simple and lofty: one shipment, one single source of truth.


Early benefits and practical limits The momentum behind this initiative is rising. This year, ONE Record was recognised as the preferred standard in data exchange in the cargo industry by IATA, with over 70 percent of global air waybills anticipated to be using this standard in the near future. There is general consensus that traditional systems cannot accommodate modern logistics needs driven by e-commerce, pharma, and time-critical shipments. Improvements in operations are coming incrementally. Stakeholders are increasingly working with shared data on shipments rather


than reconciled reports.


However, progress is not uniform. Air cargo is a network- effect ecosystem, so this means that benefits accrue on a large scale rather than an incremental one. There is a sense that smaller operators and ageing IT infrastructure hinder this progress, and this illustrates that digital


transformation is often hindered more by organisation rather than technology.


Data transparency meets industry in


reality ONE Record also drives cultural change. An increase transparency


reduces data imbalance between


stakeholders. An increase in data visibility will result in greater efficiency. Global tensions, changes in trade agreements, and disrupted airspace demand faster business


decision-making. Fragmented information


systems now pose an operational risk rather than simply an efficiency risk.


A foundation rather than a finish line The true significance of ONE Record may ultimately be in what follows. The IATA-designed Air Cargo AI Excellence Hub and the applications that make it possible to interact in natural language with cargo standards all rely on structured and standardised data. Artificial intelligence and automation will not be possible without a unified data structure. Has ONE Record achieved what it set out to do? Not


entirely, perhaps. But “not entirely” may not have been the point. The success of ONE Record to this point has been incremental rather than revolutionary. By fundamentally changing the way in which data related to a shipment is shared and managed, it provides the infrastructure necessary to make a true digital air cargo industry possible. Digitalisation of the air cargo business will not just be possible because it is paperless; it will be possible because the data will be trusted and accessible. In this sense, perhaps ONE Record is not so much a finished product as it is the platform on which the future of the air cargo business will be developed.


05


www.aircargoweek.com


20 APRIL2026 ACW


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