SHORT SHOTS

ABC and SkyCell test vaccine transports

The Russian cargo carrier together with ULD provider, SkyCell, has just completed a roundtrip of 12 containers from Amsterdam to Hong Kong and back. The project is part of a trial series initiated by AirBridgeCargo Airlines to test various loading options for accomplishing safe vaccine transportation in advance of the upcoming distribution of Covid-19 serums once developed. The SkyCell 1500C containers were flown from the Netherlands to Hong Kong in pre-conditioned mode on board a Boeing 747-8F. After arriving in Chek Lap Kok, the boxes were filled with vaccines and flown back to Europe at temperatures ranging from +2° to +8° centigrade.
“It is amazing to be part of this complicated process and work under cost-efficient and safe logistics solutions together with our experienced team of logistics practitioners. Powered by a diversified fleet of freighters within Volga-Dnepr Group, we are now analyzing and mapping out all possible scenarios for vaccine transportation, even using technical capabilities of An-124-100 and Il-76TD-90VD,” Yulia Celetaria, Pharma Director, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, commented.
During the first 7 months of 2020, ABC managed to leverage 40,000-plus tons of temperature-critical pharma consignments; an increase of more than 150% year-over-year. Special cargo is a key commodity within ABC’s wide-ranging product portfolio.

DSV adds two 747Fs to Europe-Asia cargo air bridge

Starting in OCT20, two more 747 freighters will join DSV’s Air Charter Network, as it expands further to secure air cargo capacities on main routes, such as Shanghai to Luxembourg (upping the existing service to three scheduled departures each week, totaling a monthly 1,000 tons of inbound capacity), and the new Hong Kong to Luxembourg route (400 tons of inbound capacity each month). DSV’s Head of Global Air Freight Procurement, Mads Ravn, detailed: “The DSV Air Charter Network has provided stability to our customers, and with the latest addition to the network we are connecting more capacity during the peak season from Shanghai to our hub in Luxembourg using 747 freighters to and from China. We are adding Hong Kong to the mix with fully controlled capacity to and from Luxembourg and thereby adding a combined 800 tons to and from Central Europe with scheduled truck service to all key markets. This in addition to our existing twice weekly charter operation from Shanghai via Baku and our large block space network from Hong Kong.”

CHAMP and Air Cargo Belgium sign MoU

An open-ended Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CHAMP Cargosystems and Air Cargo Belgium (ACB) was signed on 10SEP20, wherein the two entities agree to set up an innovation road map for the air cargo industry. CHAMP is already an Air Cargo Belgium member, having joined in 2018, and is now officially its preferred partner when it comes to rolling out and testing of new technologies and innovations. The MoU thus formalizes what CHAMP has already been doing as a global air cargo IT expert in its close cooperation with ACB. Arnaud Lambert, CEO at CHAMP Cargosystems, stated: “CHAMP is thrilled to support Air Cargo Belgium’s Innovation & Sustainability Steering group. The technologies and innovations born of this partnership will not only benefit our two organizations – but also, the Belgian air cargo community and the industry as a whole.” Air Cargo Belgium’s Director, Geert Keirens added: “We look forward to the positive cooperation with CHAMP in developing new innovations in the industry. In addition, the company will become a driving force in our Innovation & Sustainability Steering group.”

Cargolux takes up Shenzhen in its route network

Cargolux lays claim to being the first foreign airline ever to land at Shenzhen back in NOV92. Now, almost 28 years later, another inaugural flight has taken place. On 18SEP20, Cargolux announced its new, weekly Luxembourg-Bangkok-Shenzhen cargo frequency, which also stops over in Budapest on its return, thus fulfilling a growing need for capacity from these locations and setting up to develop more business.
Cargolux already serves five other destinations in mainland China, so the addition of the country’s 4th busiest airport (the world’s 24th busiest cargo airport), brings the company’s Chinese presence to six, and – according to its press release, “bolsters the company’s position as a leading provider of air cargo services in the region”.
Cargolux’s EVP Sales & Marketing, Domenico Ceci, explained the move: “Shenzhen is an important commercial gateway and this new frequency will allow us to better connect with customers in the region. This additional service between Europe and China will also offer seamless main-deck capacity between these two commercial centers.”

Gebrüder Weiss’ myGW digital portal goes live

Following a successful pilot phase that launched in Spring 2020, Gebrüder Weiss has now gone live with its fine-tuned myGW customer portal and completed another milestone in its “The Best of Both Worlds” digital strategy. Customers in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia, now have real-time access around the clock to all Gebrüder Weiss business services. More countries will be added soon. CEO of Gebrüder Weiss, Wolfram Senger-Weiss explained: “With myGW, we have created a digital platform through which we can provide our customers with real-time information about their flow of goods – for land transports, air and sea freight, and warehouse logistics. Not only does this ensure a maximum degree of transparency but also facilitates the flow of information throughout the entire supply chain. myGW also enables our customers to provide their own customers with information about the exact status of their consignments at all times. A huge advantage. myGW is intuitively designed, with customer feedback showing that the portal is very easy to use and understand. The resulting time savings represent an additional added value.”

He added: “We have a considerable amount of expertise in physically handling transport and logistics orders. We are now able to gradually complement this traditional expertise with new digital offers to enable an unparalleled level of customer satisfaction in the logistics business. With our commitment to operational and digital excellence, it is our aim to offer our customers the best of both worlds and to cement our position as a benchmark for quality in our industry.”

GEODIS and IBM SOM launch eCommerce Fulfillment Service

Powered by IBM Sterling Order Management, GEODIS now offers a solution for retailers and consumer brands in organizing and keeping track of their store and online sales, warehousing, and efficient logistics, ensuring that their omnichannel customer experience is heightened. Demand management made easy, at reduced costs and with improved customer satisfaction. Ashwani Nath, Vice President & Global Head of e-Channel Solutions at GEODIS, said: “We’re seeing a growing trend of leading brands using stores as e-fulfillment and customer experience centers, bringing an incremental level of business complexity coupled with the need to master online sales. Without effective order management, order orchestration, and logistics management, efforts to sell across different channels – from brick-and-mortar stores to mobile phones – are bound to disappoint consumers. Brands seeking to accelerate their e-commerce operations can increase their e-commerce capabilities by making distribution networks more agile to better handle demand variability with the help of Sterling Order Management to confront formidable logistical hurdles.”
Jeanette Barlow, VP of Offering Management at IBM Sterling, illustrated the influence that COVID-19 has had on customer experience: “The consumer behavior associated with contactless commerce and the desire for fulfillment flexibility has challenged retailers and brand owners to accelerate their omnichannel capabilities, which is driving them to align their commerce and fulfillment platforms in order to meet evolving consumer demands. As we continue to emerge with new insights, we’re seeing leading brands modernize their critical supply chain applications such as Order Management to gain deeper analytics that help improve business performance and put an emphasis on managing their inventory at a holistic level – no longer siloed by channel or location. We think this trend will continue to grow as companies innovate and increase their competitiveness by building intelligent supply chains that are tuned to the demands of the specific needs of each business to optimize performance.”

Meneguette steps up LATAM’s ladder to become new VP Cargo

LATAM Cargo Brazil has appointed Otávio Meneguette as VP Cargo Brazil. He succeeds Diogo Elias, who switches to the passenger division, taking over responsibility for Sales and Marketing at LATAM Airlines Brazil.
Meneguette joined the LATAM Airlines Group in 2015, initially working in cargo planning and commercial areas. Since 2019, he had been LATAM Cargo Brazil’s Operations VP.
“I am motivated by this new challenge and excited to follow up on this great moment for our cargo business. LATAM Cargo is a reference for the sector in terms of operations and is also very important for our sustainability as a Group. We will continue working to identify opportunities, enable new businesses, and offer innovations to all customers who trust our network’s connectivity and our excellence in logistics,” the manager states.
Prior to joining LATAM, Meneguette worked for large corporations such as Suzano Papel & Celulose and Votorantim Cimentos. He also has over 13 years of professional experience with direct performance in Commercial Strategy, Logistics, Supply Chain, and New Business Development.

Logistics Start-up LAB HAUS61 becomes GmbH

Accelerating its own success: A year after it first launched, HAUS61 has now founded as a GmbH with startup CargoSteps and the logistics service provider, Sovereign Group, as its shareholders. This alliance, it is hoped, will further drive HAUS61’s success in the long-term, in acting as an accelerator, bringing logistics startups together with established logistics companies. The HAUS61 accelerator program is sponsored not only by its shareholders, but also by heavyweight industry experts such as Fraport, KLM/AirFrance MartinAir Cargo and LUG. Start-ups in the program are given the opportunity to participate in a scholarship lasting up to 12 months, including a mentoring program, and to actively develop their initiatives with industry support.  
HAUS61 already counts a number of success stories since it began: Scholarship holders were, for example, Wakeo, whose Managing Director Julien Coté was recently listed as a Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneur, and ThroughPut’s ELITE product which is available on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace since a while now. Other startups were Helios Aerospace, Conbee, and CargoSteps itself. The latter won the Frankfurt Founder’s Award back in 2017 and was named Startup of the Year in 2019. Scholarship places for the new year are now available, with the first already having been awarded to MotionMiners at Speaking for HAUS61, its Managing Director and CargoSteps Co-Managing Director, Murat Karakaya, said: "I am happy about this new challenge and I am positive that the foundation of the GmbH is just the beginning of a very successful year." Hendrik Bender, Senior Director Business Development & Marketing at Sovereign, added: "The recipe for success of HAUS61 is the combination of the sponsors’ many years of experience and fresh ideas from the start-ups. Together, projects and opportunities arise that were previously not possible."

Record 50 tons on board a B777-300 for IAG Cargo

Out of the network of more than 340 scheduled, weekly cargo-only flights that IAG has set up since the start of the pandemic, one in particular stands out. Why? Because it marks the group’s largest ever cargo uplift from India on board of a B777-300 – namely exactly 50,026 kgs. It was a recent long-haul flight from Mumbai to London, carrying dense engineering goods headed for Europe and North America, alongside various other products such as fruit and vegetables, pharmaceuticals, and courier goods, that provided the load. Dense cargo requires very careful planning, when it comes to trim, load spread, and maximized volume usage.  

IAG Cargo’s India connection includes reconfigured cargo-only aircraft as well as charter flights, with daily connections to Mumbai and Delhi, and multiple weekly services to Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. AUG20 saw IAG Cargo celebrate its 200th cargo-only flight from MAY20, thus ensuring a bilateral air bridge of vital goods moving during pandemic. Area Commercial Manager for South Asia, Ankush Chawla at IAG Cargo had this to say: "Air cargo is a vital part of the business here at IAG and at the start of the pandemic, to support our customers we were one of the first airlines to offer dedicated charter and cargo-only flights. This milestone demonstrates dedication to our customers, highlighting the commitment from the IAG Cargo India team on the ground. The achievement would not have been possible without the unconditional support from our business partners. We've been incredibly proud to be supporting Indian businesses during this time."

eCommerce drives 737-800BCF freighter conversions

At a time when passenger aircraft orders are being postponed or shelved, Boeing recently announced that it had received an order for two converted 737-800BCF, bringing its total orders for this type to 134. It will therefore be opening more cargo conversion lines Guangzhou, China, and Singapore to meet the demand which arises from the increase in e-commerce and the need for express goods. With a revenue payload of 23 tons, a range of 3,750 km, and 20% greater fuel efficiency than its pure freighter sibling, the 737-800BCF is a highly attractive choice for this kind of cargo product. To now, Boeing has delivered 36 737-800BCF to 10 customers around the globe. It will be opening a second conversion line at its Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co Ltd (GAMECO) site in early 2021, and a second conversion line for 767-300BCF widebody conversion at the Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd location before the end of this year. GAMECO’s General Manager, Norbert Marx stated: “The addition of the new production line demonstrates our ability to quickly respond to market trends and requirements and is a testament to the skill and professionalism of the entire GAMECO-Boeing team.”