Navigating The Digital Evolution (Journey) Of Airfreight Logistics
Kebebew Bulto, Project Manager, Ethiopian Airlines
Kebebew Bulto, Project Manager, Ethiopian Airlines
Since the beginning of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the logistics industry, particularly airfreight logistics, has been confronted with strong demand to which it had to respond appropriately. The appropriate response included a significant transformation driven by digital evolution. The restrictions, complete border closures, and bans on human travel during the pandemic forced consumers to rapidly adopt online shopping, which hastened the digitization of the industry to cope with customer needs.
History tells us that airfreight logistics came around the beginning of the 20th century when airlines were transporting cargo along with passengers. As demand for greater capacity and faster service delivery increased, airfreight logistics developed and became an increasingly popular choice for long-distance shipping.
Although the digitization journey is currently lifting off, a lot of work lies ahead of us. The most critical task besides the digitization of the internal processes of individual stakeholders is the significant challenge of coordination and collaboration among them. Airfreight leadership should take ownership of digitization initiatives and nurture a smooth environment to ensure the success of these projects. Early industry challenges, such as extensive documentation, lack of transparency, and slow communications, can only be resolved through strong leadership commitment to forge and ensure collaborative partnerships across the industry. Data sharing is central to these efforts. The support and collective commitment of industry organizations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), World Customs Organization (WCO), and governments will take center stage.
As the airfreight industry community, we must embrace digital solutions and constantly seek ways to improve and innovate
So far, there are multiple but immature industry initiatives that were started and either scrapped or moved extremely slowly. I am hopeful that if the IATA ONE Record initiative is quickly adopted by industry stakeholders and supported by governments, it will solve the industry's digitization challenges and improve transparency and visibility for all involved. This way, we will make the digitization journey a success and make failures a thing of the past. Equally important is the need to adapt and evolve our skills and knowledge to keep up with the latest trends and technologies to remain competitive through upskilling and reskilling. As the airfreight industry community, we must embrace digital solutions and constantly seek ways to improve and innovate.
