2000 Leagues in the air

Cargo 2000 is taking the air cargo industry a step above

Lothar Moehle, Regional Director EMEA, Cargo 2000

Lothar Moehle is a patient man. The Regional Director EMEA for Cargo 2000 seems to know that soon enough most airlines and forwarders will join his organisation, replacing airway bills with electronic data and sending regular freight status updates. “It’s just a matter of old IT systems, and to replace those can be quite an investment,” says Moehle. “Many companies simply have other priorities.”

Taking air cargo to the next level is his priority. “Cargo 2000 is the organisation founded by industry members to improve the quality of the air freight industry, to improve customer service and to implement standards across the world, streamlining operations and processes,” he explains. “At the same time, Cargo 2000 has implemented a system to control the process so there are no black holes.”

This process, he says, includes planning the shipment from origin to destination, with constant clarification to ensure the movement is going according to plan. “The route plan is part of the service commitment given by the forwarder to the customer. That is also the basis for the measurement later on to see if the service commitment has been kept or not.”

“Customers have criticised the industry for years,” he adds. “Now we are at the stage where we can improve customer service.”

Members can also move on to greater data exchange. While Phase 1 offers only airport to airport notification, Phase 2 covers the shipment from door to door. The third and final phase manages shipment planning and tracking at individual piece level and document tracking. “This will help us better implement security requirements,” says Moehle.

Of course, the ultimate goal for the industry is E-freight, an initiative started by IATA, the parent organisation of Cargo 2000. “E-freight is going beyond the basic exchange of information and tackling the issue of commercial invoices, certificates of origin, packing lists and other certificates,” says Moehle. “Moving to e-freight will take working with the industry and, in particular, with governments and customs to be able to eliminate those documents.”

Join the team

Cargo 2000 has around 70 members, which include airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers, trucking companies, airports and IT providers. Regional players include airlines such as Egyptair, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Etihad; as well as most of the larger logistics providers such as Agility, DHL, GAC, Panalpina and Schenker. Emirates Group software provider Mercator is also a member.