Aircargo Club Deutschland has urged the need for rapid introduction of digitisation in supply chains and it says the airfreight in Germany is in need of innovations.
Representatives say there too little readiness on the part of the German airfreight sector to introduce innovations, which clearly “visible in international competition”.
The club says South East Asia is an example, and is the global pioneer in the field of e-freight and relies on digital processes from start to finish – unlike Europe, which it says is bringing up the rear.
ACD says it is planning to win over all the relevant stakeholders to pursue a common goal at a German forum entitled ‘The Future of Air Cargo Supply Chains’. The idea is to provide clear momentum in order to restore international competitiveness in a sustainable and profitable manner.
The digitisation of processes in industry and trade makes supply chains faster, but a good deal more complex too.
Any modernisation or optimisation of partial processes also affects the next stage in procedures ACD notes, while logistics specialists must adapt their business models and services to this in a consistent manner.
ACD president, Winfried Hartmann says: “We dare not just think in terms of partial processes. Synergies from the individual process stages have to be used for the complete transport chain.
“There’s a need to pool the expertise in these fields and improve the complete supply chain – regardless of individual interests. To achieve this, it’s necessary to take into account the complete transport chain – from the consignor to the freight forwarder, the cargo handler, the airline and airports and even the customs authority and finally the recipient.”
ACD says transparency and digitisation are the keys for consumers if they are going to rely on classic airfreight in future too, but there are still too many gaps needing to be filled.
“Our planned forum entitled ‘The Future of Air Cargo Supply Chains’ is therefore designed to bring together all those involved so that we can draw up practical solutions together. Supply chains have to be made more innovative and more transparent. Germany is visibly losing touch in the air freight business,” adds Hartmann.
