With multiple cases of disruption over the last five years following COVID, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and most recently The Trump administration’s new tariffs, airlines have increased the focus on having resilience and flexibility from their GSSAs.

“To be successful in a rapidly evolving industry, a GSSA needs to showcase, not just commercial acumen, but prove to be a reliable partner on multiple fronts, including digitalisation and sustainability,” Matthew Taylor, Business Development Director at 4RCargo, explained.

To support this need, 4RCargo regularly runs workshops with freight forwarders to enhance online booking performance allowing for both the airline and ourselves to focus on value-added shipments, whilst simultaneously exploring with airlines how sustainability initiatives such as SAF can be incorporated at quoting stages.

Added value

GSSAs are problem solvers. A good GSSA will be able to adopt an airline’s strategic goals as their own and deliver value accordingly. This can be through opening new markets for airlines, delivering improved Road Feeder Services, providing varying levels of support, either in outside sales or back-office tasks, or simply assisting in the delivery of exceptional customer experience.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for airlines, a GSSA needs to constantly re-examine the context in which each airline is operating,” Taylor expressed. “4RCargo spends significant time working with airlines to identify the areas in which we can leverage our assets and expertise to create bespoke solutions that alleviate the pressure on airlines rather than hawking traditional ‘off the shelf’ representation models that are not fit for purpose.

Potential markets

Eastern Europe presents a unique market for airfreight, with exports constituting 50 percent of GDP growth over the last 20 years. Manufacturers consistently opt to move production from traditional markets such as Germany, Benelux, and France, to Eastern Europe due to an abundance of skilled labour in politically stable economies.

“Eastern Europe stands at the forefront of the global ‘near-shoring’ trend as major European export companies seek to improve supply chain reliability whilst maintaining cost effectiveness in manufacturing,” Taylor expressed.

Expertise in action

With each development on the global geopolitical stage, a GSSA, as a local subject matter expert, must adapt accordingly. As such, these organisations spend time searching for the opportunities rather than lamenting the challenges, whether this means new, previously unexplored trade lanes, or identifying the less impacted business on existing trade lanes.

“Global trade will persist despite the challenges and Europe as a highly industrialised, advanced economy will always remain a key player in this. A good GSSA can ride the wave rather than sink under it,” Taylor highlighted.

“We are great believers in investing in our people and one way we show this is to give our staff a profit share in the business. We are an extension of the airline’s team, with the benefit of on-the-ground experience and opportunities to support our customers in many different ways.”