The countdown to 1 January 2026—the date set by IATA for the global adoption of the ONE Record standard—is well underway, but the industry still has considerable ground to cover.
“From our perspective, the industry has made good progress toward accepting ONE Record as the standard but is still a good distance away from full adoption,” said Robert Pedersen, senior Director of Product Management at Descartes.
While early steps have been promising, he cautions against expecting complete compliance by the deadline:“The industry will not have 100 percent adoption across all business types by 1 January 2026, as processes and software ecosystems are still reliant on the stable and dependable Cargo-IMP (and Cargo-XML) messaging.”
This points to a deeper truth: legacy systems remain deeply embedded within the fabric of global airfreight. Many stakeholders—from freight forwarders to regulatory agencies—are still tethered to long-standing infrastructure, complicating the transition to a data-centric, API-driven model. And while ONE Record’s promise of a “single source of truth” is compelling, the practical realities of change management across such a vast ecosystem are daunting.
Nonetheless, Descartes is playing a proactive role in bridging the gap. Its Air Messaging™ platform is already primed to accommodate JSON-based APIs, offering clients a migration path that does not disrupt operations. “Data transformation is a core function of that service,” Pedersen noted—a necessity in an industry where backward compatibility remains essential, even amid forward momentum.
From legacy to leading edge
Implementing ONE Record is not as simple as flipping a digital switch. Pedersen was quick to highlight the historical weight carried by existing systems: “One of the largest [challenges] is that Cargo-IMP has served the trade well, with minor alterations, for nearly half a century.”
That legacy has created deeply entrenched practices—both human and machine-based—that resist rapid change. “Many legacy cargo systems—and regulatory bodies like CBP—rely on Cargo-IMP or its variants for the exchange of cargo documents,” Pedersen explained.
Migrating to a data-first paradigm upends these processes, requiring not only technical innovation but also cultural and procedural overhauls.
Descartes, however, is positioned to lead this transition. “We have been a leader in the movement of data and the transition to data-first solutions,” Pedersen noted.
Their ongoing work involves converting traditional Cargo-IMP data into formats compatible with RESTful APIs, essentially offering a bridge from the old world to the new.
Insights gleaned from early adopters such as Lufthansa have proven instrumental. “Even though ONE Record is presented as a global solution, there will be opportunities to navigate and update current business requirements, ensure data security, and re-establish both human and network connections,” he stated.
Security, compatibility and control
With the rise of data-centric systems, the issue of data ownership, control, and security becomes paramount. Pedersen stressed that for Descartes, these are not afterthoughts—they are foundational. “Security first is our approach in all product development,” he affirmed.
This guiding principle ensures that the shift to ONE Record doesn’t compromise the integrity or privacy of sensitive data. “We have worked with our partners to ensure that the exchange of data elements via ONE Record maintains the security profile they’ve come to expect,” Pedersen expressed. Whether handling proprietary airline data or regulatory filings, Descartes remains committed to delivering secure, reliable service.
Equally vital is interoperability with legacy systems, which remains a core challenge across the air cargo landscape. Here, Descartes’ Air Messaging solution plays a pivotal role. “It is designed to connect and translate messaging for clients, regardless of the format,” Pedersen explained. “Our services are the ‘single source of truth’ that will drive the ONE Record JSON restful API for our clients.”
The cost of inaction
The industry still has stubborn obstacles to overcome—chief among them, fragmented compliance landscapes and legacy habits. “The regulations aren’t so much as evolving as being shattered and put back together with superglue,” Pedersen declared.
This chaotic regulatory environment places enormous pressure on stakeholders to respond quickly and cost-effectively. “One message yesterday is likely now three messages—and there is a cost to this,” he added. The inefficiency of fragmented messaging underscores the importance of unified data standards like ONE Record, which Descartes believes will ultimately reduce cost and complexity.
But achieving this vision will require deep collaboration. “It is very critical to collaborate with all stakeholders to define processes and workflows,” Pedersen asserted.
While IATA has “set out a map,” it’s up to the collective industry to “find the route forward.” “Rapid onboarding of air carriers and other trading partners reduces the amount of paper exchanged and improves the productive time of resources, helping them focus on higher value work,” he explained.
