CCS-UK User Group is working on a new module to speed up deliveries to, and collections from transit sheds at Heathrow Airport.
The module – CCS-UK Advanced Info – will enable freight agents and transport companies working on their behalf, to pre-alert handling agents of loads being delivered, down to House AWB level, and submit Electronic Consignment Security Declarations.
The advanced information will be submitted either through a web portal for occasional users or messages sent direct from the forwarder’s own system for more frequent users.
Agents using the system will benefit from pre-allocated truck doors while handling agents will receive cargo information direct into their systems, eliminating re-keying, speeding up vehicle processing and enabling more efficient use of resources.
CCS-UK User Group chairman, Steve Parker says: “CCS-UK Advanced Info is a major step towards eliminating inefficiency and cost in the UK air cargo industry. It provides tangible benefits for everyone and, as with our recently-launched CCS-UK Fallback system, it is being provided completely free of charge to all our members.”
Simplicity and speed are the emphasis; integral data stores of all users, drivers, vehicles and transit sheds will be used to populate new shipment entries, avoiding the re-input of previously used data, and CCS-UK Advanced Info will also eliminate a number of paper documents in line with the IATA e-freight concept.
Future proofing is also very important; import release notes and External Temporary Storage Facility day sheets will be among further documents that will eventually be replaced with electronic messages.
It is planned to advise forwarders and their transport companies of the status of the handling of their trucks, and a further enhancement for imports will be the transmission of messages from the handler to the agent, requesting they send a truck, to not send one or send one at a specific time.
CCS-UK Advanced Info will initially be launched for the Heathrow Airport community but will eventually be rolled out to all airport communities in the UK.