Temperature deviations in cool chain shipments is something every air cargo carrier wants to avoid and unit load device (ULD) company Jettainer has launched a new service to help its customers.
‘COOL Management’ was launched in September and is a service for temperature-controlled ULDs. It includes the leasing, management and positioning of ULDs as well as monitoring during the whole process.
The Lufthansa subsidiary believes the service will increase efficiency across all parts of the supply chain, in a sector which keeps on rising. In addition, it feels it will reduce costs that can arise, through positioning, or overcapacity.
Jettainer’s head of marketing & PR, Martin Kraemer (pictured below), explains: “It was started from customer’s demand, since Jettainer’s existing as well as potential customers ask about cool ULDs. Plus, Jettainer aims to be the innovation leader in our field and therefore continuously analyses areas of value addition to an airline.”
Jettainer is offering the service to all existing customers and potential ones, and, it also offers it as a single service to airlines, which it does serve with regular ULD management.
Kraemer says existing ULD management customers will profit, as all ULD movements can be included in the steering and management service so all ULD services are dealt with by Jettainer.
He says other airlines, who want to keep ULD management in house, could opt for ‘COOL Management’ only, as Jettainer would then deal with the cool ULDs only, which differ a lot from the steering of “regular ULDs”. Cool, or “temperature adjustable” ULDs are assigned individually to a specific shipment.
Jettainer will manage the ULD not just by “type”, but by its specific number and each ULD will be independently steered and managed.
There are three service levels – a full-scale COOL Management, which includes order management with leasing provider to positioning, commercial trip and repositioning down to reporting and monitoring, generating billing-relevant data, and IT support.
A part-scale model, which excludes the actual order management of the ULD with lessor and a compact model, covering repositioning and reporting/monitoring only.
All these models have been developed with actual customer requirements and could be fine-tuned to specific airline needs.
Kraemer notes there are extensive benefits to new or existing customers, such as reduced demurrage fees, as it will monitor very closely when the ULD can be returned to the rental location.
He adds: “Exact steering will significantly reduce cost, leading to better margins at the operating airlines. The business is, from a shipper (content) perspective, highly valuable – as expensive pharmaceuticals are being loaded in these ULDs.
“By exact steering and reliable monitoring through Jettainer, all players in the logistics chain, airline, shipper, will gain an excellent reputation. Cool shipments are zero tolerance business. There is absolutely no room for error.
“Furthermore, precise analysis of these leases will lead to improved leasing processes, increased customer satisfaction, reduction of claims or complaints and an increased image.”
Jettainer recently secured a contract with Oman Air Cargo and Kraemer says its strengthens its position in the Middle East and is targeting winning more carrier contracts in the expanding ULD outsourcing market.
He notes growth with existing customers due to fleet and network development is one of its growth pillars often overseen, compared to new accounts, but they are “equally important”.
