• Southeast Asia serves as a pilot market for Cathay Cargo’s digital initiatives, allowing solutions to be tested in a region with varied digital maturity before global rollout, balancing opportunity with local operational challenges
• API-based integration underpins Cathay Cargo’s strategy, enabling partners like Kuehne+Nagel, DHL, DSV, and DB Schenker to access bookings directly, while the Cargo Digital Hub and Action Hub provide a single dashboard for booking, shipment management, and real-time insights
• Artificial intelligence is applied to forecasting, pricing, and regulatory compliance, complemented by strict cybersecurity and access controls, ensuring digital adoption improves operational efficiency, customer experience, and trust across Southeast Asia’s fragmented logistics landscape

Southeast Asia has become one of the world’s most dynamic trade corridors, fuelled by booming e-commerce and shifting supply chains. But it is also a region defined by digital contrasts, where Singapore’s advanced community systems sit alongside airports and customs processes still reliant on paper. For Cathay Cargo, that mix of opportunity and variability makes the region a proving ground for its digital ambitions. 

Southeast Asia as a pilot market

Andress Lam, Head of Cargo Digital at Cathay Cargo, said the airline recognises the region’s dual character. “Most of our digital initiatives are designed for global adoption. However, we recognise that some solutions may be better suited to specific regions due to differences in resource availability and local practices. In such cases, if a digital initiative is deemed desirable, feasible, and viable for a particular region, we consider piloting it there first. Once proven successful, the solution can then be rolled out to other regions.”

 That pragmatic approach reflects the scale of the challenge. Across ASEAN, forwarders and handlers operate with vastly different levels of digital maturity. For carriers, tools that work seamlessly in Hong Kong or Europe may struggle in emerging markets. Cathay Cargo’s decision to treat Southeast Asia as a pivotal arena for select initiatives, propelled by the understanding of the market’s unique demands, highlights both the region’s commercial weight and the complexity of achieving consistent digital adoption.

APIs over all-in-one platforms

At the core of Cathay Cargo’s strategy is integration rather than reinvention. “Consolidating all systems into one would be an impossible task; therefore, integrability emerges as a crucial factor,” Lam said. Instead of attempting a single platform, Cathay Cargo has built its digital solutions with API capabilities “following industry best practices.”

 Cathay Cargo continues to redefine logistics excellence through its flagship Cargo Digital Hub, offering a best-in-class one-stop-shop experience for customers. In a strategic move to broaden accessibility, we have extended its operational and distribution services to external platforms like EzyCargo.com via robust API integrations. This ensures customers can book and manage services anytime, anywhere—hassle-free.

Apart from the third-party platform, we also enable the global forwarders’ systems to plug into our airline systems directly. “Cathay Cargo has implemented real-time API integrations that allow key partners like Kuehne+Nagel, DHL Global Forwarding, DSV, and DB Schenker to access our bookings through their own systems. This improves operational efficiency and customer experience by providing 24/7 access to inventory and booking directly via partners’ platforms.”

With over 80 percent of agents now served through all digital channels, Cathay Cargo’s commitment to an OMNI-channel distribution strategy is stronger than ever. By investing in cutting-edge digital infrastructure, we empowers partners and customers with unmatched convenience, connectivity, and control.

 For Southeast Asian forwarders – many of them small and mid-sized – the question is whether such integrations are within reach. Larger multinationals may benefit immediately, but adoption among local players could be slower, particularly where investment in IT infrastructure lags.

 Cathay Cargo has also tried to recast how customers interact with its services. The redesigned Cathay Cargo  has been positioned as a one-stop digital hub. “One of the most impactful new features is the Action Hub, which brings together the booking list and shipment list on a single, intuitive dashboard,” Lam said. “This design enables customers to quickly access a clear summary of their cargo activities and easily identify and act upon any items requiring immediate attention.”

 She argued that the change is not simply cosmetic. “This holistic approach redefines how our customers interact with our services — driving greater transparency, real-time control, and responsiveness. It also helps shape evolving customer expectations, where ease of use, immediate access to actionable insights, and the ability to seamlessly manage multiple tasks in one place are increasingly vital.”

In Southeast Asia, where logistics operations are often split between global platforms and local agents, the challenge will be ensuring that such tools do not remain underused. 

AI for compliance and forecasting

Artificial intelligence is another area where Cathay Cargo is moving cautiously but deliberately. “On the commercial side, machine learning is integrated into pricing models and analytics to improve forecasting and capacity management. This enables more efficient operational decisions and pricing strategies by processing complex data patterns faster than traditional methods,” Lam said.

At the same time, AI is being explored for regulatory work. “We are exploring large language models (LLMs) to enhance import/export control checks by interpreting complex regulatory documents for smarter compliance verification,” she noted. With compliance checking requirements across the world varying widely in complexity, such experiments could be particularly relevant.

 Lam added that AI is also being tested on customer enquiries, though these are “still in early development stages.”

 Digitalisation inevitably raises questions about trust. Lam emphasised that “from a customer perspective, we provide real-time visibility into the latest booking information and shipment status, empowering users with up-to-date and accurate insights at every stage.” Access to information is tightly controlled: “Access to sensitive information is carefully managed, ensuring that customers only see what they are authorised to view.”

She also pointed to Cathay Cargo’s security frameworks. “On the cybersecurity front, Cathay Cargo has a stringent security architecture. Our IT security policies and governance frameworks safeguard customer data and operational systems against evolving cyber threats.”

 Unlike some carriers that emphasise specific KPIs, Cathay Cargo takes a broader view. “We measure the success of our digitalisation efforts primarily through feedback from our team, customers and partners,” Lam said. “Our approach to digitalisation is holistic, advancing multiple fronts in parallel rather than prioritising specific KPI over others. We consider operational efficiency, customer experience, digital adoption, and business impact as equally important and interrelated measures of success.”