6 tips to make tech click: Airfreight stakeholders secrets to successful digital transformation

As logistics and airfreight stakeholders digitalize their processes and incorporate more technology and innovation into their workflows, finding the right solutions and ensuring proper implementation and execution are proving vital to success. Recent failures in technology, like the Federal Aviation Administration's Notice to Air Missions system outage in early January, have highlighted the importance of dependable digital solutions for the aviation industry. Most airfreight tech solutions — like cargo community systems , digital booking , real-time and passive tracking , internet of things ( IoT ) and automation — look to add visibility, boost speed and efficiencies, and reduce redundancies in the systems, which stakeholders agree are all assets in logistics. However, despite these benefits, various factors complicate the process and decrease parties’ willingness to engage with new technologies. One such barrier is logistics providers’ varying degrees of information technology (IT) maturity, which makes implementation challenging for solutions providers, Amar More, Kale Logistics Solutions chief executive, told Air Cargo Next. “Large players have sophisticated IT solutions to manage their end-to-end operations, but the SMEs would still be on Excel-based data or, worse, maintain physical files,” More said. “With different contours of IT systems, the movement of cargo across the supply chain suffers.” Also, the change management that accompanies new IT solutions creates “the most difficulty,” Tristan Koch, chief commercial officer at tech company Awery Aviation Solutions, told Air Cargo Next . “The best IT solutions in the world are doomed to fail unless you take your people with you on the adoption journey,” Koch said. Air Cargo Next spoke to industry experts to provide six of the best practices in digital transformation initiatives. 1. Recognize the complexity of tech logistics Logistics, as an industry, involves complexity and change . Stakeholders interact with multiple modalities, geographic regions, customs and transported goods that logistics technology must be able to accommodate ; keeping this concept at front of mind is paramount for airfreight parties looking to digitalize, Hellmann Chief Digital Officer Stefan Borggreve told Air Cargo Next. “The problem is the industry is too complex to have a central team that knows everything out there in the world,” Borggreve said. As a result, technologies will have different use cases and applications based on the specific demands of each team. A team working with pharmaceuticals in Dublin, for example, will have different needs and capabilities for its tech than a team in Columbia moving flowers. Digital adoption also takes a willingness to invest or “take a hit in the short term,” Yuval Baruch , chief executive at Hermes Logistics Technologies (HLT), told Air Cargo Next . Tech implementation can disrupt business and result in short-term loss or require financial investment, with the overall goal of creating a better business model. HLT’s cargo management systems are used by a variety of stakeholders, including airports and ground handlers, to improve their sustainability and streamline their operations. Logistics groups can also fall prey to cybersecurity attacks, making security a priority with new tech. 2. Create standards, and allow for change A proper deployment of new tech should start with leadership and common standards, stakeholders agree. “Securing top-management sponsorship and leadership is critical for cross-functional commitment, driving enterprise-wide accountability and allocating proper resources for a successful implementation,” Kale Logistics’ More said. Change is never easy, and this is especially true for logistics technology implementations, but adjustment is vital to “flourishing in an increasingly competitive industry,” More notes. “One of the easiest ways to accomplish this task for the leadership team is to think of implementation as an internal marketing, not selling, job,” More said. “This distinction is important because selling starts with a finished product, [instead of] marketing with research on user needs and preferences.” When Brussels Airport (BRU) launched its digital initiatives, it received pushback from smaller forwarders that didn’t immediately see results, and this drove conversations around how to motivate stakeholders to align with digitalization. Awery’s Koch agrees with More. He encourages leaders to involve users at an early stage and be prepared to adapt to the needs demonstrated. “Don’t just try and replicate what exists today in a more automated way,” Koch said. “Take an open mind as to how things might be done differently and for the better.” 3. Take a “boots-on-the-ground” approach Beyond getting the internal team on board with the new system, leaders must acknowledge the needs of those most directly using systems. “A successful implementation is sometimes top-down but bottom-up,” More said. A common misstep among leaders is creating autonomous teams and then looking for digitalization to spread outward, he noted. But “with much of the organization unchanged, it can be extremely difficult to deploy unfamiliar solutions at a meaningful scale,” More added. Not all initiatives are created equal , and each group must find which digital tools offer the best fit for their organization. Hellmann takes a top-down approach when it creates standards and best practices, but it allows for maneuvering within its teams to optimize workflows. “We also, as headquarter units, always try to be like a servant of geographies and regions to make their lives easier and then to enable them so they can execute,” Hellmann’s Borggreve explained. HLT recommends selecting the “best and strongest” team members to drive implementation, Baruch said. “The strongest team members are likely to adapt most quickly and will be able to implement the change better and, more importantly, their colleagues will follow their lead,” he said. 4. Slow and steady wins the race For IBS Software , “the journey of transformation does not end with implementation,” Ashok Rajan, senior vice president and head of cargo and logistics, told Air Cargo Next . IBS recommends a phased, incremental approach when implementing its digital solutions , especially when working with old legacy platforms. “ Our approach to phasing has been built to support better change management and it’s important because our platform needs to perform well at the heart of our customers’ operations,” Rajan said. Taking a phased approach protects IBS from cluttering or adding extra risk to the transition and also protects its human resources by not stretching the product team, he added. Users of IBS’ iCargo include Air France KLM; Air Bridge Cargo; Air Premia ; American Airlines Cargo ; ANA Cargo; Avianca Cargo; Bangkok Airways; British Airways World Cargo; Cargolux; Delta Air Lines; dnata ; Etihad Cargo ; IAG Cargo; Japan Airlines ; Korean Air Cargo ; Lufthansa Cargo; Nippon Cargo Airlines ; PSO Aviation; Qantas Freight; Singapore Airlines Cargo; South African Airways; Turkish Cargo and Virgin Australia Cargo. Kale works similarly, with three phased processes: identifying implementation requirements, carrying out user training and activating systems, More said. “Successful organizations choose to take a slower and more efficient approach, which involves an incremental implementation,” he said. Kale’s cargo community system doesn’t require an overhaul of legacy systems and many organizations choose to start with a few offerings for slower integration, like truck management or slot booking . When allocating time for system integration, HLT allows for testing time and efforts as stand-alone measures but also with its various system integration partners, Baruch added. 5. Allow for creativity within systems To unlock maximum growth and adaptation potential, organizations should also engage their entire human talent, More said. “Taking advantage of everything that new technology has to offer is not enough,” he said. “Enterprises must be able to fully integrate it into their existing processes to realize its full potential.” Hellmann’s Borggreve echoed More’s sentiment. “I think, especially for digitalization, most important is that you reintroduce the person and the creativity of every individual in the company, because digital solutions don’t work if you cannot imagine how you can create a different future using digital technologies,” he explained. 6. Set benchmarks The right solution is one that meets the end user’s requirements and business goals, More said. Measuring user experience , satisfaction and usage is key for tech solutions providers. For example, Awery looks at usage measurements like speed, accuracy and adoption rates, and HLT measures how its systems contribute to efficiencies in the business. At Hellmann, each project requires its own “North Star,” or end goal, Borggreve said. A Net Promoter Score, for example, might work when surveying customers about operations. For Kale, its metrics for success are straightforward – making operations 100% paperless with 100% adoption. Other data points like ROI and cross-industry best practices are also assessed, More said. IBS looks at the short-, medium- and long-term implications of its processes when implementing iCargo . In the short-term, the company looks at system stabilization, measuring when operations become “business-as-usual” under the new system, which is typically a reflection of change management efforts, Rajan said. For the intermediate, IBS measures the benefits of its system like uplift in utilization, yield improvements and operational efficiencies. In the long-term, the company strives to create new business innovation, so velocity and number of new innovations being produced is a “major indicator for success,” Rajan said.

6 tips to make tech click: Airfreight stakeholders secrets to successful digital transformation

New nitro containers portend longer shelf-life for flowers

Cargo revenue slides for US carriers

Related Posts

Widebody transactions carry momentum into June

From the Cockpit with K2 Aviation’s Karl Ryan

Production freighter activity highlights May FATs

Cargo revenue slides for US carriers

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password