CFA 2020: Pandemic refreshes vision for Asian express

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge for the air express business, but also provides an opportunity for the industry to cooperate on a greater scale, both during and after the pandemic, according to speakers in Session 7 of Cargo Facts Asia 2020. Referring to the rise of online retailers Alibaba and JD.com in the post-SARS period after 2003, Vivian Lau, vice chairwoman and group CEO of Pacific Air Holdings Limited, questioned what the industry will see after the pandemic. She stressed that smaller players should take advantage of the current momentum to integrate and create partnerships, forming an e-commerce ecosystem that can match the abilities of global integrators DHL, FedEx and UPS. https://twitter.com/CargoFacts/status/1252523765704978437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw “What we have seen is the biggest real-time stress test in logistics,” Lau said. “It is telling our industry that, apart from investments in hardware and software, express operators must also look at adaptability, nimbleness and ability to come up with collaborations in the shortest possible time in response to sudden, massive demand.” According to Chaminda Gunasekera, senior director of air freight, e-commerce and network development in APAC, Middle East and Africa at SEKO Logistics, the addition of emergency capacities in the form of passenger aircraft used for cargo has been a good development, but it remains to be seen how the infrastructure settles down after the pandemic to support the express business, particularly parcels that are relatively low in value. “We are waiting to see how this world actually comes together in terms of building infrastructure and processes to support low-value e-commerce,” Gunasekera said. “I would say that with the majority of shipments you can’t afford a $50 rate from China to Europe.” The surge in demand for medical supplies, as well as other e-commerce goods, has presented problems for those on the ground at airports. Dirk Goovaerts, regional chief executive officer of Asia Pacific at dnata, said a major challenge presented by the pandemic is the unpredictability of scheduled and charter flights. “This has required us to be very flexible, both in the warehouse and airside,” he said. “It requires a can-do attitude and a commitment from the staff.” Lau pointed out that the pandemic is an opportunity for big and small players to play a role in not only supporting the economy, but coming to the rescue. For this to happen, demand needs to be consolidated to ensure the best use of capacity. “Idle capacity has always been very expensive, but idle capacity during COVID-19 is a crime,” Lau said. “So I think express operators are really working together with airline partners and other logistics providers to make sure that we have the most efficient and effective delivery system possible to move things around.” The panelists agreed that a community approach is critical and would bring enormous value to the express business. “My focus is to work with all the partners we deal with to see how we can bring up fundamental services and infrastructure to allow companies like SEKO Logistics to offer an express service,” said Gunasekera. “As players in the market, we want to improve the infrastructure, bring processes, and agree with all the stakeholders to create an ecosystem for express. “The COVID experience has, of course, shaken many of us to the core, but at the same time it appears to have given us a lot more strength to take risk, because the stakes are so high,” Lau said. “That risk is actually looking at new ways of moving goods and new ways of building partnerships and collaborations that normally would take six months to agree on. We don’t have six months.”

CFA 2020: Pandemic refreshes vision for Asian express

CFA 2020: COVID-19 presents new Asia-Pacific airfreight challenges

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