The World of E-Commerce: Taking advantage of retail’s online revolution

Handlers build-up as consolidations shrink

A giant mechanical spring sandwiched between two platforms is hoisting a container into the belly of a 777-200 scheduled to take off for Shanghai Pudong (PVG) in 45 minutes. Although the operator of the cargo loader commonly referred to as a “K loader” finds herself shuffling more and more ULDs into the cavernous passenger aircraft bellies, the growth of e-commerce has not yet changed this routine task. Only upon return to the airside terminal does the driver see the real effects.

Passing through the massive terminal door, mailers containing locally made leather shoes are seen whirring around the facility’s towering parcel sorting machine. Although forwarders have long shipped bulk consolidations of the artisanal cordwainer’s goods through the facility, the merchant’s decision to setup an online shop is recent, and in some cases, orders are shipped directly to the customer.

“E-commerce handling requirements differ greatly from general cargo handling” said Ray Jetha, senior vice president of sales and business development for Worldwide Flight Services. “E-commerce requires more headcount, more sorting processes, more cargo from feeder locations [spokes] and extremely tight schedules due to the end customer’s delivery time requirements.”

Adequately addressing the growing number of e-commerce shipments often requires facility upgrades and new equipment. “Due to the expected growth, it is almost impossible to integrate with our existing operations and hence it requires a dedicated facility, equipment and manpower, added Jetha. Yet adequate space is not always available at some of the world’s busiest hubs for e-commerce.

When Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) requisitioned a portion of one of home carrier KLM Martinair Cargo’s warehouses to make room for expanded passenger baggage facilities, KLM seized the opportunity to take a page out of the integrator handbook and construct a new parcel sortation facility to accommodate post, express and pharmaceutical consignments.

Now operational, the fully automatic sortation machine uses nearly 400 machines, 108 slides and thousands of anchors that route up to 2,000 parcels per hour to various containers, by destination. Similar facilities are springing up at airports worldwide.

Across the Eurasian continent in Singapore, gateway services provider SATS erected a 5,000 square meter eCommerce Airhub to more than triple mailbag processing capacity to 1,800 per hour. The facility also integrates with SingPost’s data interface for increased visibility during the shipment.

Planning ahead for the continued growth of e-commerce volumes is key. “SATS has deliberately designed this eCommerce AirHub to be modular so that we can increase throughput even further with only incremental investment,” said Alex Hungate, president and CEO, SATS.

Modern facilities are also preparing for continued pharma growth. While most shipments are business-to-business, “Straight-to-patient is the future,” said Ryan Viegas, head of logistics, APAC, for TEVA Pharmaceutical Industries to HACTL’s Hactlink. “If a patient is taking a particular medication on a regular basis, he should be able to go online and re-order.”

KLM’s sorting machine also handles containerized pharma cargo, but unlike parcels and mail, employees operate the otherwise automatic cargo trains carrying pharma, and intervene when additional dry ice or cooling materials are required.

Most pharma shippers require temperature conditions to be maintained between one of two common ranges, either between 2° to 8°C or 15° to 25°C, depending on the sensitivity. Dry ice, gel packs and thermal blankets – passive solutions – generally suffice for regulating temperatures in the upper band, while shippers often use active cooling systems like those from Envirotainer or CSafe for more sensitive cargo.

Back on the tarmac, automated sorting facilities may be changing how shipments are consolidated into containers, but on the surface, ULDs still slide across K loader rollers on their way to the aircraft, like they always have.

—Charles Kauffman