Integrated cargo management solutions should be prioritized

By implementing IBS Software ’s iCargo integrated management solution, American Airlines Cargo was able to thrive during the pandemic, Brian Hodges , managing director of strategy and planning at American Airlines Cargo, said today in the fireside chat at Air Cargo Tech Summit 2023 in Brussels. [caption id="attachment_57138210" align="alignright" width="300"] Brian Hodges, left, managing director of strategy and planning at American Airlines Cargo, is the guest of honor in the Fireside Chat session at Air Cargo Tech Summit 2023, being interviewed by Guillermo Ochovo, director of Cargo Facts Consulting. (Photo/Air Cargo Next)[/caption] “Our business [was] largely unchanged for 30 to 40 years,” Hodges said. “And, at American, we relied on over 90 different systems to run our cargo business. … When we made the decision to go with the iCargo solution, we went all the way from 90-plus to down to about five.” American Airlines Cargo finished implementing iCargo in November 2020, according to an IBS Software release. “I can’t imagine going through that period and being as successful as we were, without having the iCargo platform in place,” Hodges said. “There’s no way, with the junior workforce that we had during the pandemic, that we would have been able to do the things we wanted to do without a system that provided the standardization across screens, the familiarity and being able to train people much more rapidly.” While learning to use the new cargo system challenged some employees, Hodges said that no one would want to go back now. Having a fully integrated platform also gives American Airlines Cargo access in near real time to key data that impacts operations — both day-to-day and long-term. Hodges called the platform’s data aggregation capabilities a “single source of truth.” Hodges said that, while leaders industrywide know they need technological solutions, there is little consensus on what those solutions should include, which is slowing industry digitalization. Data collection helps determine what tools are needed, he said. “We do have really good information in front of us now that allows us to see this booking activity and start to tailor the solutions, not just on third-party channels or with direct API, but even on our home channel,” Hodges said. “It’s amazing what problems you encounter when you’re trying to layer something like a booking technology on top of an existing system. “We were able to go in and massage that and make it a better experience for the customer,” he said. American Airlines Cargo’s use of the iCargo booking platform “makes sure that when [customers] go online and they see 10 options, that the 10 options that are presented to them earlier in the booking process are bookable. Because the last thing you want is the customer to … go all the way through the process and some validation at the end trips them up and kicks them all the way back to the start.” Air Cargo Tech Summit 2023 continues tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 19, with panel conversations and networking events with experts in the airfreight industry. Topics to be addressed include digital booking, innovations in ground handling and warehousing, digital records, drones and more. For more details or to register for the tech summit, click here . Follow Air Cargo Next’s daily editorial coverage of Air Cargo Tech Summit 2023 here .

Integrated cargo management solutions should be prioritized

Air Cargo Tech Summit 2023

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