Cloud Competing: Small forwarders embrace virtual IT to survive

Ready, set, go

The other chief benefit of cloud systems is the short time it takes to set up, often measured in days not months. Congro described a couple of Saddle Creek clients that needed to begin logistics services in a few weeks. “That’s not normally our M.O. – usually we need a little bit more time, he said. “But we were able to make that happen, which we would not have been able to do if it was an on-premises solution.”

The same is true for air cargo carriers, as well. Last summer, when MASkargo, the cargo division of Malaysia Airlines, wanted to replace its core mainframe-based IT system with a cloud platform, it chose the logistics management system offered by Unysis to handle its cargo shipments. “Due to the nature of our daily operations, we needed a heavy-duty system that was accessible system-wide,” said MASkargo CEO Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, adding that the carrier processes approximately 1.5 million master and house air waybills per year.

But the Kuala Lumpur-based carrier also wanted to bring over customized information from the legacy system to be integrated with MASkargo’s automated warehouse system – no easy task, considering how MASkargo, at its Advanced Cargo Centre, acts as the agent for more than 30 foreign airlines to accept, process and deliver their cargo shipments. The Unisys platform, however, was able to handle the data transfer smoothly, said Christopher Shawdon, vice president of logistics solutions for Unisys.

Know your partners

If there is any note of caution that forwarders should take with cloud-based systems, Saddle Creek’s Congro said it’s best to thoroughly vet your system vendor.

“Some people have an issue with trust,” he said. “If a system goes down, your partner is going to be responsible for bringing that system back up. The advantage is obviously that they’re going to know their app better than anybody, but the disadvantage to that is giving up control. If it’s my direct client or customer that’s affected, I have a vested interest and I’m going to care more than anybody. Whereas, some [vendors] may not have that same attitude.”

Just before weathering the storm last October with their existing Softeon cloud platform, Saddle Creek had announced they were launching another cloud system – this time a customer engagement software package provided by Enspire Commerce, Congro said. With the changeover, the 3PL will soon be able run its order management system (OMS), its product information management system and its trading partner management/EDI activities on one platform.

“We’ve just begun the implementation process,” he said last fall. The company is now expecting to roll out the OMS by the end of this month. “We wanted a partner that knows not only the IT management systems space but also knows the 3PL business. That was really important for us.”

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