Digital Pulse: Awery rolls out open-access booking platform in Europe

Awery Aviation Software is rolling out its open-access CargoBooking platform in Europe, building on the success of its South African launch, which saw more than 100 forwarders and 15 airlines join the marketplace within five weeks, the software company announced last week at the Air Cargo Handling & Logistics conference in Athens, Greece. [caption id="attachment_57138404" align="alignright" width="300"] Awery Aviation Software Chief Commercial Officer Tristan Koch, left and Chief Executive Vitaly Smilianets announce the Europe rollout of the CargoBooking platform at the Air Cargo Handling & Logistics conference in Athens, Greece. (Photo/Meantime Communications)[/caption] CargoBooking is an online marketplace that allows airlines and their general sales agents (GSAs) to provide freight forwarders with real-time air cargo rate distribution, quotes and bookings, according to a company release. Airlines and GSAs can connect with forwarders on the platform without the forwarders needing to register. There are no transactional fees. “Up to 20% of South Africa’s air cargo capacity is now supported on CargoBooking, a figure that continues to rise as new users join,” Awery Chief Executive Vitaly Smilianets said at the conference, according to the release. “The free-to-use platform is clearly shifting the dynamic in the air cargo market, and we will continue driving change with our strategic rollout of CargoBooking across the globe.” Flagship GSA users include R-Bag in Poland, ATC Aviation Services in Germany, Airnautic in France and Air Logistics Group in Spain. AGI grows digital presence Bristol, U.K.-based AGI Global Logistics has been growing physically and digitally. This month it opened its 18th office in the United Kingdom and Europe, and marked 130% growth in website visitors after Wiltshire, U.K.-based creative agency Milk & Tweed revitalized AGI’s online content. [caption id="attachment_57138403" align="alignleft" width="300"] An AGI Global Logistics heavy-goods vehicle departs a warehouse with shipments meant for places across Europe. (Photo/AGI)[/caption] AGI opened U.K. offices in Felixstowe, Derby, London, Amsterdam, Manchester and Southampton in 2022, and in Leeds in June. “We were typically getting around 50,000 [digital] visitors a year, so we set a target of 70,000 for 2023,” AGI Marketing Manager Chris Clarke said in a company release. “At the halfway point in the year, we had already had over 56,000 visitors, so we revised the target to 95,000, and we are on course to eclipse that as well. “We are performing brilliantly in Google searches, often ranking as No. 1 [in searches for key terms], and our website content has massively evolved, both in terms of quality and quantity,” he said. Milk & Tweed used targeted blogs and articles aimed at potential customers searching for help and information about freight and customs clearance to bring in visitors, according to Milk & Tweed Digital Marketing Account Manager Meg Fenner-Jamieson . “There’s a lot more uncertainty since Brexit, so we have analyzed the search terms around freight and logistics to come up with relevant articles,” Fenner-Jamieson said in the release. Airblox welcomes Pacific Air Cargo lanes Pacific Air Cargo recently added its routes to online cargo market hub Airblox ’s platform, giving customers increased access to the carrier’s capacity, which focuses on lanes through the Hawaiian Islands. “For forwarders and logistics professionals, this partnership represents an exceptional opportunity,” Airblox Vice President of Strategy Brian Kolb said in a company release. “Accessing Pacific Air Cargo’s capacity in and out of the Hawaiian Islands through the Airblox platform means more than just enhanced flexibility and efficiency in managing supply chain operations; it’s about supporting a carrier deeply committed to community well-being.” The Airblox platform gives customers access to booking avenues and information about the carrier’s upcoming capacity, according to the company. Schiphol tackles landside congestion Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) and its cargo partners are combating long truck wait times at the hub through the introduction of a digital planning initiative in the airport’s Smart Cargo Mainport Program, Members of AMS’ airfreight chain signed a “best effort” declaration on Sept. 18, committing to expanded digitalization of landside cargo import and export processes at the airport, according to a release from Royal Schiphol Group (RSG), which operates AMS. The new system optimizes landside processes by drawing up a clear system of agreements that enables digital planning between handlers and truckers, according to the release. Under this plan, truckers must request a time slot digitally through a central platform and, once the request is approved, truckers can go directly to a handler’s loading door. Vehicles with unregistered freight must wait in a buffer parking lot with a reporting and calling system. They will be called from there when their handler has the capacity, according to the release. Handling facilities will also be upgraded with decentralized capacity planning systems. AMS partnered with trade organization Air Cargo Netherlands on this initiative, and the central planning portal will be built by Cargonaut and SmartLOXS . “With this combination of digitalization and chain process agreements, we save a lot of unnecessary waiting times and frustration for customers, we optimize the logistics process, and we make the supply and removal process of freight at Schiphol airport more sustainable,” RSG Head of Cargo Joost van Doesburg said in the release. Support and coordination regarding secure data sharing will be provided by the Digital Infrastructure Logistics program within the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Netherlands.

Digital Pulse: Awery rolls out open-access booking platform in Europe

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