Dnata’s plans this year include launching a next-generation e-commerce platform that takes its existing community platform to a new level, offering a highly integrated trading platform and significant new benefits, says Guillaume Crozier, senior vice president for UAE Cargo at Dnata
In 2021 we saw demand return quickly wherever pandemic-related flight restrictions were eased. Demonstrating the agility and capability of our teams, we were able to respond quickly to customer needs with high-quality services.
With global cargo capacity constrained due to pandemic-related restrictions, shippers and freight forwarders have been increasingly opting to transport cargo through Dubai, a major global hub with strong infrastructure and global connectivity to ensure their goods reach customers on time. There has been a massive growth in import general cargo volumes, including fashion accessories, electronics and fast-moving consumer goods. Among the various categories of cargo, mail and courier have shown steady increases as compared to pre-pandemic volumes, indicating a rising trend with e-commerce shipments. Sea-air solutions are increasingly sought after at Dubai, given Dubai’s strengths as a logistics gateway to markets in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond. Reflecting the strength of the markets for e-commerce and health products, we expect continued robust demand for our cargo services in 2022.
Digital transformation continues
This year we will continue our digital transformation journey to provide the best possible services to our customers through advanced solutions. We’ll launch a next-generation e-commerce platform which will take CALOGI, our existing community platform, to a new level. In addition to offering a highly integrated, cost-effective trading platform, it will deliver a number of significant benefits for air cargo supply chain stakeholders, including general sales agents, airlines, ground handlers, forwarders, road feeder services and third-party logistics providers. It will allow stakeholders to conduct business with their customers and interact with authorities on one platform, sharing information and settling payments using their Calogi credit account. Customers will be able to integrate the platform into existing workflows through APIs and take advantage of all innovative functions while using their own system. The platform will also help customers simplify existing processes, without investing in multiple systems. Furthermore, it will enhance sustainability by promoting paperless and cashless trade through collaboration and automation.
‘OneCargo’ development
We look forward to digitising our largest operation in the UAE by the beginning of 2023 by launching our state-of-the-art ‘OneCargo’ Terminal Operator Solution developed by IBS. We expect the tool to steer our processes and people to deliver the service even more efficiently, consistently ensuring compliance and the highest level of quality and safety. Having successfully implemented the phase one version of the system in Iraq, we plan to launch OneCargo at many additional stations across our global cargo network.
We will also launch autonomous drones in our warehouses at Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC) airports to digitise acceptance and warehouse inventory processes by monitoring shipments with 99.8% accuracy. Our partner’s innovative software enables the drones to map the environment, collect inventory data, count cases, measure temperature, and read barcodes using only their cameras, without the need for any additional active infrastructure. The drones are paired to a tablet device providing live inventory data. The collected data can be viewed directly on the tablet or the web, via a user-friendly application. The drones can operate at temperatures as low as -10 Celsius degrees, enabling us to take advantage of the technology in our state-of-the-art cool chain facilities, too.
