The number of air freight transactions performed online remains relatively small, and many airlines and forwarders still lack the technical capability to move operations fully online, requiring tools to offer a pathway to full digitalisation, says Tristan Koch, chief commercial officer for Awery Aviation Software
What role will new and emerging technologies play in 2023?
Over the past year, the industry as a whole has congratulated itself on digitalisation growth, which has been accelerated by COVID. However, data shows that the number of transactions that are being performed online or through online exchange are still very small compared to the size of the actual market. Further, the industry is still reliant on email communication or other less-effective ways of communicating and currently, in many cases, airlines and forwarders don’t have the technical capability to move operations fully online.
Awery has recognised this barrier to digitalisation and designed its eMagic tool as a means to bridge technology and offer a pathway to fully digitalising the industry. Awery’s eMagic solution reduces the booking process from minutes to seconds, analysing the content of an email to identify the key elements needed for a quote, pulling these different types of data into a single readable format, and eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming manual inputting. By creating a solution that is easy for operators to integrate into their existing systems, Awery is actively facilitating the digitalisation of the industry, one step at a time.
Market and technology expectations
We see the post-COVID market returning to a capacity that is more familiar with pre-pandemic levels, with trade lanes being re-established and passenger levels returning to that of pre-pandemic levels. However, the market has changed. The increased demand we saw during COVID has drawn a lot of new entrants to the market, including shipping lines such as CMA CGM and Mediterranean Shipping Company, freighter conversions, and freight forwarders (operating freighter capacity). Over the next 12 months, we predict these new players will contribute to a competitive marketplace with an excess of capacity.
Technology will play an important role in making sure that this changing marketplace remains agile and is able to distribute and sell inventory in a more efficient and sustainable way.
There needs to be more collaboration and freedom of connectivity between forwarders, shippers, airlines, and shipping companies. Awery and its suite of software solutions, including CargoBooking, actively provides air cargo stakeholders with the tools to digitalise and benefit from the increased efficiency and connectivity this facilitates. CargoBooking is an online booking portal that allows airlines and their GSAs to provide freight forwarders with real-time air cargo rate distribution and bookings.
In 2023 Awery is focused on ensuring that an efficient, cutting-edge digital platform is available and accessible to all air cargo stakeholders.
