MANAGEMENT
TECHNOLOGY
CARGO
dependency on the software
provider, to be an open
system,” Baruch explains.
And because the most
important thing for a ground
handler is for the system to
be stable, anybody with these
published APIs can interact
with the system without
impacting the core.
Baruch explains the basic
principle of an Application
Programme Interface (API)
and how it brings stability.
“There are two ways to
interact with any core system.
One is to build a direct
interface, hard-coded into the
core code of the application –
that’s the old way. API is the
new way. You basically create
the tubes that take and send
going to cost each of them
less to deliver good quality
service. And that’s what we’re
pushing for,” he asserts. effi ciencies is if you change
processes, otherwise you do
the same thing with a newer
tool. To make those changes
requires a lot of training and
enforcing and that’s diffi cult
in a working environment like
today.”
Glen concurs over the
struggle to alter the habits
of a lifetime, but he feels the
effort is essential. “I think it’s
important the industry tries to
do these things because if we
don’t get to the critical mass,
where enough people are
doing things electronically, we
won’t move far. I think we’re
getting close to that critical
mass now,” he enthuses.
The right direction
This is the way the industry
should be going – but
progress is slow, concludes
Baruch. For customers
looking to make the leap in
cargo management practices,
he suggests starting with the
basics, to really understand
their specifi c operation, as
streamlining such a diverse
industry can be diffi cult.
“Look at what the system
can offer you before you start
changing things to adjust
them to what you think
your needs are, because the
system already contains the
best practice processes as they
should be,” he says of H5.
Ultimately, real time
information shared in an
open ecosystem such as
Hermes will enable every
actor in the chain to align,
enhancing the effi ciency of
their co-operation.
“The bottom line is it’s
out information from your
database and these remain the
same in the future. So when
I’m continuing to develop
Hermes 5 or when Menzies
has developed its own
application to do something
that interacts with Hermes 5,
as long as this is done through
published APIs, it’s still going
to work in the future.”
APIs therefore make the
application a much more
attractive proposition to
partners like Menzies, asserts
the handler’s VP Cargo
Development, Alan Glen. The
interfaces also ensure that
interaction with the system is
highly secure, he adds. “We
cannot break it; they can
inject information and they
can take information out, but
only in a legal way.”
APIs are fundamental to
Hermes’ vision for the cargo
management system of the
future, Baruch asserts, in that
they enable everybody to
interact with the system and
to share the data they want
to share. “Another layer of
opening the system to the
outside world is with the
different self-serve apps, like
e-check-in and track and trace
and slot booking,” he notes.
The age-old barrier
The cargo sector is taking its
time to embrace the benefi ts
of APIs and data-sharing,
however. Baruch gives
three reasons as to why. “I
think, one, this industry is
extremely fragmented. Two,
it’s probably very diffi cult to
see the immediate fi nancial
benefi t. And the last thing
is change management in a
very traditional, risk-averse
industry,” he explains. “The
only way you can gain
Very quickly
we’re going to
see the power of
the data that we
actually have
Alan Glen, VP Cargo Development,
Menzies
THE CUSTOMER
PERSPECTIVE
Generally speaking, it can be hard
to differentiate between cargo
management systems, admits
Menzies’ Alan Glen, but many share
one common limitation – the future.
As the customer, if they want to
make a change, it can be very
diffi cult – and the consequences
signifi cant, he explains. “With the
evolution of the technology and the
NG platform there’s the capability
of doing things outside of the core.
So we can do things like track and
trace, e-reception; we have better
business intelligence and access
to all these other things without
having to pull that basic system
apart.”
Furthermore, while the handler
previously had data, it did not
have the capability to analyse this
without generating a report for a
specifi c task and a known problem.
The illustration of this data is
hugely benefi cial, he adds. “If you
put data in the hands of people and
you can actually see it, then you
start believing it. I will have a team
of staff that are actually looking
at how the business process is
working today, what they can do to
optimise it and how they can offer
better service to the customer.”
Menzies and Hermes began
discussions about a POC to launch
additional capabilities at the end of
2019. “Once we’ve got that running,
very quickly we’re going to see the
power of the data that we actually
have. We’re starting off with a very
customer-focused set of reports.”
Glen is particularly enthusiastic
about the possibility of gaining
insight into Menzies’ internal
operations, comparing different
stations and using this business
intelligence to enhance operations.
22 February 2020 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
/www.airlogisticsinternational.com