2,000 of the airline’s 18,000 Jettainer ULDs with CORE-TT BLE
tags. AA’s VP Strategy and Development Jessica Tyler explained
that this is just one facet of a major digital transformation
effort by the airline, which will begin later this year. Jettainer’s
(then) MD, Carsten Hernig, highlighted the increasingly digital
management of ULDs, which it delivers together with partner
COREInsight and its self-developed ULD black box for monitoring
external variables. Hernig is to be succeeded by Thomas
Sonntag on July 1, when he moves on to become Head of Region
Latin America & Caribbean at parent company Lufthansa Cargo.
This is the
evolution of the
smart ULD: in the
future, every asset
provider will use
IoT
Benoît Dumont, CEO, Unilode Aviation
Solutions
MORE DIGITAL DEPLOYMENT
ULD management company Jettainer is another one signing
contracts for the widespread deployment of BLE-tagged ULDs.
On June 4, the company announced the extension of its cooperation
with American Airlines Cargo by a further fi ve years,
at the same time announcing a proof of concept project to equip
By the end of the year,
Dumont says, Unilode will
offer basic tracking through to
more sophisticated pre-alert
capabilities on temperature,
shock, humidity and light,
with piece level tracking and
the digitalisation of CargoiQ
milestones also within reach.
“Every Unilode customer
who is already buying ULD
management services from us
will have digital geo-location
basic tracking information as
part of the standard service
package. In that way, we can
differentiate our basic offer for
our current customers against
the competition at no cost
increase,” he asserts. “Then
you can try the IoT benefi ts on
a subscription basis, on top.”
This enables customers to trial
the technology in a full-scale
environment, and affords
Unilode better visibility and
utilisation of its assets. He adds
that, with Unilode’s solution,
the interoperable reader
infrastructure is capable of
collecting data from different
types of tags, too, meaning
it could support and log data
from other customers with
their own devices, provided
they support the standard
Bluetooth protocol.
Advances at ACL Airshop
Elsewhere in the ULD
segment, ACL Airshop reports
investment in technical
capabilities to streamline
ULD management, alongside
physical expansion, having
recently opened a state-of-theart
factory in South Carolina,
and a doubling of its ULD fl eet
in the last three years.
Company Chairman &
CEO Steve Townes comments
on the growing trend towards
the digitalisation of ULD
fl eets. “Customers and their
happen for airlines and their
shippers,” he explains, noting
growing deployment of readers
and tags with customers from
Eurasia through to Latin
America. “And we’ve recently
made very large proposals
to other airlines for these
innovative solutions.”
The next logical step was
to make this information
available to customers in the
palm of their hand. In June,
ACL Airshop launched the
new mobile app, FindMyULD,
which makes use of the CORETT
Bluetooth trackers in its
ULDs to enable customers to
control, manage and track
their containers everywhere
in the world – in real time.
“Everybody wants the
information in the palm of
their hand. That’s where our
sector is going. This is the
result of months of work and
listening to the customer,”
says Townes.
Developed over the course
of a year, the free app is
already being rolled out with
its largest customers. Further
functions include the facility
to report damage and transfer
or request ULDs, with all data
encrypted to ensure security.
Meaningful application
With a fi ve-year lifespan
end-user shippers want to
know where their ULD/
shipment is at any given time.
They want to know the exact
time of arrival. With all the
parties involved in the air
cargo ecosystem, providing
this information is the next
big leap. We are delighted to
have been fi rst in the market
with real-time tracking and are
advancing quickly in response
to customers’ requests,” he
asserts.
ACL Airshop has been
investing in its own patented
logistics programme for
effi ciently managing
ULD fl eets, called ULD
Control. “We are currently
implementing Bluetooth with
“ULD Control” with a number
of our airline customers,”
explains Townes. “When
Bluetooth tags are coupled
systemically to both the ULD
serial number and the air
waybill, that’s when end-toend
speed and effi ciencies will
Free to download: ACL Airshop’s new
FindMyULD app lets customers track and
manage their ULDs in real time
www.airlogisticsinternational.com June 2019 47
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