to cover all aspects of cargo transportation and management, it
tracks freight and mail in the air as well as on the road.
Cole calls it a game changer, as it gives his outfi t visibility of
where freight is at all times. “With that information we can be far
more proactive in predicting potential service issues and providing
freight solutions to our customers,” he remarks.
Visibility and data fl ow have been key planks in the carrier’s
overhaul of its cargo business. The cargo division has pushed
digitisation and redesigned its website to make it a one-stop shop
for customer needs, according to Cole. Customers can book,
manage and track shipments around the clock, from laptops as
well as mobile devices.
E - for ease of business
To stimulate the use of e-air waybills, Delta levies no charge for
electronic AWB submission through the website. It is the carrier’s
declared aim to achieve full e-AWB use both domestically and
internationally, wherever feasible. “E-air waybills ensure regulatory
compliance,” explains Cole.
In Atlanta and Boston the carrier has deployed self-service iPad
kiosks, requiring e-AWBs as standard operating procedure. At the
Atlanta hub this resulted in a 94% increase in bookings using
e-AWBs for domestic shipments. Next, management intends to roll
out such kiosks in JFK and Seattle-Tacoma.
Delta’s latest foray on the technology front has been the
initiative to use Bluetooth technology to track ULDs in real time,
the fi rst US carrier to do so. Since last March it has installed readers
at 80 warehouse locations around the world, including warehouses
of its partner airlines; there are 70 more to go. The roll-out of
readers through the airline’s ULD fl eet is scheduled for completion
early this year.
Bluetooth technology allows the control centre in Atlanta to
monitor and re-route shipments that are delayed, but the range is
not confi ned to the airport-to-airport section. Last October Delta
announced that it was extending the use beyond airports. This
gives customers end-to-end visibility, from their
warehouses to the fi nal destination. It also
eliminates paperwork at the dock door when
units are loaned out. Instead, a digital “uniform
control receipt” is e-mailed directly to the
shipper.
Cole expects full visibility to be in play
later this year, once customer installations are
complete.
Clients have welcomed the initiative. “We
worked closely with Delta on their Bluetooth
trials,” says Paul Martins, CEO of MNX,
which specialises in time-critical movement
of urgent healthcare shipments like organs,
bio-pharmaceuticals and radiotherapy
products. He reckons that his company is the
largest user of Delta’s DASH express product.
At this point Delta is using the
technology mostly for tracking, but Cole
sees promising opportunities for temperature-sensitive cargo.
Adding sensors to monitor
ambient conditions, like
temperature and humidity,
should appeal to shippers of
pharmaceuticals, as well as
produce.
Premium services
Technology has also come into
play in the development of two
premium services that Delta
Cargo added to its portfolio
over the past two years. Early in
2017 it unveiled DASH Critical
and Medical, a same-day service
for urgent domestic shipments
that is fully GPS-enabled with
cut-offs 45 minutes before
departure. A second GPSenabled
offering followed last
year, with the introduction of
Equation Critical, a premium
service for time-sensitive
international shipments,
which can be tendered up to
90 minutes prior to departure.
Both products have top priority
in the carrier’s system and are
monitored throughout the
journey from the control centre
in Atlanta.
Now the product
development focus is on the
live animal sector. In October,
Delta Cargo announced
...we can be far
more proactive in
predicting potential
service issues
Shawn Cole
Delta Cargo has set the pace in terms
of electronic air waybills, and reports a
healthy adoption rate
www.airlogisticsinternational.com February 2019 17
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