Emirates SkyCargo, the cargo division of Emirates airline, and DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight forwarder of Deutsche Post DHL, are partnering to drive the e-freight agenda across their networks. Both companies believe that working in an electronic environment will bring enhanced operational efficiency and improvement to the supply chain.
E-freight is an industry-led project involving carriers, freight forwarders, ground handlers, shippers and customs authorities. It aims to take the paper out of the air cargo supply chain, streamline processes, improve speed and reduce costs. A number of factors contribute to these positive results: reduced cycle times of 24 hours on average, greater reliability and accuracy due to one-time data entry at the point of origin, and much better visibility in the online track on account of electronic documentation.
“The benefits e-freight has brought our business are enormous, which is why we are encouraging others to embrace it,” says Ram Menen, Emirates divisional senior vice president cargo. “E-freight is the future of our industry. By reducing paper and carriage of paper on aircraft, e-freight will help to reduce errors and increase accuracy. We believe by collectively engaging we can achieve better and coordinated results.”
So far in 2010, Emirates SkyCargo has carried nearly 30,000 international e-freight shipments.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) up to $4.9 billion of annually industry savings could be generated by e-freight processes. The environment will also benefit from the elimination of 7,800 tons of paper documents worldwide – the equivalent of 80 Boeing 747 freighter aircraft per year.
