Most everyone today knows what an “App“ is and probably have scores of them in their mobile phones. At the end of the day, we load all sorts of Apps into our systems, but most remain relatively unused. In air freight they are increasingly gaining ground as demonstrated by ULD manager CHEP.
CHEP Aerospace Solutions, which is headquartered in Zurich, is one of the leading independent providers of outsourced unit load devices (ULDs) and aircraft galley management services.
They claim to have the largest ULD pool worldwide which is made up of more than 50.000 pallets and containers spread across over 300 airports.
CHEP customers can make use of this pool to rent upper and lower deck containers without having to invest large sums themselves in this equipment.
CHEP which is a division of Brambles Limited, the Australian based company which specializes in the pooling of airport and aircraft equipment, has a long list of airline customers, among others,
Brussels Airlines Cargo, Qantas, Cargolux, Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines.
The company claims that their new CHEP Focus app simplifies several ULD-related processes which are currently mostly paper based, and that it is designed to save time and money for their
airlines, ground handling agents, freight forwarders and other key industry clients.
How does it work?
CHEP Focus records and transmits ULD messages in the standard IATA format as well as managing and updating stock and serviceability information. It also submits ad-hoc track and trace requests
for individual pallet and container units and is able to share ULD movement information via email.
It works in such a way that it liaises with CHEP’s web based software tools and can ensure accurate and prompt data transfer within the network.
It even goes a step further by using barcode scanning and it’s so called Optical Character Recognition (OCR) using the mobile device‘s camera and also has the ability to determine the location of
ULDs through geospatial data.
High-tech - at its best!
CHEP Aerospace Solutions IT Director, Floris Kleijm states: “Leading the industry in innovation by proactively bringing new products and services to the market is a key driver at CHEP Aerospace
Solutions.“
Gone are the days where some individuals might consider taking a container or two home to use as a garden house.
The CHEP system seems to offer its clients full control of ULD movements from one day to the next, constant control and most importantly ensure that they do not have to invest large sums in the
equipment and manpower to control.
John Mc Donagh