SHORT SHOTS

Swiss World Cargo joins up with va-Q-tec
The airfreight division of Swiss International Airlines, Swiss WorldCargo, has just signed a partnership agreement with va-Q-tec which is a leader in supplying so called passive closed cold chain containers.
This move was made by the Swiss national carrier in order to help convince shippers and forwarders to use Swiss WorldCargo for the shipment of their temperature sensitive cargo.
Dominic Hyde, Managing Director of va-Q-tec limited is quoted as saying that “va-Q-tec has been requested by pharma customers to establish a partnership with Swiss WorldCargo to enable direct container rentals.”
Ashwin Bhat, Head of Cargo at SWISS seems happy with the deal and stated that “with va-Q-tec’s cutting edge containers we welcome the opportunity to offer a more complete, value-added passive solution set to our pharma & healthcare client base worldwide.”

Qatar Post launches E-commerce delivery service
Qatar Post has launched a new online shopping delivery service called “Connected by Qatar Post”, which allows Qatar-based customers to shop online from overseas websites and arrange for their purchases to be delivered either to their homes, Q-Post parcel lockers or selected Qatar Post branches, the postal authority said in a statement.
“Connected” provides international shipping addresses in the UK for entire Europe and the U.S. This will soon be available in China and Japan as well.
Local media also report that Qatar Post has plans to test out the use of drones for parcel delivery.
The Peninsula, a Qatar-based newspaper, quoted Faleh Al Naemi, Qatar Post’s Chairman and Managing Director, as saying: “We will be using drones for parcel delivery. This is an important project in the pipeline. We will conduct trials in partnership with the authorities concerned to see how we can utilize the service.”

Jettainer nominated for Supply Chain and Transport Awards
The Frankfurt-based supplier of aircraft ULD systems and ULD management has been nominated as “Cargo Operator of the Year” in the air freight category for its innovative software solution.
The nomination was made by the ITB Publishing Group which has been presenting the Supply Chain and Transport Awards since 2010.
Jettainer says that findings from an analysis of the movement data for ULD’s and feedback from controllers have been fed into the innovative system since 2013. The company further claims that scheduling suggestions drawn up on the basis of the system are improving all the time thanks to the analysis of new data.

IJS Global GEFCO Netherlands gets Good Distribution Practice Certificate
The Dutch Ministry of Health has just awarded IJS Global GEFCO Netherlands (NL) a Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certificate.

This certificate which is internationally recognized shows that IJS Global NL fulfills the requirements of the European Commission ‘Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use’ and of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines:
Back in 2014 IJS Global GEFCO NL also received a Wholesale Distribution Authorization (WDA) which allows the company to also store medicinal products on their premises.

Guido Dias Araujo joins BARIG Executive Committee
United Airlines Regional Director for Central Europe and Iberia, Guido Dias Araujo, has been appointed to the Executive Board of BARIG, Germany’s Board of Airline Representatives.
Mr Araujo succeeds Thorsten Lettin, also of United Airlines.
The BARIG Executive Board now has two U.S.-based carriers in the committee. Thomas Brandt of Delta Airlines also contributes his expertise and knowledge to the association.

John Mc Donagh / Nol van Fenema