Just a few weeks after WebCargo announced its partnership with IBS, cargo.one has joined forces too: Not just that it has entered into a strategic partnership with IBS Software, but that the two companies have pioneered a development in the new iCargo Sales Platform.
ANA is the first airline to benefit from the new iCargo Sales Platform, and with the initial booking that was made for a shipment from Frankfurt (FRA) to Taipei (TPE) in the Beta-phase last
Friday, the three companies have made digital history: ANA is the first airline to use the standardised plug-and-play solution. From here on, it will be easier for all other airlines already
using IBS software, to connect with cargo.one and offer their customers its booking platform. Both companies have already cooperated on custom integrations for a number of leading airlines, such
as Etihad Cargo and Nippon Cargo Airlines, enabling them to further develop their digital distribution capabilities, and this year cargo.one has already displayed hundreds of thousands of
bookable offers for those airlines running IBS iCargo and not using the standardized plug and play solution.
Covid-19 promoted strategic partnerships
Digitalization has been accelerating like never before with the onset of the Covid-Crisis. Just a few weeks back, cargo.one published an almost 200% increase in users. Now that figure has risen
to a 425% customer base growth compared to last year, and cargo.one serves around 1,500 freight forwarder branches located across key European markets.
The crisis has also seen a rise in strategic partnerships such as this one, which ISB and cargo.one state has been entered into “to empower airlines on their digital transformation to emerge
stronger from the COVID-19 crisis” and goes on to say “The seamless access and proven integration technology to the platform via the IBS iCargo Sales Platform will help the 30+ IBS
airline customers to quickly use ‘out of the box’ services, without the need for major system changes. This helps airlines develop digital distribution capabilities which is a game changer for
the industry.”
Speaking to CFG, who asked about cargo.one and its competitors, cargo.one spokesperson Laura Weritz stated “We see that airlines are increasingly moving towards a multi-channel approach to
pick up customers where they want to be picked up. That is, through their own offline and digital channels as well as third-party channels. Especially COVID-19 has shown that you cannot do
without a digital strategy nowadays.”
Digital ecosystem
Moritz Claussen, Founder and Managing Director of cargo.one stated: “We see that COVID-19 has been a catalyst for digital transformation within the air cargo industry. This is reflected in
the now 1,500 forwarder branches using cargo.one on a daily basis. Furthermore, we see that distributing capacity online at live rates is an essential part of the recovery roadmap for many
airlines. Together with IBS Software we have been building a proven plug and play solution that empowers all IBS airlines to seamlessly integrate with cargo.one and get access to our ever-growing
user base. Allowing airlines to boost sales online and almost instantly relieve overloaded sales staff.”
“We truly believe that leveraging online distribution is the way forward for airlines to emerge faster and stronger from the crisis and we are excited to enable these connections with
innovation leader cargo.one and our state-of-the-art technology. It is heartening to see how both companies have worked together in these challenging circumstances to deliver innovative
capabilities that will help the industry. We have moved further in our broader goal of creating a “digital ecosystem” by collaborating with complimenting services, to bring greater value to
customers using iCargo. I am excited as we will see digitalization accelerating further over the next months through our joint efforts.” Ashok Rajan, SVP & Head of Cargo & Logistics,
IBS Software concluded.
Brigitte Gledhill
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