SHORT SHOTS

Hermes offers improved Import Flight Handling support

A new, enhanced user interface has been developed by Hermes Logistics Technologies (HLT), to improve flight planning operations. According to Hermes, users now have access to more data on a simple, single screen, which should make flight planning faster and less error prone. Hermes has re-engineered its Import Flight Handling offer to combine data and functionalities from the previously separate Pre-Flight and Flight Monitors in a single view. It therefore shows both air waybill (AWB) and unit load device (ULD) data, and allows users to access functions such as Service Management & Recovery directly instead of having to switch back and forth between screens. In addition, Flight/ULD/AWB filters enable users to view and work on relevant items only.

James Plested, Product Manager, HLT, explained: “The key aspect of the change is simplicity. Our aim was to provide the user with as much detail as possible whilst reducing the number of interactions required to view and manage the data. The result is a drastically improved ability to prepare and monitor complex flight data, allowing users to work, review, and complete tasks far quicker than before.”

Lancelot Duppa-Whyte, Product Director, HLT, underlined: “In an ever-changing world of increased data and higher customer expectations, user experience is of utmost importance. This change is part of a wider 'My Tasks Now' concept which continues to drive the product strategy. Hermes will continue to seek opportunities for continuous improvement, leveraging our 20 years of industry experience.” The upgrade has been further enhanced by the wider scope of desktop tools within the Hermes 5 Cargo Management System, which offers more real-time interaction – such as in the Service Management and Recovery screen, where discrepancies are highlighted in real-time during the flight operation process and before a flight is closed.

Pharma.Aero now has an Advisory Board

Pharma.Aero has formed an Advisory Board. Four industry experts representing Airlines, Airports, Freight Forwarders and Ground Handlers, make up the Board, and serve a one-year term, with each position re-opening annually to all Full Members. “The aim of forming the Advisory Board is to maintain a balanced voice from our members, who represent all segments across the pharma air cargo supply chain. The Advisory Board will help the organization keep a 360° view on industry trends and supply chain innovation related to pharma and life sciences”, Nathan De Valck, Chairman, Pharma.Aero, communicated.

The Advisory Board Members, who will collaborate with Pharma.Aero’s Board of Directors are:

1. AirBridgeCargo Airlines (part of Volga-Dnepr Group), Ms. Yulia Celetaria, Global Healthcare Director
2. BDP International, Ms. Simona Ravera, Director of Sales EMEA, LifeScience and Healthcare
3. Cargo Service Center India, Mr. Tushar Jani, Group Chairman
4. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Mr. Milton De La Paz, Vice President Airline Relations and Cargo Business Development

The Advisory Board will work alongside with Pharma.Aero’s Board of Directors.
“The Advisory Board will be an excellent platform to connect, to share insights and, most importantly, to be heard with respective actions taken afterward aimed at the enhancement of pharma logistics. This will support our life-saving logistics efforts across the globe and allow us to shape more dedicated solutions for our customers,” Yulia Celetaria, Global Healthcare Director, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, illustrated, echoing the statements of the other Advisory Board members who underline that collaboration across all industry stakeholders, and exchange of best-demonstrated practices are crucial to securing quality services within air cargo and pharmaceutical transports.

ECS Group goes in for a new brand design

“Changing for the better,” is the impulse stated in the press release for ECS Group’s image change. It has a new brand to match the direction the company is going with the recent appointment of its new Executive Chairman, and the announcement of its “Augmented GSA” concept. It has been working towards its holistic business transformation since 2018, streamlining, harmonizing, and digitalizing its processes and systems, and this modernization is now also reflected in the company's new corporate identity.

“The familiar grey-white-blue combination logo is being replaced with a distinctive wordmark brand in sleek, natural, light and dark blue colors. These relaxing, modern hues represent trust, security, and ECS Group's calm, structured approach to challenges. The bold Parade One typeface signifies the company's strength and reliability, while the linear Parade Two font is reminiscent of taxiway markings on an airport landing strip. Thus, in combination with the sky-blue colors, the lettering ties into air cargo and movement, and depicts ECS Group's USP as a leading, global GSA catering for airline-specific requirements,” the release describes.

Adrien Thominet, Executive Chairman of ECS Group, said: “We have revamped and refreshed our GSSA business model, and felt that this should also be represented in our brand. The task was to create a modern logo that reflects the four core pillars of our new business concept, and one that demonstrates, both internally and externally, that we are a global family embodying the ECS Group values in all our interactions with our customers. Our new brand identity is sleek, distinguishing, and illustrative of our core focus at ECS Group: our tireless determination to provide the highest quality service through innovative and comprehensive solutions, and thus contributing to our customers' success and growth.”

TIACA’s initiative for a Sustainable Global Community

TIACA’s Board has approved an initiative aimed at attracting and assisting membership from the world’s “least developed” countries, according to the United Nations listing. The measure arises from TIACA’s commitment to Sustainability, which focuses strongly on a much broader understanding of the topic, as Glyn Hughes, TIACA Director General, outlined: “We talk a lot about People, Planet, and Prosperity; with this initiative we are taking action. For us, this was an ethical decision. We needed to make the membership dues affordable to those who might not normally afford them, and this way we can increase inclusivity. By doing this, we are creating an equal opportunity for companies from these countries to join the association and network with the international air cargo community.”

The initiative, which seeks to ensure that TIACA and the air cargo industry truly reflect the global society that they serve, offers a discounted membership for companies headquartered in one of the countries identified as least developed by the UN. The offer to companies in these countries consists of a 75% discount to members and applicants for the 1st year of membership, which becomes a 50% discount to members thereafter, for the duration of the country remaining on the UN designated List of Lease Developed Countries.

Steven Polmans, Chair, commented: “I am proud we have taken this initiative. Our industry must support the growth of these air cargo communities for the betterment of our entire industry. By supporting them, we will do our part to helping make these communities more prosperous as air cargo is a key enabler for economic growth.  TIACA's programs will also benefit considerably as diverse perspectives reflecting different market realities will help contribute significantly to our development.”

Hellmann: 150 years and still going strong

It all started with a horse and cart in Osnabrueck, Germany, back in 1871, and meanwhile counts 11,000 staff in 263 branches located in 59 countries: Carl Heinrich Hellmann’s company, Hellmann, gets to blow out 150 candles on its Birthday cake. It is still a family business in the fourth generation and now one of the largest logistics providers in the world given that, including its global partner network, its numbers almost 500 offices across 173 countries. To mark the occasion of its birthday, its two shareholders Klaus and Jost Hellmann, along with CEO, Reiner Heiken, planted a tree at the Osnabrueck headquarters, and donated 150 trees to the city of Osnabrueck - one for each year in Hellmann's history.

Jost Hellmann said: “We are celebrating our 150th anniversary this year in large part due to our willingness to embrace change. The logistics industry is always changing. If you don't evolve, you cannot compete in the market. When we opened our first international branch in Hong Kong in 1982, I would never have dreamed that almost 40 years later we would have such a vast global network. Innovative strength and sustainable actions have always characterized us and will continue to be what people associate with Hellmann in the future. True to our guiding principle: thinking ahead – moving forward.” Klaus Hellmann added that the company’s success was down to its great people: “That's why I would like to thank especially all our employees, whose commitment and perseverance made the 150th anniversary possible in the first place. Of course, I would also like to thank our loyal customers, many of whom have been with us for decades and with whom we have grown together.”

Reiner Heiken commented. “Our present is characterized by radical changes that affect both our industry and society as a whole. Our goal is to build upon the company's successful history and continue growing in a sustainable way. To achieve this, we want to leverage the opportunities offered by digitalization and at the same time stick to our motto "First, people first," which is set out in our F.A.M.I.L.Y. DNA. After all, our employees and customers will continue to be the main pillars of our company in the future.”