DB Schenker and Sensos launch thin tracking label
Interesting, having seen a pretty advanced smart label presentation by Kuehne+Nagel at last year’s ACHL in Athens, that it should be DB Schenker that was announced this week as being the “first
logistics provider from Europe to offer global tracking of freight shipments with the new ultra-thin tracking label.” This particular disposable label has been developed by Berlin-based,
Sony-spin-off, high-tech developer, Sensos. What makes it special are both its ultra-thin size and the fact that it contains a tiny, lithium-free battery that emits less CO2 in production than
conventional batteries and is capable of holding out for up to six months. It can be attached to containers, pallets, or single parcels, and used to track the shipment regardless of whether it
travels by land, air, or sea. The label emits real-time data via mobile network as to the location and temperature of the piece, alerting the customer of any tampering during transport. “The
unobtrusive design of the label increases security for valuable consignments as it does not draw attention, and the tracking remains undetected,” the release underlines. Given its minimal
thickness, it weighs next to nothing and consumes very little energy during transportation. Unlike more primitive tracking hardware, it is disposable and therefore does not need to be returned to
DB Schenker.
As one of Sensos’ first design partners, DB Schenker was involved in the development of the label, helping to define requirements and piloting the solution on land and in air cargo use cases.
David Pollender, Product Owner Business Development IoT at DB Schenker, explained: “Tracking technology now fits into a millimeter-thin sticker. The Sensos label is so small and lightweight
that it can be used for freight of any size. In conjunction with DB Schenker's IoT solution connect2track, it offers optimal visibility and condition monitoring of consignments. This
significantly improves the existing offering for our customers and makes tracking even more flexible and secure.”
Aviv Casto, CEO of Sensos, commented: “We took on the mission to disrupt the world of supply chain by delivering infinite end-to-end parcel level visibility. Our solution enables data-driven
execution, optimizing logistics for various use cases. We are grateful to have DB Schenker as a design partner from the early days, and for their contribution in achieving the product market
fit.”
WAL mentoring ready for a repeat success
"Regardless of our title or years of experience we can learn from each other. Through mentoring and by being open to learn we can reach our ultimate potential."
~ Lily Benjamin.
Learning from each other and enabling others to reach their ultimate potential is what is behind Women in Aviation and Logistics’ (WAL) mentoring program, which was first launched last year and
found great success. And as the feedback shows, the learning is not one-way, as many mentors from the first round reported experiencing “reverse mentorship”, too. As with any blockbuster film,
there’s a sequel, and that sequel has just launched this week. WAL second mentoring round this time counts 51 participants from many areas across the air cargo industry, including experts in
finance, pricing and revenue optimization, sales, communication, and sustainable business strategies, from airlines, airports, freight forwarders, IT solution providers, and trade associations.
The 51 have been matched into 27 mentor-mentee pairs. The mentees are all women, whereas eight of the mentors are men. The pairs will now work together for the next four months, learning and
sharing experiences, to support and encourage female professionals in their career aspirations, and reduce the gender gap in aviation and logistics. No doubt, the relationships formed will again
continue after the initial four months, and some mentees may be encouraged to return as mentors in future.
Airblox, IBS Software, and Strike Aviation are sponsoring the second program, thus making it possible and contributing to a fairer, more balanced industry of the future. Céline Hourcade,
Co-Founder of WAL and Founder and Managing Director of Change Horizon, said: “We are delighted to relaunch our successful mentoring program, which delivered tremendous value to the
participants last year. We are proud to see that among this year's participants, we have a number of program alumni who decided to rejoin, including three former mentees who grew stronger in
their roles and are coming back as mentors, as well as nine returning mentors.”
Emma Murray, Co-Founder of WAL and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meantime Communications, added: “The WAL mentorship program is a tangible example of how, by working together, we can
initiate change. The program is enabling people from across the globe and across different sectors in the industry to come together, learn from each other, and build lasting relationships to the
benefit of our community.”
The God of Sunlight finally takes on the Bearer of the Heavens
That’s an intellectual way of saying Apollo has now completed its acquisition of Atlas Air Worldwide, which was originally announced on 04AUG22. Apollo leads the investor group of affiliates,
J.F. Lehman & Company and Hill City Capital, resulting in aircraft and aviation outsourcing provider, Atlas Air Worldwide, now being a 100% privately held company. The investment group
acquired all the outstanding shares of Atlas Air Worldwide stock: “Atlas Air Worldwide shareholders are entitled to receive $102.50 in cash for each share of Atlas Air Worldwide (AAWW) common
stock owned. As a result of the transaction completion, Atlas Air Worldwide’s common stock no longer trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange,” the release explains. It goes on to name a
film-credits-length list of all the companies involved in the acquisition project: “Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Atlas. Cravath, Swaine & Moore
LLP served as Atlas’ legal advisor. Evercore acted as lead financial advisor to the investor group. Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and Mizuho Bank served as financial advisors to the investor group,
and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal advisor to Apollo and the investor group entity, and Jones Day provided legal advice to J.F. Lehman & Company and Hill
City Capital,” though the total money involved is not quantified.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, John Dietrich, who will continue to lead the Atlas’ current executive team under the same company name and global set-up, stated:
“Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for Atlas, and we are eager to begin our partnership with Apollo, J.F. Lehman and Hill City. With the support and resources of our investor
partners, we are well-positioned to achieve our growth objectives while continuing to serve the increasingly complex global supply chain. I want to thank the entire Atlas team, whose customer
focus and dedication made this milestone possible. I look forward to the opportunities this next phase provides for our Company and our employees.”
On behalf of the investor group, Apollo Partners Antoine Munfakh and Jason Scheir, J.F. Lehman Partner Alex Harman and Hill City Capital Chief Investment Officer Chip Frazier, communicated:
“We are thrilled to partner with the talented Atlas team and build on the Company’s strong foundation as a leader in the airfreight industry. We have long admired Atlas’ reputation of
providing high-quality service to its customers, as well as the financial and operational excellence the team has established. Atlas is poised for continued growth and expansion as it capitalizes
on the long-term demand for global air cargo services.”
CargoAi gains Air New Zealand Cargo for CargoMART
Air New Zealand Cargo is CargoAi’s first venture into Australasia and, the carrier’s first venture into third-party digital cargo booking platforms. The initial move opens up flights from USA and
Canada to New Zealand and Australia for users of CargoMART. U.S. and Canadian-based freight forwarders can now book General and Express cargo capacity in real-time on all Air New Zealand Cargo
routes, alongside benefitting from the platform’s numerous other features (real-time schedules, bulk quoting, e-Booking, shipment tracking, and Cargo2ZERO). Once the current pilot is complete,
Air New Zealand Cargo will expand its offering on CargoAi on a global scale, providing capacity access to the more than 9,000 freight forwarders across 105 countries who regularly use CargoAi's
marketplace, CargoMART.
Matt Petot, CEO of CargoAi, declared: “We are proud to be the marketplace of choice that Air New Zealand has chosen to commence its digital offering with. With our shared vision in
transforming the air cargo landscape, we are looking forward to bringing the best digital booking experience that CargoMART offers to our joint customers.”
Brooke Roberts, Sales Manager, North America from Air New Zealand Cargo, commented: “We are pleased to be partnering with CargoAi as Air New Zealand Cargo looks to expand our customer base
within the North America market. While we enjoy a strong presence from the ports where we operate direct flights, the sheer size of the U.S. and Canada market dictates we embrace platforms that
expand our commercial reach. CargoAi will provide us the tools necessary to effectively offer cargo solutions to these customers for their everyday transportation needs into New Zealand and
Australia.”
Cainiao aims for 3-day cross-border deliveries to South Korea
Following on from numerous initiatives to strengthen cross-border logistics between China and South Korea in 2022, including the launch of a distribution center and trucking line haul service in
South Korea to expedite Chinese AliExpress deliveries and resulting in 10% operating costs savings and a 12 hour-reduction in handling times South Korean-bound deliveries, Cainiao has now
partnered with CJ Logistics to further accelerate processes. The aim is to enable Chinese deliveries to South Korean consumers within 3 days, throughout the entire week. To this end, Cainiao
Network, (“Cainiao”), Alibaba Group Holding Limited’s logistics subsidiary, and South Korea’s CJ Logistics, a subsidiary of CJ Group (whose business spans across four major industries: food and
beverages, biotechnology, logistics, and entertainment and media), will be cooperating to streamline and optimize cross-border logistics services between China and South Korea, and profiting from
CJ Logistics’ dense logistics network and domestic warehousing infrastructure. This includes plans with AliExpress to establish fulfillment centers in South Korea for faster local deliveries. CJ
Logistics already operates a mega 300,000 m² logistics hub in Gonjiam since 2018, capable of handling up to 1.7 million parcels per day, and counts 274 distribution centers across South
Korea.
Shin Young Soo, CEO of Parcel E-Commerce Business Unit at CJ Logistics, said: “Establishing partnerships with global leading e-Commerce partners such as AliExpress and Cainiao creates
opportunities for us to deliver greater value and better customer experience. In the future, we will continue to optimize cross-border fulfillment services and partnership framework to achieve
mutual growth and to offer new overseas shopping services for consumers."
Wang Ke, Asia Pacific Regional Manager of Cainiao International Express, commented: “The partnership with CJ Logistics marks a step forward in enhancing China-Korea cross-border logistics
experience for merchants and consumers. Here, Cainiao will be able to further optimize the logistics efficiency of the entire supply chain, especially when it comes to safeguarding delivery
timeliness during major shopping festivals. This will enable us to deliver a customer experience and shipping guarantee that is on par with local eCommerce.”
EU customs system ICS2 transition extended to 30JUN23
In a recent press release, IT and software service provider, DAKOSY, reminded freight forwarders that the EU Import Customs Systems 2 (ICS2) had been launched for the air cargo industry on
01MAR23, but that the transition period had been extended through to 30JUN23. DAKOSY authorized officer, Dirk Gladiator advised that “air freight forwarders should use this period to ensure that
they can provide the airlines with the additional data required,” meaning full visibility on shipment commodity codes (6-digit HS code), and complete shipper and consignee addresses, as well as
the consignee’s EORI. He emphasized that “The introduction of ICS2 in air cargo is a milestone. For the first time, we have a customs procedure with only one central European entry door
instead of 27 national doors.”
Though initially data entry is more time-consuming, in the long run, correct and complete data results in simpler, safer, and faster processes overall. “The sooner the airline has the data,
the sooner possible errors can be identified and corrected, if necessary,” he encouraged. Failure to provide ICS2-compliant data can result in the shipment not being loaded by the airline.
Compliance means ensuring that the data is properly structured and follows a given format – such as postal codes requiring five digits [interesting, given that Austria’s codes are only 4 digits
in length, by the way], or else the data will not be recognized.
“With ICS2, the EU is introducing a unified and centralized procedure for dedicated risk analysis for goods from third countries, which begins even before the goods are loaded in the country
of export. In the long run, the EU Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD) plans that the vast majority of customs processes will be bundled via the specially created Shared
Trader Interface (STI),” the release states. From 01JUL23, “at the earliest” (given the current airline transition extension to 30JUN23), Multiple Filing will be possible, whereby
either the airline or the freight forwarder directly can submit Pre-Loading notification. “Due to the extension of the deadline for airlines until June 30, 2023, the time window for Multiple
Filing has been pushed back. For carriers who want to participate, this is an important update. Conversions can occur between July 1 and Oct. 2, 2023, based on current information,"
Gladiator concluded.
EFW acquires Legacy Logistics
This EFW refers to the U.S. freight forwarder, Richmond, VA-based, Estes Forwarding Worldwide which specializes in custom logistics and warehousing solutions. It announced on 13MAR23, that it had
bought Reading, Pennsylvania-based, Legacy Legacy Logistics. The latter is strong in trade show logistics and exhibition services, “Legacy customers will now benefit from a national footprint
of warehouse locations, new tools to enhance quoting, tracking & visibility, immediate access to a full suite of domestic and international logistics solutions, and more,” the release
stresses. Legacy Logistics’ name is now EFW Tradeshow.
Scott Fisher, CEO of EFW, commented: “Acquiring Legacy Logistics elevates our ability to provide trade show solutions to our customers. In its 22-year history, Legacy has established itself
as a premier solutions provider, committed to excellence. Their experience in the trade show space and cultural match with EFW. [Legacy] will definitely strengthen us and be valuable for our
mutual clients and employees.”
Ernie Magalotti, Founder and CEO of Legacy Logistics, added: “We are excited to join forces with EFW and become part of a larger organization with a strong reputation and shared values. We
look forward to bringing our expertise and capabilities to EFW’s customers and expanding our reach together.” His job title is now Senior Vice President of EFW Tradeshow, and he is
responsible for the management of the combined team of experts across the US.
Brigitte Gledhill
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