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E-commerce is driving the transformation of the air cargo industry

E-COMMERCE has transformed the air cargo business from being supply chain focused to more "customer centric," transparent and thus more competitive, according to SkaiBlu managing director Michael Hanke, who heads an e-commerce consultancy.

Speaking to Logistics Management magazine of Framington, Massachusetts, Dr Hanke, the author of "Airline E-commerce: Log on. Take off," said that from a customer's perspective, with e-commerce, "convenience", "control", and "cost" assume crucial roles.

Today, customers determine the hours of operation since they log on whenever they want, and increasingly want to serve themselves, such as by checking the status of their shipments via e-tracking or reserving shipping space through an air cargo business website. Furthermore, e-commerce services need to be delivered to the customer's location be it an office desktop or a mobile device.

"Customers have never had access to more information today and with the next best website only one mouse click away, suppliers in the air cargo value chain need to be more than ever mindful of their price levels and quality of service," he said.

Dr Hanke said another impact of e-commerce is improved efficiency of business processes, "think of the e-airway bill or the application of e-commerce software to help track/analyse the levels of inventory at suppliers and manufacturers in real-time for more effective JIT."

The arrival of the internet and internet-based technology has forced many participants in the airline cargo business to redesign the relationship with their target audience. For example, it has cut out the middlemen as customers directly interact with airline cargo websites for shipment bookings/tracking/paper work, bypassing traditional intermediaries such as air freight forwarders.