Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions shares his views on the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the air cargo sector.
Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions shares his views on the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the air cargo sector. However, he believes that digitization can be the solution to this grim situation.
The current situation due to Covid-19 has definitely been a big blow to the world economy and several industries. Businesses haven’t functioned for almost a month as heavy lockdown norms are prevalent in countries globally. This means, the post outbreak scenario will be more grim than what we expect it to be.
Of all, Air Cargo is definitely the worst hit as in airports all across the world, airlines are not functioning, movement of cargo is far less than usual, and this will continue for a while from now. This means, a major loss for all stakeholders, job loss for contract employees and the golden word- RECESSION. Industry bodies are predicting losses in billions for the air cargo industry alone. Even though supply of essentials and pharmaceutical freight movement is taking place, they are not covering up the losses even to a minimal extent.
If we take a closer look, business continuity has taken a backseat as most of the air cargo operations involve manual intervention. The same scenario prevails in ocean cargo too. But in my opinion, business continuity can still be made possible, and we can reduce the damage it can cause to the world economy. The answer for this possibility is- Digitization in Air Cargo.
Digitization ensures lower manual intervention, zero paperwork and swift movement of freight. Payments for the freight movement such as terminal charges etc. can be made online if a cargo community system exists. Moreover, these community systems are way too dynamic. They facilitate information exchange among stakeholders digitally, improve cargo visibility and also solve data inaccuracies. With this, we would need manpower only at certain areas and that too in very minimal numbers.
Imagine, if a cargo community system had existed globally in all airports as on date, we wouldn’t be discussing this. Therefore, it is high time that we take digitization seriously from now on. The next time, if such a situation arises, we can comfortably follow social distancing with remote working and just see businesses running as usual.
