MSC has launched a new digital solution for processing the Bill of Lading (BL) online. The solution aims to ensure that all the parties involved in a cargo shipment booking can issue, transfer, endorse and manage the bill of lading electronically through a secure, decentralised network.

“MSC has chosen Wave BL because it is the only solution that mirrors the traditional paper-based process that the shipping and cargo transportation industry is used to,” said André Simha, Global Chief Digital & Information Officer at MSC. “It provides a digital alternative to all the possibilities available with traditional print documents, just much faster and more secure.”

Users can issue all originals, negotiable or non-negotiable, and exchange them via a direct, encrypted, peer-to-peer transmission as well as being able to amend documents.

Research conducted by the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), of which MSC is a founding member, indicates that by achieving just 50% eBL adoption by 2030 could save the industry more than US$4bn per year.

MSC has participated in a number of initiatives led by the DCSA focused on driving standardisation, digitalisation and interoperability in container shipping.

“Traditionally, the shipping industry has relied quite heavily on physical paper documents. And among these, the Bill of Lading is the most important transport document in international trade,” adds André Simha. “While there have been attempts to create an eBL solution in the past, we are now in a position to introduce a solution that can pave the way to mass eBL adoption, which will mean significant savings for the shipping industry.”

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Turkish Cargo will soon provide forwarders around the world with the ability to conduct real-time eBookings, access live rates, and see available air cargo capacity through WebCargo, a Freightos Group company. 

This provides critical agility as air cargo contends with unexpected shifts due to the global pandemic.As Christian Tesch, director airfreight carrier relations and procurement, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, commented: “Live access to capacity and price supports our ongoing commitment to provide Hellmann customers with outstanding service. We’re delighted to see Turkish Cargo on WebCargo.”

Turkish Cargo will first roll out on WebCargo in Spain and India, and will be quickly followed by roll outs in several more countries. With the airline’s shift to global eBookings, more than 20% of global air cargo capacity will now be digitised, providing more than 2,000 WebCargo forwarders customers across over 10,000 global branches with instant access to capacity and pricing.

Turhan OZEN, chief cargo officer at Turkish Airlines, explained: “Effective leadership is required to handle the customers constantly diversifying demands accurately across the air cargo industry.

“As the air cargo brand with one of the widest networks in the world, we focus on digital solutions. We are pleased to partner with WebCargo to provide digital connectivity for our customers as part of our commitment to constant innovation in offering the best service possible.”

“In the past year, eBookings have increased tenfold on WebCargo, making it clear that the future of air cargo is digital” said Manel Galindo, chief executive officer, WebCargo. “We’re incredibly proud to partner with Turkish Cargo, one of the most impactful and influential global cargo airlines, to launch eBookings for forwarders around the world.”

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The world’s largest container carriers have adopted DCSA Track & Trace (T&T) standards with a commitment to providing customers access to the standards-based API.

The DCSA T&T API provides a streamlined way for shippers to receive real-time, cross-carrier data regarding the whereabouts of their containers. Widespread adoption of DCSA standards will advance the industry in terms of visibility and real-time responsiveness, resulting in greater reliability and a better customer experience.

The DCSA T&T standard comprises an information model and interface standards that can be freely downloaded from the DCSA website; API definitions are available on SwaggerHub. The data model ensures track and trace data definitions are consistent for all users, leveraging any system. These definitions are based on the Industry Blueprint, published by DCSA and its carrier members in 2019, which established a consistent vocabulary and proposed a common set of industry processes. The T&T standards are aligned with the UN/CEFACT (United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) standards to provide a global industry framework that preserves existing investments and streamlines communication among all supply chain participants.

“While a variety of digital innovations exist in the maritime industry, MSC believes that new solutions will only be fit for purpose if they can be operated across multiple carriers, service providers and geographies. Collaboration is essential in this regard, so we can establish the same technology standards throughout the industry. The ‘Track & Trace’ (T&T) standards establish a consistent method for exchanging data between carriers and customers. We’re proud to be one of the first to implement these new standards with our customers, thus shaping the technological future of the shipping industry.”said André Simha, chairman of the DCSA supervisory board and global chief digital & information officer of MSC.

Yu Kurimoto,  managing director, corporate and innovation for ONE (Ocean Network Express), commented:“Today, optimization in the way we envision requires digitalization. Done properly, digitalization will provide a foundation for integrating all aspects of global trade, uniting geographies and connecting stakeholders in a way that will not only enable ONE to deliver on its vision, but for container shipping to be seen as a leading light of industry. DCSA is enabling digitalization to be done properly, and we are proud to be among the first to offer a Track & Trace API based on DCSA standards that will improve cargo visibility for shippers.”

“The standards work being done in conjunction with DCSA will enable a level of seamlessness that has been difficult to achieve to this point due to a lack of interoperability across the industry. Digital standards will not only enable this interoperability, they will make it easier for carriers to achieve customer excellence and operational efficiency. But adopting standards and collaborating across the industry requires more than standards alone, it requires a cultural change in the industry which will hopefully start now. We are not only proud to be a founding member of this standardization initiative, we are excited about the benefits our DCSA standards-based Track & Trace API will provide for our customers.”said Nicolas Sekkaki, executive vice president IT, digital, SSC & transformation from CMA CGM.

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The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) called for action to address critical challenges being faced by the air cargo industry.

The organisation has completed a year long transformation program which has created a forward-looking association well positioned to unite and represent all sectors of the supply chain, reflecting its broad membership composition.

“The industry has demonstrated over the last 12 months, how effective it can be when all the supply chain partners unite around a common objective, supporting the global community through the Covid pandemic.  Our industry came together initially by transporting PPE and other life essentials and then mobilized to provide the only effective transport mode to support global vaccine distribution” stated Glyn Hughes, TIACA director general.

TIACA has identified key industry priorities that will need to be embraced by the entire supply chain in order to modernize and continue to provide enhanced solutions addressing shipper and other customer demands.

The key challenges and call to action are;

•    Digitalization: Efficient and effective solutions require harnessing the power of data to modernize processes and provide transparent quality services. Great moves forward have been experienced during the past 12 months as the industry was forced to find new ways of working. We must now take this even further and we urge all parties to establish and implement digital transformation plans.

•    Sustainability: The air cargo industry must reflect the global society of which it serves.  We must collectively seek to focus on People, Planet and Prosperity.  In order to flourish in the years to come, we must create equal opportunities for all, embrace technology and innovation and ensure we implement environmental responsible solutions designed to protect the planet today and for generations to come.

•    Safety and Security: The protection of the supply chain and its employees as well as regulatory compliance are critical components of future industry success.  We call on Governments to ensure regulations are relevant and workable, aligned with the reshaped world and to work with industry in tackling counterfeit and non-compliant shipments. Government authorities must take appropriate action against those who seek to evade regulations.

•    Liberalization: Fair and liberal trade policies will ensure the continued growth of the global economy which relies heavily on effective global air cargo networks.  Supportive trade regulations, coupled with fair and liberalized air and ground regulations will ensure the industry can develop and grow aligned with market needs. We as an industry must come together to ensure our voice is heard to support trade policies that positively impact the global economy.

•    Partnerships and Collaboration: Success can only be achieved through effective collaboration between supply chain partners, supply chain customers and those who regulate the industry.  We as an industry must unite around a common vision for an efficient, effective, sustainable global supply network established through strong community relations.

“TIACA is committed to working with its members, the broader industry, association partners and government agencies to ensure we have a united and successful air cargo industry.  We have demonstrated considerable success over the past months but as we go forward new challenges will materialize.  We will need be more innovative, agile and focused as an industry to overcome them.” stated Steven Polmans, TIACA, Chair

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The air cargo industry has seen exponential growth over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While speed is the name of the game in the air cargo industry, the pandemic has bottlenecked the supply chain. 

IATA, the International Air Transport Association, has released a new digital platform called EPIC (Enhanced Partner Identification and Connectivity). It will be used as a database with tools that centralizes connection information for stakeholders, reducing the cycle time to determine communication channels with each other to minutes, according to IATA.

There are over 40,000 freight forwarders exchanging messages with over 450 airlines through various third-party messaging service providers. EPIC’s digitisation of this communication process will accelerate the speed in which information is sent along the supply chain as well as make any information delivered more accessible. EPIC has already attracted the participation of 32 airlines, 900 freight forwarders, 10 government authorities, 5 international organizations and 13 third-party messaging providers.

EPIC does not stop there. It aims toward becoming a one-stop-shop in the global supply chain space. Not only will it help business-to-business communication, but it will also support digital customs clearance process. Advance cargo information (ACI) requirements rollouts and preloading ACI programs (PLACI) will receive a boost.

IATA has rolled out their new digital platform under a subscription model that will allow users to realise quick revenue and cut direct costs by as much as 40%.

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The Port of Barcelona has begun the process of collecting data to produce its new economic impact study of commercial and digital activity.

The study aims to assess the port’s commercial dimension and especially to learn what added value it generates in the economy of its hinterland, as well as collecting data from other indicators to further assess the scope of its environmental and social impact.

This study is a follow-up to other previous ones, such as the economic impact study that was completed in 2010. Since that time, the Port has undergone major changes at all levels, with a particular focus on innovation and digitalisation as the main factors of competitiveness that the port community of Barcelona has incorporated over the last ten years.

Consequently, the surveys underlying this new study pay special attention to digitalisation, since this is the first time a port has launched a study of this nature. The study will thus highlight the efforts made by companies in the port community of Barcelona in technological investments in all operational and commercial areas —digitalising processes, automation and digital management of different operations, development of PORTIC, innovation in digital services, etc.— which have clearly enhanced the port’s competitiveness.

Port of Barcelona president Mercè Conesa stated that this study “should help us to attach a figure to the qualitative improvement that our port has made in recent years, during which a key role has been played by the development of digital technology, a factor that is creating a more competitive Port of Barcelona, with a growing territorial scope, a lower environmental impact; in short, a more productive port that is improving the competitiveness of companies and the society it serves.”

”I am convinced that the Port of Barcelona would not have the capacity it has today without the firm commitment to digitalisation made by companies, and now is the time to assess the benefits it has brought us”, added Mercè Conesa.

In addition to quantifying economic aspects like the port’s contribution to Catalan and Spanish gross domestic product (GDP), for example, the survey also aims to analyse the other benefits that port activity generates in its surrounding area. Aspects such as employment generated directly by port activity or the reduction of the environmental impact thanks to the measures implemented in the various companies of Barcelona port community are covered in specific sections.

The company Ecoatenea conducted the economic impact study of the Port of Barcelona’s commercial and digital activity. Ecoatena is specialised in these types of analysis, for which it selected a series of companies that are especially representative of the port, both in terms of type of activity and presence in the logistics sector. It is currently gathering data for this purpose, a process that will end in April.

The Port president “thanked the companies and the various associations of the Port of Barcelona for their participation and involvement in this work” on behalf of the people running the study.

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Wilson Sons has acquired a minority stake in Israeli startup Docktech along with a commercial exclusivity agreement to use the company’s maritime technology to monitor berth and waterway depth in Brazilian ports.

The acquisition will enable the Brazilian port and maritime logistics operator, with the digital twin technology developed by Docktech and through the data collected by its fleet of 80 tugs, to understand silting behaviour in port areas, predicting how certain factors affect navigation conditions and security.

“The worldwide port infrastructure still does not offer instruments capable of accurately determining the real depth of the access channels to the ports and the berths,” said Márcio Castro, Executive Director of Wilson Sons’ tugboats business unit. “With the Docktech solution, it is possible to make this measurement more precisely and, thus, avoid underutilising the cargo capacity of the ships, in addition to the waste of dredging resources.”

The technology is already running in the ports of Santos and Rio Grande, while the plan is to implement the solution in the coming weeks in the ports of Rio de Janeiro, Açu and Vitória before expanding it to all the locations where Wilson Sons operates.

Under the system, the tugs will collect and process bathymetric data (depth measurement) of the ports where they are operating and, using the Docktech algorithm, monitor the depth of the berths and waterways access in real time.

Last year, the company also acquired a stake in AIDrivers, which specialises in the development of autonomous mobility systems for heavy port equipment.

Eduardo Valença, commercial manager of Wilson Sons’ tugboats division, said: “This milestone is another step for the company to become a reference in providing solutions for the optimisation of local maritime and port infrastructure. And other startups remain on our radar.”

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Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is working with Brussels Airport and the Air Cargo Belgium community to help eliminate waiting times for international road feeder services in the latest initiative to support Brucargo’s ‘Digital Green Lane’.

Two years ago, WFS was one of the first cargo handlers to sign up for Brucargo’s slot booking app, which allows local freight forwarding and transport providers to request a single or recurrent time slot to deliver or collect export and import air cargo shipments. WFS now receives some 2,000 slot requests a month from companies using the centralised web application.

The latest phase of the Brucloud project – developed by Air Cargo Belgium, technology provider Nallian, Brussels Airport and the air cargo community stakeholders – is to pilot a new Road Feeder Management App to digitally improve the efficiency of the interface between trucking operators and handling providers. Four trucking providers are participating in the pilot; H.Essers, Jan de Rijk, Ninatrans and Wallenborn.

The app allows for automatic booking of flexible slots for cargo drop-offs and collections by Road Feeder Services operators which can shift in time according to the estimated time of arrival (ETA) sent by the truck driver. Once registered, the app tracks the progress of the vehicle and gives the driver an updated time slot prior to arriving at the cargo terminal. As well as simplifying the communications process, the app aims to ensure drivers and trucks benefit from a better and priority service by eliminating waiting times which can occur when vehicles arrive at a cargo terminal and are processed in order with other trucks.

For WFS, the pilot offers the opportunity to gain real-time insight of predicted workflows, which allows it to optimise personnel planning to ensure fast, timely, safe and secure handling of cargo shipments carried onboard its airline customers’ flights to and from Brussels.

Koen Gouweloose, Managing Director, Belgium, at WFS, said: “WFS is keen to participate in and support digital solutions which improve customer experience and the overall efficiency of our operations. Brucloud is already making a significant difference to the way the air cargo community in Brussels works together and provides a win-win scenario for all stakeholders. I am confident we will see very encouraging results from the pilot of the Road Feeder Management application because it addresses some of the key challenges trucking and handling companies face; timeslots and planning are not always predictable due to changing traffic conditions, we rely heavily on manual exchange of information, and language barriers can mean a lack of clear communication with truck drivers.

“This new app addresses another key milestone in the ‘Digital Green Lane’ process and has the potential to benefit the entire Brussels Airport community once we complete this trial stage.”

The app is the latest digital solution developed by the Brussel Airport cargo community to address challenges linked to industry fragmentation for the transportation of goods from manufacturer to consumer, and inefficiencies resulting from a lack of visibility of the end-to-end process. Supported by airlines, GSSAs, handlers, forwarders, truckers and others, BRUcloud is an open data sharing platform with multiple collaborative apps which enable the Brussels Airport cargo community to act as an integrated network. It provides an agile and flexible digital roadmap using dashboards and analytics to achieve smart logistics solutions.

David Bellon, Chairman of Air Cargo Belgium Chairman, commented: “A new step taken in the digitization of our air cargo community at Brussels Airport. With this announcement, WFS confirms its strong engagement in the roll-out of the digital landscape at Brucargo. Air Cargo Belgium looks forward to collaborating with WFS and its customers to implement the green lane processes and improve efficiency and quality for all stakeholders in the community. We thank WFS for all its efforts and support.”

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In a concerted effort to drive supply chain orchestration and digitalisation, PSA Corporation Ltd (PSA) and the Container Depot and Logistics Association (Singapore) (CDAS) have launched ‘SmartBooking’ – an integrated one-stop booking platform for container depots, terminals, hauliers and logistics facilities across Singapore.

Supported by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO), this initiative will play a major role in Singapore’s logistics ecosystem digitalisation roadmap, and is part of the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy to facilitate data exchange and enable the deployment of AI solutions.

Developed by PSA, SmartBooking is an online service platform which supports digitalisation efforts by seamlessly connecting stakeholders across the supply chain and logistics value chain in Singapore. Through the single end-to-end platform, users gain higher visibility of the entire logistics flow, obtaining easy access to information such as vessel schedules, container movement events and planned activities.

SmartBooking allows processes to be further streamlined, with the optimisation of assets and resources, leading to a more efficient logistics ecosystem and an overall reduction in carbon footprint. PSA, with advisory input from CDAS, has also introduced ‘iBOX’ (Intelligent Box Operation eXchange), a next-generation depot management solution that digitally connects the port with container depots across Singapore. iBOX is further integrated with SmartBooking for seamless data exchange, enabling better truck visibility for enhanced efficiency between logistics facilities and container depots, two major nodes in container transportation.

Ricky Loo, Deputy President of CDAS, said, “Our local container depot operators and transport operators look forward to embracing new and innovative solutions like SmartBooking and iBOX, which will not only improve our efficiency and the competitiveness of Singapore’s logistics and supply chain industry, but also elevate the skillsets of our workforce.”

Ted Tan, Deputy CEO of ESG, said, “Digital transformation has established itself as a driving force of change in today’s economy, with a profound impact on people, processes and technology innovation. ESG is pleased to work with PSA and CDAS to support the sector’s adoption of digital solutions such as SmartBooking and iBOX to enhance Singapore’s logistics ecosystem. Enabling data exchange and information visibility through an integrated platform will allow logistics players in the supply chain to make data-driven decisions and optimise their resources such as manpower and trucks. This will level up the capabilities of the players in the industry and improve the overall efficiency of the sector.”
Source: PSA Corporation Ltd.

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