20 Apr Benefits of Obtaining an e-Air Waybill during COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 has hit all industries quite harder and Air Cargo is no exception. In fact, Air Cargo will top the worst affected if situation continues the same way. Yet, we cannot say nothing is happening anywhere. Rather we can say things are happening in a very miniscule level. Well, taking deeper will let everyone realise that business continuity will have been a possibility if all had considered digitisation seriously.
We can by now avoid a major impact i.e. recession which is already being realized across the globe in several countries. Air Waybill is among the most essential documents involved in the air cargo trade. Anyhow, adding an element of digitization in it i.e. e-airway bill will ensure seamless trade facilitation, operational efficiency of handlers, positive synergies and a lot more than what could one think of. Here are some convincing perks of digitising this element of air waybill which is a part of Cargo Community System and how it could be a game changer for the Air Cargo stakeholders.
Ensures social distancing
This is the time when everybody should avoid direct social contact and that’s the reason why many are working remotely. Having an e-Air Waybill will be a value addition to this process as it gets the freight movement faster as usual. An Airport with an existing Cargo Community System might have realized this benefit by now.
Solves revenue leakage
Revenue leakage due to incorrect data is a major problem in several airports across the globe. Often, handlers complain of truckers or forwarding agents disclosing incorrect data which reflects on the balance sheet of the ground handler. The discrepancies can be avoided when the payment procedure is online. Also, forwarders and truckers need not run from one end to the other to obtain this document from relevant authorities.
Paperless trade
Paper documentation is a major issue in the Air Cargo ecosystem. With the high number of paper documents, the whole process of freight movement gets hampered and slows down. The authorities as well may get exhausted with the high number of documents awaiting approval/clearance to move ahead. Meanwhile, the stakeholders might be staring at a major loss or holding of freight for a prolonged time. If in case, it turns out to be a pharmaceutical shipment, there is a high possibility that just waiting for physical document approval, a freight might be held from reaching the destination on time to save lives.
Business continuity
The concept behind the cargo community system is to bring all stakeholders in one frame and enable easy information exchange. This means business continues as usual without any physical presence. At the terminal, handlers would require some manpower to swiftly move the freight from one end to the other. In short, it is business as usual or as we say, Business Continuity Guaranteed.
Electronic air waybill is a part of the Cargo Community System and several Air Cargo Management System. They are meant for trade facilitation purposes in the Air Cargo space. At uncertain times like these, digitisation is the savior for all stakeholders. Therefore, all stakeholders need to seriously think about this and inculcate digitisation in their growth strategy.