06 Mar Paving way for 100% e-AWB adoption in air cargo
Nearly 8000 tonnes of paper are consumed by one leading ground handler every year to move cargo. This is equivalent to chopping off 160,000 trees year after year. Ironically, this many tonnes of paper is consumed only for processing air-waybill and the number can be even higher for other documents.
Hence, air cargo needs a robust paperless trade strategy and that would be to digitize air waybill processing. IATA and other trade bodies are rapidly pushing for 100 per cent adoption of electronic air waybill worldwide.
However, industry experts believe that for long, the trade bodies have pushed for digitization and yet the low adoption rate persists. In order to overcome this resistance, leading ground handlers are now incentivizing the adoption of the electronic air waybill, which is believed to be a game changer in the coming few months.
Low adoption rate
Way back in 2006, IATA launched the e-freight initiative under which 30 paper documents handled for each shipment processing can be reduced. However, the adoption rate has been low due to a lack of standardization across tech platforms and a lack of a proper regulatory framework to enable communication between all stakeholders.
For example, every stakeholder such as a freight forwarder, ground handler, or airline could use a standalone enterprise or point solution that facilitates a particular process. However, when the document is to be forwarded to the next stakeholder, it is meant to be extracted and sent as a PDF or physical copy.
On the other hand, reluctance from stakeholders is a major reason for the low adoption rate as they consider digitization could be a major investment. In some cases, stakeholders look at the aspect of cyber security as digitizing a document as important as an air waybill would risk their integrity.
Incentivizing electronic air waybill adoption
A leading ground handler operating in Europe and North America is now targeting 100 percent digitization by the end of 2023. To ensure the same is diligently followed by all stakeholders, they are now offering free processing of electronic air waybill versus 10 sterling pound processing for paper air waybill.
According to reports, various other ground handlers globally are adopting this strategy and they have already witnessed rapid adoption of electronic air waybill. Therefore, the tonnes of paper processed for generating paper-based air waybill will eventually come down in the coming few months.
Cargo community systems for a holistic digitization approach
Certain point solutions exist in the market that allows rapid conversion of PDF air waybills into electronic waybill. However, a holistic approach will be to have a common platform such as a cargo community system as it not only facilitates digital documentation and reduces the time involved. It will also enable end-to-end communication between stakeholders and offer complete visibility of all processes.
Several airport authorities across North America are now rapidly looking at implementing cargo community systems and reaping the benefits. Yet, the penetration is still low. With initiatives such as incentivizing e-AWB adoption, the level of digital acceptance might possibly increase.