AFRICA – Swissport is equipping its cargo workers with a brand-new mobile application and new handheld devices to further digitize its air cargo warehousing process and offer real-time visibility on cargo shipments.
The Cargospot cargo app, developed by CHAMP Cargosystems, is to record every step of the warehousing process, such as for example acceptance, build-up, check-in of goods and delivery.
The mobile cargo application has already been rolled out at Swissport’s cargo operations in Helsinki, Basel, Hamburg, Manchester and Frankfurt.
Next, the app will be introduced at locations across Africa, the US, the UK, and in Ireland, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The implementation is set to reach 76 facilities in Swissport’s cargo network by the end of 2022.
The app will enable Swissport workers to monitor and steer the warehousing process with real-time visibility, in a user-friendly and highly efficient way and offers advanced data insights into air cargo flows.
Cargo will be traceable through timestamps with exact locations, further improving the security of the supply chain.
The app also features built-in safety mechanisms, which create an additional barrier to make sure incompatible shipments, such as specific dangerous goods, remain separated at all times.
As staff monitors and registers the flow of air cargo, several manual processes can be eliminated, and the administration is simplified and with these process steps in the future supported with real-time visibility, customers can keep track of their shipment status according to Cargo iQ standards.
The advantages of the new application are offered to airlines using Swissport’s Cargo Management System.
“Our new cargo app enables us to take the digitization of our air cargo business to the next level,” said Hendrik Leyssens, VP of global operations cargo.
“The improved visibility of every individual shipment will benefit airlines, forwarders and our own workers alike. Beyond that, this new way of working delivers a wealth of data, clearing the way for further optimization and streamlining the cargo flow at Swissport warehouses,” he adds.
“Our new cargo app enables us to take the digitisation of our air cargo business to the next level”
The launch of the new app comes just a few weeks after Swissport celebrated its 25th company anniversary.
The company says it is stronger than ever, ready to support the recovery of global aviation as a reliable and financially stable service partner for airlines and airports at some 270 airports on all six continents.
Under the name of “Swissair Ground Services International AG”, Swissport was incorporated on Aug. 16, 1996, before a notary public in Switzerland.
The legal separation from its parent company Swissair laid the basis for a global growth and success story which continues to this day.
From its modest beginnings with operations at the airports in Zurich, Geneva and Basel, Swissport has developed into a global leader and a partner of choice for many renowned airlines and today, some 850 air carriers place their trust in Swissport as an outsourcing partner.
In 2020, Swissport International AG provided airport ground services for some 82 million airline passengers (pre-COVID 2019: 265 million) and handled roughly 4.1 million tons of air freight (2019: 4.6 million) at over 100 airport cargo warehouses around the world.
At the end of 2020, Swissport was active at 269 airports in 47 countries on six continents.
Swissport currently employs around 42,000, down from around 65,000 employees pre-COVID.
In 2019 – the company’s last pre-COVID business year – group revenue had grown to US$3.7 billion with operating EBITDA reaching US$323 million and a strong operating cash flow.
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