Martina Vollbrecht, Director Product Management Express and Standard at Lufthansa Cargo, is smart, beautiful and right in the groove as both a highly specialized business professional and a dedicated wife and mother.
     At Lufthansa Cargo, Martina handles product management for half of the carrier’s varied products including express product (td.Flash), as well as responsibilities for dangerous goods and perishables product development which translates into monitoring the financial and qualitative performance and initiation of corrective actions and evolving new product features and sharpening the existing ones.
     Martina also gets involved in marketing, so it can be said that her responsibility in a highly specialized world is inventive and entrepreneurial.
     Martina is an absolute original.
     Her stock and trade is to have a better idea, and apparently she delivers, which is a vital achievement in air cargo.
     In fact, in 2012 Martina will celebrate her 25th year at Lufthansa. She can look back on a career that included her early posting to marketing and has continued since Lufthansa Cargo Group was formed in 1995.
     But if you ask this fiercely bright lady what she considers to be her hallmark at Lufthansa, she says right away:
     “I am proud to be one of seven female managers at Lufthansa Cargo and one out of two that have children.”
     When asked what drives her life between home and work (a question, by the way, only asked of women for some reason), Martina declares:
     “My motivation is not so much about position (after all I am not a man), it is about doing the job and the right thing for the company.
     “I am also developing some good kids, Leon and Jannick, who are living and performing well and so far not missing their mother at home too much.”
     “The time that I spend with my two boys, aged almost seven and four and a half, is always quality time—dedicated to them exclusively.
     “My husband, Dominic who is a full time manager, also shares the parenting, otherwise it would not work.

     “Things have changed dramatically in the workplace for women.
     “When I began and was in sales, the room was usually filled with sincere, well-meaning (albeit) members of ‘the old boys club.’
     “I was vaguely aware of the odds, but later some of my customers said:
     “‘When you started we wondered what was Lufthansa doing sending out such a young girl?’
     “‘Afterwards, we realized that you really know what you are doing and we appreciate that you are our sales person.’
     “I guess that women by the very nature of the air cargo business initially had more to prove than the guys, but I also sense very little of that at Lufthansa Cargo today. At Lufthansa Cargo, our top management actively seeks ways to bring more women in management.
     “Although the numbers still very definitely favor men in positions of power and influence, it is definitely about how well you do the job—that is the first priority above all.
     “So there is much hope and much more merit-based opportunities for women coming into the air cargo business these days.
     “My view would be to encourage all young women who would want a career in air cargo to go for it.”
     Asked about her legacy to air cargo, Martina laughed:
     “I hope my career is not ending just yet,” she said:
     “In terms of what is ahead, I would like to forward as much pride of who we are into what we do so that everyone in and outside of our company understands that Lufthansa Cargo is the best in the world.
     “We have a better idea and work everyday to advance every aspect of our air cargo enterprise.”
     “While we move technology forward we never forget how important people are.
     “Lufthansa Cargo combines advanced systems and human experience, creating overall efficiencies in the selling, routing and delivery of air cargo.”
     Asked about what she does when not at work in the big Lufthansa Cargo complex at Frankfurt International Airport, Martina said:
     “I love to read. I am quite old fashioned in that sense, devouring magazines and newspapers and an occasional book.
     “I love my job and overall my experiences at Lufthansa Cargo, but given the opportunity to begin my career all over again, would like to have had more of a background in engineering, thinking the combination of engineering and business studies would have been ideal.”
     When you meet a person who has accomplished all that Martina has and they say their one wish would be to have been able to offer more, despite the vastness of what they have already offered, it is easy to see that they are the real deal.
Geoffrey/Flossie

Tulsi Mirchandaney

Olga Pleshakova

Lucy Ntuba

Lina Rutkauskien

Rachel Humphrey

Jenni Frigger-Latham

Delta Cargo & TSA Regulations

     The Atlanta chapter of the IFFCHBA held its June luncheon at the Airport Marriott, featuring a presentation by Greg Mays, Managing Director - Global Cargo Operations for Delta Cargo. Before things got started, the nowadays obligatory antitrust statement was read by Pam Brown on behalf of the IFFCHBA and Greg Mays flashed Delta’s “safe harbor” disclaimer. What would we do without all those lawyers?
     Greg gave on overview of Delta, first for the entire airline as a whole and then specifically on cargo. Fuel remains one of the major issues here to stay with fluctuating costs that prove difficult to manage whether by hedging or market forces. A one dollar increase in the price of fuel translates into 100 million dollar additional costs for Delta. Other concerted measures are also in train, such as a reduction of up to 140 aircraft over the next year retiring the least fuel efficient aircraft. The overall economic uncertainty impacts financial performance.
     The airline continues to stay focused on paying down its debt reducing it by nearly 4 billion dollars since December 2009 and targeting 10 billion remaining debt by mid-2013. Capacity is being matched to respective revenue generation with targeted reduction in trade lanes in which the revenue hasn’t kept up with rising costs. The Transatlantic is one specific market to see capacity cuts to manage cost.
     Management aims at incremental revenue of 1 billion dollars by 2013 through combined efforts including new products and services, quality experience for its customers and continued investments in technology to sustain innovation. An example is scanning at all domestic locations, which is now in place with emphasis on the Atlanta hub and consolidation of its cargo facilities. Standardization and simplifications remain firm objectives.
     Ancillary businesses, including cargo, are expected to generate 5-10% revenue growth for 2011. The contribution cargo makes to the business is considered vital, especially when viewed market by market, with the Pacific and Atlantic at 10% each; LAX/SYD for example with 16% of the total and NRT/ATL with 18% contributions stand out.
     Following on a successful 2010, Delta Cargo is focusing on operational improvements as well as a disciplined execution of its plans. It reported this week that CTMs were up 2.1% year-on-year for the month of May and are up 12.5% YTD over the same time period in 2010. Greg sees the organization well positioned, having outperformed its U.S.-based competitors and this trend holding. It will change some cargo branding to improve the visibility and handling of its priority products.
     Leading into the security topic, Greg reiterated the 100% inbound screening of cargo as the goal by the end of 2011. Based on the track record, he saw the partnership between industry stakeholders as essential, as is the cooperation between the TSA and foreign authorities to make it successful. Greg complimented Doug Brittin, General Manager Air Cargo Division at TSA for his consultative industry approach.
     The threats are evolving and flexibility is needed to counter them, all parties now coming to the conclusion that a multi-layered approach is the best option together with finding threats upstream from the aircraft. In this sense forwarders will play a greater role in screening by providing advance shipment data. Bigger forwarders have already made the investments necessary for screening and will be less impacted, yet the smaller and midsize forwarders face both the greatest risk and reward, subject to their involvement.
     EU Customs regulations requirements are being addressed in conjunction with Descartes, Delta Cargo’s vendor for this market in a country by country rollout plan, based on their readiness, working with ground handlers and local Customs offices in the process. Data integrity challenges need to be dealt with and communications are ongoing with Delta customers.
     Greg summarized the strategy of leveraging the core strengths which are based on the Delta network, a go-to-market strategy based on a solution-based sales philosophy, consistent executive-level commitment and support and last but not least, the desire to be the best and the Delta ad campaign “keep climbing” that best embodies it.
Ted Braun

EMO Adding Global Sales

     Jo Frigger, Chairman and CEO of EmoTrans, is looking forward to further expansion of his company in 2011.
     While at Air Cargo Europe this year, we learned that EmoTrans is busy looking ahead, specifically to “solidifying our structure for compliance and security.
     “We are looking forward to strengthening our sales development globally with some additional partners, “ said Mr. Frigger.
     “Compliance and security are on the forefront of the industry these days.
     “The threat of terrorism will not go away. We are trying to work very closely with the authorities to make sure we have the right tools and also make them understand that business has to go on.
     “I think there is a dialogue going on that is very fruitful.
     “Our concern is that, especially in Europe, governments have the same rules, but they interpret them differently, which leads to a level of confusion,” said Mr. Frigger.
     In terms of new business partners on the forefront, Mr. Frigger thinks EmoTrans has the world “pretty much covered.”
     “We just had our global network meeting in Frankfurt at the end of March, and what we have to do is a better job in demonstrating to the carriers and customers at large what a strong global network we really have.
     “We are growing closer together through IT development,” said Mr. Frigger.
     In terms of how important it is to be at Air Cargo Europe, Mr. Frigger put it simply:
     “We’ve been here now for a number of events, and I think it is important, otherwise we wouldn’t bring in people from overseas to speak with our customers and the carriers.
     “It’s always fun to be in Munich, especially with such lovely weather in May.
     “It’s exciting; you always make new friends and renew old acquaintances,” finished Mr. Frigger.
Flossie

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RE:  Curtains For DB Schenker USA?

Good Morning Geoffrey,

     Your DB Schenker USA note today does require a slight correction:
     The question is whether or not to shut down the U.S. DOMESTIC operations of DB Schenker USA, not their other large U.S. business.
     DB Schenker acquired the domestic service offering when they purchased BAX Global, which involves overnight and deferred service throughout the U.S.
     Domestic services and needs have considerably changed over the past 10-15 years, and this segment is a smaller unit within the overall DB Schenker USA operations and I am not surprised that it is losing money.
     DB Schenker may simply shut it down, or find a buyer for it.
     Thus DB Schenker will remain a strong player in the U.S. as an international freight forwarder, they are one of the top 10 in terms of volume in the U.S.

Best regards and happy typing,
Albert
Albert Saphir
ABS CONSULTING
Supply Chain Harmony - Logistics and Trade Compliance Synchronized for
Optimal Performance
albert@abs-consulting.net

RE:  IATA Stranger Than Fiction

Dear Geoffrey,

     I noted the snippet from Ted Braun on the FIATA DG training course’s status.
     Ted and I were in Cargo at the same time in IATA.
     Well, as it happens, I used to be secretary of the DGB until I got Jack Lynched like so many others.
     Now I produce shipper industry version of the ICAO TI that does a much better job than the IATA DGR for 1/3rd the price.
     Go figure.
     And one other thing:
     I got going, not through my current employer but through the trainers I know in the U.S. who are not enamored of an IATA training program, as a properly evaluated and skills and standards program for DG trainers.
     Note that’s DG trainers not DG by air trainers.
     Hmm, isn’t that what trainers are all about?…

Neil McCulloch
Labelmaster Montreal
+1 514 426 5939
www.airregs.com

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