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Geoffrey Arend Air CArgo News Thought Leader
   Vol. 13 No. 60    Friday July 11, 2014


Notes From The Backyard

Notes From The Backyard     “Imagination is funny, it makes a cloudy day sunny, makes a bee think of honey, just as I think of you,” sings Tommy Dorsey, but it could just as well be me speaking to dear air cargo . . .
     Lying in the hammock, looking at the sky whilst that song played on the radio this past July 4th weekend, supplied a momentary flight of fancy. I fell deep into a dream and without ever leaving my own backyard.
     By now everyone in air cargo has heard about the “new idea” presented in 2014 (that actually dates back to the 1970s) about cutting some hours off of the transit time of air cargo.
     But why not just reimagine the air cargo business?
     Imagine a brave new world, where the electronic air waybill and electronic security declaration are sent prior to shipment delivery.
     The warehouse check-in desks would be opened 24 hours before the flight’s departure and closed six hours prior.
     The cargo is delivered during this time and is sent to the relevant build-up area, where it is loaded into ULDs.
     The import customs entry is done in advance of the goods travelling and the shipment is selected either for inspection, or pre-cleared prior to arrival.
     The ULDs are loaded and the flight departs. The consignee is notified that the goods are cleared and requested to make arrangements to collect them within 24 hours of flight arrival.
     Goods pre-cleared are delivered directly to an off-airport, non-customs, bonded delivery warehouse and are available for collection within 12 hours of the flight landing.
     Goods for inspection will be sent to a designated area and once cleared, sent to the delivery warehouse.
     Delivery and Build Up 24 hours
     Flight 16 hours
     Collection 24 Hours
     Total Time 64 Hours (2.66 Days)
     Just as some more thoughts bubbled up from the subconscious, the automatic lawn sprinkler was triggered, and I was awake in a mist.
     The dream, or what I can remember of it, probably oversimplifies too much. To make such a thing a reality will take a lot of effort and probably a fair amount of investment in infrastructure and IT.
     But how far is the jump from dreamer to doer?
     Steve Jobs, whose products have made air cargo rich beyond imagination, once said:
     “The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.”
     I think it’s worth remembering that the integrators do this day in and day out.
     I must try the hammock again, as it has revealed itself as a stellar thinking place.
     Might make do with a bit less water next time.
Geoffrey


 

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