two major reasons loading solutions fulfil demand for the air cargo industry

Automation has become crucial in the world of air cargo because the industry faces more and more pressure to automate processes. Three main sources are behind this:

• digital forwarding specialists providing services for only one or two sources of the value chain;
• digital forwarders providing a range of services almost as wide as traditional forwarding companies and,
• because of lower costs, offering a better experience for customers;

digital forwarders building their digital channels and improving them to serve customers

Operators in the air cargo industry could seriously benefit from automated loading solutions. A lack of experienced staff in the industry makes loading challenging and also more dangerous than it could be. Items like car engines are heavy, bulky and cumbersome to lift, and inexperienced workers may not know how best to tackle loading them.

Automated loading addresses these challenges by taking care of the heavy lifting and removing the need for forklift trucks to load the cargo into a trailer or vehicle. Additionally, removing the use of forklifts through automation also improves air cargo sustainability and reduces air freight's environmental impact by cutting Co2 emissions.

Naturally, these systems also make air cargo loading much more efficient and reduce loading times dramatically. Not only can logistics teams load (or unload) more quickly, but they can also do so without causing any damage to the goods during the process. The air cargo is much more likely to reach its destination intact and close to its original condition, if not entirely in its original condition.

When it comes to loading solutions, we have two major solutions that can help you with your air cargo:

Choosing air cargo loading equipment costs time and money, so it’s important to make the right decision. You should consider how fast the loading process is. Will it be faster than your current process? If so, think about going ahead, but also contemplate the safety of the system. If an air cargo handling system somehow places any of your logistic teams at risk, it’s not the one for you.

Quality is another major factor, of course. Is it robust? Is it reliable? Can logistics workers operate it easily? Remember that efficiency is the goal. If the solution loads the cargo quickly but workers waste lots of time fathoming out how to operate it, the process becomes inefficient. Suitable training can pre-empt this.

Before investing in a loading solution, discuss maintenance with the company. What’s their aftercare service like? What kind of repairs or maintenance services do they offer? Note that good maintenance is essential to preserve the life and performance of your loading solution for longer.

Take care to conduct regular maintenance on your loading solution so that it delivers its best for you longer. Bear in mind that the cost of maintenance is often preferable to the cost of replacing a piece of equipment. If you have to replace equipment unexpected, this can increase downtime, which, in turn, can hinder profitability as well as slow operations down.

Always be careful, too, whenever you’re loading cargo. Make sure you (or whoever is responsible for securing the cargo) have secured it properly. Once a vehicle transporting cargo is in transit, the cargo can shift and cause an imbalance.

If you’re loading the cargo onto a plane, be aware that it must be loaded in line with very specific weight balances to keep the plane in the air. Check the cargo to ensure the load sheet and the cargo itself corresponded with each other. The sheet should then go to the pilot so that they know everything they need to know about the cargo.

Even if there is no freight in the space, loadmasters should place all locks in the up position on the cargo planes. This prevents cargo from sliding around through empty positions.

Implementing a specialised loading solution for air cargo makes the process safer, easier and faster. If you’d like to find out more about our solutions, give us a call or send us an email, using the details on our Let’s Chat contact page, and we’ll be happy to discuss your project with you further.