The global air cargo business generates a huge array of air cargo documents annually.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is working to advance the adoption of paperless cargo deliveries or e-freight around the world. Partners in its e-freight project include dozens of airlines, hundreds of forwarding companies and specialised freight-handling firms. Concrete steps have begun, with some 35,000 e-freight shipments made every month around the globe.

Since the end of last year, Finnair Cargo has been testing paperless freight on its Helsinki-Hong Kong route in partnership with DHL Global Forwarding and Schenker.
The shift to a paperless world is quite a challenge in a sector where many different players participate in various stages of a process. In practice, paperless cargo deliveries require harmonisation of various actors’ data systems and the creation of a common electronic messaging system.

“It is surprisingly difficult when the process suddenly no longer includes a physical piece of paper as a source of information. Over the decades, these processes have developed in various companies according to time-tested practices,” says Kristian Voss, who is responsible for the pilot project at Finnair Cargo.

“When the project began, I was quite cynical. Back in the early 1990s, consultants argued that in order to be competitive, transport companies would have to switch over to paperless deliveries within three years. Now it’s 2010, and we finally have our first e-freight shipments,” he says.

Voss praises DHL Global Forwarding and Schenker for their active role in the e-freight project.
“Together with them, we’ve demonstrated that an e-freight project can actually be carried out and that paper documents can be replaced by electronic data. This gives us a good basis for expanding our paperless routes,” Voss says.

Ecological and quick  

The pilot project on the Hong Kong-Helsinki route has proceeded in two phases. At first, air waybills and other required documents were sent along with each delivery in a sealed bag, which was not to be opened except in case of emergency. This spring, these packages of paper documents were phased out altogether.

The experiences with paperless freight have been good.
“There are major advantages to e-freight,” says Jari Aaltonen, Manager Airfreight Traffic & Pricing at DHL Global Forwarding (Finland). “As a forwarding company, we have to agree on delivery contracts with both our customers and transport companies. When the operations are electronic, we can pass on information more quickly. And paperlessness is also a major victory in environmental terms.

“With e-freight, information can be sent very rapidly to various actors. When people are shifting pieces of paper around, it’s possible that the transfer of information may be delayed or that it may go to the wrong place,” Aaltonen says.

Rather than major investments, the shift to e-freight has required that Finnair Cargo and the forwarding companies fine-tune their procedures, as the existing data systems have supported paperless operations.
“During the early stage of the project, I thought that since our system is already fine-tuned for other operations, e-freight would be relatively simple. It wasn’t – but now all the problems have been resolved and this works,” adds Aaltonen.

Step by step 

The results from the pilot programme on the Helsinki-Hong Kong route have been so positive that paperless shipments are being extended to other routes. This summer, e-freight is also being tested on the Helsinki-New York route.

There is still plenty of work to be done before air cargo becomes an entirely paperless business. For instance, paperless deliveries require participating countries’ customs authorities to commit to an electronic dataflow and acceptance of electronic paperwork as official documents.