Freight digitalisation specialist gives agents access to rates from more than 370 airlines, and real-time e-booking on select airline groups via WebCargo Sky platform.
In a move it describes as “digital air cargo goes mainstream”, freight digitalisation specialist Freightos is giving all freight forwarding agents free access to digital rates from more than 370 airlines and real-time e-booking on select airline groups via its WebCargo Sky platform.
It said instant air cargo pricing across 370 airlines “is now available to forwarders worldwide with the free WebCargo Sky platform, released earlier today to certified air freight forwarders”.
With WebCargo Sky, it said forwarders “can instantly price air freight shipments from nearly every global airline. In addition, they can book real-time capacity on key airlines including British Airways, Iberia, Air France-KLM, and Lufthansa”.
It added: “This makes for efficient booking, shaving days off transit time, reducing costs, and improving service for shippers.”
Since 2008, WebCargo has helped top forwarders automate rate management and back-office operations, Freightos said, with over 1,400 logistics providers already using its WebCargo Air product to access live pricing and e-booking, adding: “WebCargo Sky will make access to pricing available to any IATA-accredited forwarders for free.”
WebCargo CEO Manel Galindo commented: “Air cargo connectivity is at a tipping point and WebCargo Sky makes it accessible to any forwarder. As the industry’s most comprehensive e-Booking platform, Sky automates pricing from hundreds of airlines, even those without automated pricing, enabling industry-wide connectivity.”
Explaining the source of its data, Freightos told Lloyd’s Loading List that select airlines are providing live, real-time prices obtained via API, with IAG Cargo, Air France KLM, and Lufthansa all connected via API and supporting real-time booking capacity.
The source of the rate information for the rest of the 370 airlines is via email direct from airlines. “How we obtain the remainder is actually a strategic WebCargo differentiator,” she explained. “We manage rates from the remaining airlines for our 1,400 global logistics providers, in many cases automating the process of receiving them from airlines to make them accessible across our network of forwarders.”
Zvi Schreiber, CEO of the Freightos Group, commented: “By 2020, air cargo will routinely be priced dynamically and booked digitally. By providing WebCargo Sky for free to air forwarders, there are zero barriers for forwarders and airlines to communicate online through WebCargo. This will provide better service to air shippers, including capacity visibility on specific flights.”
Freightos said WebCargo Sky beta users report saving over one hour per salesperson per day, “reducing costs and enabling sales teams to focus on customer service. Meanwhile, airlines benefit from accessing the world’s largest online network of forwarders as a sales channel and reduce 85% of time spent managing sales. Ultimately shippers will benefit most with air cargo becoming more affordable and predictable.”
Source: Lloyd’s
