Swissport to equip its warehouses with ULD and Bluetooth technology

Swissport plans to equip all of its warehouses with Unilode and Descartes Bluetooth technology by the end of the year. The readers in the 115 warehouses will track and monitor digitally-tagged unit load devices (ULD) to increase transparency for customers.

Hendrik Leyssens, Swissport’s vice president global operations-cargo, says geolocation of ULD enables real-time tracking and inventory control, enabling airlines and freight companies to plan the distribution of their vast ULD fleets more efficiently and cost effectively.

“Our cooperation with Unilode and Descartes and the introduction of global ULD tracking at our cargo warehouses will drive the digital transformation of the cargo supply chain and the industry.”

Swissport, the global leader in airport ground services and air cargo handling, is continuously investing in new technologies and automation at its warehouses. It introduced self-service cargo kiosks to enable truck-drivers to skip counter queues and manual paperwork processing, speeding up the delivery of time-critical shipments.

In 2019, some 4.6m tons of air cargo passed through Swissport’s warehouses worldwide. Major cargo expansion projects are currently underway in Frankfurt, Germany, and Melbourne, Australia, both due to open in the third quarter of 2020.