John Smith, Founder and Managing Director of GB Railfreight was named Multimodal Personality of the Year recently at an awards evening in Birmingham.
Smith, who founded GB Railfreight in 1977, was recognised for his inspirational leadership and support of young people in the industry.
DACHSER was recognised as Multimodal Exhibitor of the Year, Beth O’Neill of Howard Tenens won the Young Logistics Professional Award, Ports Group won the Innovation in Infrastructure Award and Virgin Atlantic Cargo was named air cargo operator of the year.
Howden’s Joinery and the John Lewis Partnership were both championed by FTA for their green initiatives.
Awards also went to Freightliner, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Maritime Transport, DP World Southampton, and DSV.
“We are delighted that Multimodal is recognising one of the stalwarts of the British rail freight business. We were especially pleased that he was here in person to accept the award, as we know his beloved Sunderland was playing last night,” said Robert Jervis, Logistics Portfolio Director, Clarion Events.
“We are pleased to say the FTA Multimodal Awards are going from strength to strength, and last night we welcomed over 650 guests celebrating over 12 winners, including two brand new awards.”
The John Lewis Partnership campaign to reduce carbon emissions was recognised with the Multimodal Award for Contribution to Environmental Sustainability in partnership with FTA, whilst Howden’s Joinery was rewarded with the LCRS Leadership in Carbon Reduction Award.
“The John Lewis Partnership is leading the way when it comes to reducing its environmental impact and carbon emissions,” said David Wells, Chief Executive, FTA.
“Howden’s Joinery similarly demonstrated a cooperative and inclusive approach to carbon reduction, including, not only their own vehicles and drivers, but also suppliers and even the end users.”
The FTA Multimodal Awards 2017 were hosted by David Gower OBE and took place at the NEC’s VOX Conference Centre, Resorts World on the first day of the free-to-attend Multimodal 2017 show at the Birmingham NEC.
Up to 10,000 logistics buyers are expected to visit over 375 exhibitors and take part in a choice of 23 seminar and workshop sessions to hear 82 expert speakers over the three-day show.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo has strengthened its team in Australia with the appointment of Amanda Matar as Account Manager – Sydney.
Amanda joins Virgin Atlantic as the airline increases its long-haul cargo sales and management services for Virgin Australia with the launch in April of Virgin Australia’s five Boeing 777-300ER flights per week from Melbourne to Los Angeles. The two airlines have worked together since 2009 and signed a new long-term agreement in 2016.
Amanda reports to Pip Palmer, who was promoted to Regional Sales Manager, Australia and New Zealand by Virgin Atlantic last year having previously worked for the airline in Australia in both customer service and account management roles.
Previously, Amanda spent seven years with Megatop Cargo in Australia in import and export customer service and, for the last three years, as Export Manager. Earlier is her career, she was a Cargo Reservations Officer at Garuda Indonesia Airlines.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo is also recruiting a new Account Manager – Melbourne to support customers based in and around the city.
Emirates has made three key management movements within its commercial and cargo operations team in the Middle East. The changes place UAE National talent in key positions that will enhance the airline’s commercial and cargo presence in the region. All of the appointments are effective from 1 June 2017.
In the UAE, Emirates has appointed Abbas A Haji as Vice President Hub Operations for SkyCargo. In his new role, Abbas will be managing Emirates SkyCargo’s hub operations in Dubai at both Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai International Airport. Abbas joined the Emirates Group in 1977, working for dnata Cargo. He has held several positions across the group since then and previously held the role of Vice President Iran, Iraq and Central Asia, running the airline’s commercial operations activities in multiple markets.
Mohamed Khoory will be taking on the role as Manager Iran. Mohamed joined Emirates in 2011 as part of the UAE National Management Programme for Commercial Operations. He held commercial support roles in India and the United States before taking on the role as District Manager in Dammam, KSA. More recently, he held the role of Manager Jordan and West Bank, heading the market’s commercial and business development activities.
In Jordan, Emirates has appointed Sultan Alriyami to drive its commercial priorities in the market as well as build on the airline’s business performance as Manager Jordan and West Bank. Sultan joined Emirates in 2014 as part of the UAE National Trainee Management Programme for Commercial Operations. Since then, he has held commercial support roles in Singapore, and more recently in Iran.
Emirates’ operations in the Middle East market continue to grow with the region witnessing a 3.6 percent increase in revenue in 2016/2017 over the previous financial year. Emirates SkyCargo carried 2.6 million tonnes in the last financial year, as it continues to strengthen its customer proposition and raise industry benchmarks as the world’s largest international cargo airline.
Craig Smyth, Group CEO of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), has announced new appointments to further strengthen the company’s leadership team and to signal WFS’ ambition to build its cargo and ground handling operations globally.
WFS is already the world’s largest cargo handler and a leading global provider of ground handling services with annual revenues of over €1 billion. Present at 198 major airports in 21 countries on five continents, WFS serves 50 million passengers and handles 6.3 million tonnes of cargo per annum for 300 airline customers.
WFS’ Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia regions will be divided into two service product regions – Cargo and Ground Handling – to facilitate the execution of the company’s strategic plans:
• John Batten will lead WFS’ Cargo operations as EVP Europe, Middle East, Africa& Asia (EMEAA);
• Will Facey, currently Head of Network Operations at EasyJet, will join WFS on
28 August this year as EVP Ground Handling operations for Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia (EMEAA). Will brings to the role tremendous knowledge of the low-cost airline sector and understands the reliance airlines are increasingly putting on their ground handling partners.
The appointments recently announced also support WFS’ strategy of creating strong central functions and providing expert support to its experienced regional leadership teams and operations:
• Barry Nassberg, formerly Group COO, becomes Group Chief Commercial Officer, reporting to Craig Smyth. He will be responsible for leading and coordinating WFS’ network commercial activities;
• Justin Jaques, formerly VP Asia & Middle East, will become SVP Group Commercial, reporting to Barry, to focus on global key accounts and major tenders. The new WFS Commercial function will operate from Roissy, Paris.
WFS has also named Catherine Thomas as General Counsel & Head of Legal. Catherine brings with her 25 years of legal experience acquired in the UK and in France.
In support of its number one priority to be a world class provider of safety and security, in recent months WFS has also appointed David Clark as Global as Head of Safety & Security, Pedro Garcia as Chief Information Officer and FabienneBricaud as Global Head of People.
Commenting on the appointments, Craig Smyth said: “We have clear strategic goals for the future of WFS and the leadership team we are building will drive this next phase of our expansion. In putting this team together, we are combining the existing knowledge and extensive expertise already in the company with new blood as we develop our world class suite of aviation services for our customers through our one global network.”
Bahraini carrier, Gulf Air, has recently announced the appointment of its new Board of Directors which, chaired by H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani – Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, is composed of H.E. Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, DrDawoodNassifDawood, Mr. Jameel Ali Al Matrook, Mr. Essa Mohamed Najibi, Mr. Jean-Christophe Durand and Mr. Jassim Hassan Abdelaal.
Speaking on the new appointments H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and Chairman of Gulf Air’s Board of Directors said: “I extend my sincerest thanks to His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board for the confidence placed in me. I also extend thanks to the former Chairman H.E. Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the Deputy Prime Minister and to the former Board members, for their outstanding contributions towards the airline’s performance during their tenure. Going forward, Gulf Air’s new Board of Directors who collectively represent Bahraini professionals and highly experienced business leaders will, I am sure, contribute much to realising our national carrier’s key goals. Their dedication and efforts will help us directly support and strengthen Gulf Air, a key national infrastructure asset that serves the Kingdom’s aviation industry and economic interests.”
Bahrain’s national carrier’s future plans are geared towards realizing a broad spectrum of positive developments as it achieves full commercial sustainability and increasingly focuses on managing and further investing in its ongoing growth, development and long-term expansion capabilities. Gulf Air’s new incoming fleet comprises 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, 17 Airbus A321 NEO and 12 Airbus A320 NEO aircraft with deliveries commencing from Q2 2018.
Gulf Air’s 7-member Board of Directors serve a 3-year term and actively support the airline’s management team in implementing a business strategy that, as part of the airline’s greater mission, further strengthens its position as a key national infrastructure asset that supports the Kingdom’s economic growth.
IBS Software has entered into a strategic partnership with ANA Systems (ASY), the IT division of ANA group (ANA), to enhance it’s global delivery capabilities for innovative technology solutions for the airline. The five-year partnership agreement marks an important milestone in the decade-long relationship between ANA and IBS Software (IBS). It will provide ASY access to IBS’ global talent pool with airline industry knowledge and technology expertise, along with some of the best processes and practices of software development. With a focus on innovation, digitalization and quality, IBS will participate in ASY’s technology transformation initiatives across the different parts of the airline’s business.
Under this partnership, IBS team will work as an extension of ASY team and will provide scalability and flexibility to ASY for its technology programs in a cost effective manner using IBS’ proven Extended Software Delivery Facility (ESDF) model. The ESDF activities will include software development, maintenance & enhancements as well as testing of core business systems of ANA. The partnership is a result of a flagship Global Delivery Model (GDM) program launched by ASY to globalize its business and IT processes to bring the best industry practices in to its current operations, while enhancing its scalability and flexibility. The partnership aims to boost engineering capabilities of ASY, significantly reduce overall cost of operation and optimize the existing technology landscape. It will also focus on technologies such as cloud computing, analytics and mobility to support the digital transformation of the airline.
Unisys Corporation and CSIRO’s Data61 recently announced a collaboration to develop an advanced data analytics solution for automated security risk assessment of travellers and cargo at air, land and sea borders.
Under the collaboration, Unisys will fund joint research with Data61 to develop an advanced data analytics solution capable of detecting potential border security risks posed by travellers, visa applicants, cargo and parcels. It will build on Unisys’ existing large-scale border security analytics capability to offer as a repeatable solution available to governments globally.
The research involves assessing anonymized data sets from airlines using analytics and machine learning to identify patterns that indicate potential risks of both traveller intent and cargo contents. Unisys and Data61 plan to conduct a proof of concept at a major Asian hub with the intention to develop the technology into a product to be made available to governments to secure their international borders.
Data61 is the data-science research and technology unit of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO) with one of the largest teams of data-scientists in the world.
Unisys works with governments worldwide to secure their air, land and sea borders and facilitate the movement of people and goods, with clients including the Australian Department of Immigration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“Unisys’ deep domain expertise and global reach combined with Data61’s analytics and machine learning capabilities provides a unique opportunity to advance border security technology around the world during a time of increasingly sophisticated threats and greater dependence on international travel and cargo shipments,” said Mark Forman, Global Head and VP for the Public Sector at Unisys.
“The end goal of this international collaboration is to make border security processes more efficient, cost effective and safer for countries around the world. It’s one of the ways Data61 is working with industry to translate data-science – in this case deep analytics and machine learning into a viable product to help deliver economic and societal impact,” said Adrian Turner, CEO Data61.
John Kendall, global border security director, Unisys, said Data61 brings an ideal combination of data science research innovation and deep experience in the transport and logistics sector. “Most border agencies recently rely on human designed rules to identify suspicious people or cargo. Working with Data61, we are incorporating machine learning and real-time data analytics to reveal the actual intent of travellers and shippers. This will allow border agencies to automate the processing of low risk people and cargo while reserving specialised border security resources for the small percentage of travellers and cargo that present a higher risk profile.”
GCC’s leading system integrator DTP has announced that it will launch a brand new flight performance monitoring (FPM) solution at the 17th edition of the annual Airport Show held at the Dubai World Trade Center from May 1 5-17, 2017.
Providing real-time data and a holistic view of airport operations and flight related processes, coupled with robust forecasting and decision support tools, the new platform will allow airlines and airports to minimize and even eliminate some potential delays. The resulting improved on-time-performance (OTP) will allow the aviation industry to significantly reduce costs whilst increasing customer satisfaction.
Commenting on their decision to launch this new solution, Abdul RazzakMikati, Managing Director at DTP said, “One of the most critical challenges facing airlines and airports not only in the region, but across the world is meeting OTP. According to one estimate, it costs airlines as much as US$70 for each minute a flight is delayed and this is before you factor in potential loss of business due to drop in customer satisfaction. The challenge of improving OTP has been further complicated in recent years with the ongoing migration of traffic to low-cost carriers. This has increased demand for 30-minute turnarounds, and combined with the introduction of larger aircrafts like the A380 and 747-8, has caused increased ramp congestion and driven the need for more effective ground-asset utilization.”
“Airlines have a choice when managing turnarounds—they can continue to be reactive and tackle issues as they arise, or they can direct those efforts and resources to prevention and mitigation to ensure a smooth turnaround process. Our new agile, configurable and scalable system, provides a suite of IT solutions & services aimed at minimizing or eliminating potential delays in airports, through real time monitoring, tracking and anticipatory & proactive mitigation.”
FPM utilizes flight schedules, a highly configurable rules engine, and process tracking to provide operators with an overview of the current status of the flight and drills down to details of turnaround processes. Precision Time Schedule (PTS) is an event-tracking mechanism that reevaluates and updates, in real time, the task status every time an above or under the wing activity takes place. Using FPM makes it possible to share all relevant flight Airport Collaborative Decision Making (ACDM) milestones, towing status, check-in, baggage details, etc., among the various concerned stakeholders. It immediately flags any delay of a task that might affect other tasks and based on the latest information, calculates the new Target Off-Block Time (TOBT). This calculated TOBT alerts the HCC/OCC coordinators to take immediate proactive action to ensure on-time departure or minimize the delay.
time:matters, expert in worldwide special speed logistics and time-critical spare parts logistics, is automating the tracking process for its shipments. This will deliver a number of operational advantages. What once involved a great deal of time is now a much simpler process: Information on the status of the shipment, which until now had to be compiled manually, will soon be automatically generated.
Selected courier partners are linked with time:matters’ booking system via a direct system interface, meaning all relevant information can be exchanged automatically. This will do away with the need for additional communication between time:matters and its sub-contractors, such as Stadtbote, a courier service. “Orders are now send to our system directly via an interface. This enables us to work much more quickly and efficiently,” says Peter Karstens, CEO of Stadtbote GmbH.
Couriers receive all the key information on a shipment directly from time:matters. They can also enter details of the delivery process directly into time:matters’ system. This information is compiled by the courier in a web app (an app that can be accessed using a web browser) and can then be immediately sent to the customer. 100 courier partners for tracking entries are already using this mobile front end. Further linking the system to a flight database enables a quick response to flight delays and cancellations.
Automated tracking simplifies and speeds up the shipment process. Automatically obtaining tracking information has already increased to 80 per cent, corresponding to some 350,000 tracking points per year. The system also makes it easy to visualize complicated orders. In addition, process automation reduces the error rate for all involved. Errors in forwarding the order details are now a thing of the past when submitting the order to the courier. The accounting processes for the companies involved are also simplified since the orders are sent through the system without paper records and are automatically saved as ‘completed’. All this means that time:matters is operating with significantly greater efficiency, allowing it to process customer requests all the more effectively.
“Above all, as a further step in digitizing the logistics chain, process automation represents a major gain for our customers: They receive information that is more reliable more quickly than before and are always kept up-to-date on the current status of their shipment”, explains Christian Mörtl, COO of time:matters. Whether Sameday Air, On-Board Couriers or customized solutions – time:matters is focusing its energies on digitizing processes and tailor-made solutions to achieve greater speed and high quality standards.
With its OMEGA project – using big data to reduce carbon emissions – Lufthansa Cargo has garnered the DQS German Award for Excellence in the Environmental Responsibility category. The award winners were announced at the DQS Sustainability Conference 2017 on 17 May, which took place at Maritim Hotel Düsseldorf. To further encourage businesses to make a commitment to the environment, DQS has launched awards for specific corporate activities. The awards are conferred in different categories with a focus on sustainability, including Sustainable Leadership, Responsible Sourcing, Social Engagement (International)
and Environmental Responsibility.
The Ops Monitor and Efficiency Gap Analyser (OMEGA) is a tool that uses data collected during cargo flights to make future flights more efficient. Hence, the tool pays directly into Lufthansa Cargo’s environmental responsibility strategy. By comparing projected, actual and optimal values, it provides key information for reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Pilots can use the analysis to optimally prepare for a flight and identify any deviations from the plan early on. The software was developed by software specialist Aviaso together with Lufthansa. Special applications have been added for Lufthansa Cargo, such as
in the area of trim evaluation.
Significant carbon reductions have already been achieved in recent years by modernising the fleet and reducing on-board weight, to name a few examples.
Technology has made the world smaller and faster.Real time communication with people from all over the world at different time zones through phones and gadgets
