Kale Logistics: Transforming Air Cargo One Continent at A Time with End-To-End Digitalization

Kale Logistics Solutions prides itself as a pioneering tech company that transformed India’s air transport and logistics industries. It had since gone global more than 15 years after its establishment in India. Today, it has offices in different cities in India, the UAE, Kenya, the Netherlands, and North America, with 5,500+ clients worldwide across 40 countries.

The champion and flag-bearer of paperless trade in the logistics industry with initiatives like the world’s most comprehensive cargo community systems for both Air (Airport Cargo Community System) and Maritime (Port Community System), it has extended its portfolio to offer Regulatory Single Window, Digital Trade and Freight Corridor, Logistics e-marketplace and Bureau Services for administrative facilities. Kale is engaging with more than 100 air cargo stations and ports across the world to transform their operations and cargo movement with paperless trade.

In an exclusive interview with Air Cargo Update, Vineet Malhotra, Co-founder and Director of Kale Logistics Solutions, highlights the company’s commitment to digital transformation in air cargo logistics.

Vineet highlights how company’s Cargo Community Systems (CCS) and Airport Cargo Community System (ACS) are streamlining the data exchange, ensuring compliance with Advance Cargo Information (ACI) requirements across multiple regions.

He further addressed company’s Digital Freight Corridor is helping in enhancing cross-border logistics by seamlessly connecting cargo hubs.

For Vineet, security remains a top priority, with multi-layered cybersecurity, encryption, and threat monitoring. The company also leverages AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics to optimize cargo capacity and demand forecasting.

From sustainability to paperless operations, Vineet reveals how Kale Logistics Solutions is building a greener future for air cargo.

Looking ahead, Vineet is committed to sustainability, e-commerce-driven logistics, and drone-based cargo solutions. By automating processes and leveraging advanced technologies, the company significantly reduces operational costs, enhances efficiency, and drives innovation in the air cargo industry. 

Can your system support Advance Cargo Information (ACI) requirements for different countries? If yes, kindly elaborate.
Our Cargo Community Systems, including the Airport Cargo Community System, are fully compliant with all trade facilitation norms and mandates. ACI has been an integral part of our offering for a long time.

Trucks arriving at the terminal share cargo information in advance when booking their slots. This data is made available to ground handlers and airport security, enabling efficient planning for cargo handling, resource allocation, and equipment management. This system is live across all airports where our ACS is implemented.

An extension of this capability is the Digital Freight Corridor, which connects ACS platforms across different countries and partner airports. This also serves as an enabler for ACI, ensuring seamless data exchange. Our system meets the data requirements of national ACI platforms such as ACI eManifest (Canada), ICS2 (Europe), AMS (USA), and others.

How does your system integrate with airlines, freight forwarders, customs authorities, and ground handlers? How does it smoothen the information flow?
Our CCS is a comprehensive platform that seamlessly integrates with the ERPs of individual stakeholders (ground handlers, airlines, freight forwarders, customs, transporters and other regulatory bodies) through APIs and direct integration. For those without an ERP, it provides a direct login, allowing them to input data efficiently.

Beyond integration, CCS functions as a mini super app, offering various value-added services such as secure online payments, real-time tracking and tracing, and access to multiple digital logistics services. By eliminating data silos, it ensures that all stakeholders have access to the same accurate, real-time information, reducing delays, miscommunication, and inefficiencies in cargo movement. Additionally, Kale’s CCS provides end-to-end shipment visibility through real-time tracking, automated alerts, and timestamped status updates, enhancing transparency, operational control, and overall logistics efficiency.

What security measures are in place to prevent data breaches and cyber threats?
In logistics, data is one of the most valuable assets, yet often underestimated in terms of security. At Kale, we prioritize data protection across all our systems. Our Cargo Community System (CCS) and business automation solutions are safeguarded by multi-layered cybersecurity protocols to prevent breaches and cyber threats.

We enforce strict access controls, where user roles are clearly defined, and permissions are granted based on specific profiles. Additionally, our security framework includes data encryption, real-time threat monitoring, and compliance with global cybersecurity standards, ensuring robust protection for all stakeholders in the logistics ecosystem.

Do you provide AI, machine learning, or predictive analytics to optimize cargo capacity and demand forecasting?
Yes, we incorporate Machine Learning in our e-AWB service, enabling us to extract data from legacy formats such as PDS, scans, and emails to generate an e-AWB within minutes. Additionally, Kale has established a Center of Excellence dedicated to AI and advanced analytics, actively developing use cases in predictive analytics, cargo operations, route management, and demand forecasting. Our AI-driven solutions aim to enhance efficiency, optimize cargo capacity, and improve overall logistics decision-making.

How does your system handle real-time shipment tracking and exception management?
In traditional supply chains, stakeholders manually input the same information multiple times (7-8 times), leading to redundancy, inefficiencies, and delays. Our Cargo Community System (CCS) eliminates this by providing a single source of truth, ensuring that data remains consistent and unaltered throughout the logistics process.

By integrating RFIDs, scanners, and handheld devices (HHDs), CCS enables real-time information sharing across all stakeholders via mobile and web platforms. This includes location updates, timestamps, and milestone tracking, ensuring complete shipment visibility. Additionally, our system offers proactive exception handling, automated workflows, and instant stakeholder notifications, minimizing delays, enhancing transparency, and optimizing cargo movement with greater efficiency and security.

What kind of training and onboarding support do you offer?
Before formal training begins, we actively engage in change management, ensuring smooth technology adoption across the logistics community. We foster awareness and acceptance through user meets, workshops, and proof-of-concept (PoC) sessions, helping stakeholders understand the platform’s value.

Once the platform is implemented, we provide role-based training, supported by comprehensive guides, manuals, videos, and help files to ensure seamless system adoption. As users gain confidence, our dedicated support team takes over, handling tickets, ongoing training for new users, and real-time assistance, ensuring continuous system efficiency and user success.

This is further augmented by account managers and customer success managers who nurture the client.

How intuitive is your platform for different user roles (warehouse staff, airline cargo teams, freight forwarders)?
Our platform is designed for scalability, catering to diverse user roles. Each user has a role-based login for secure access while staying seamlessly connected through streamlined information flow. With the full cargo journey mapped, the system prompts timely actions and flags discrepancies for source correction. Additionally, mobile app access ensures users stay informed and responsive on the go.6. Scalability & Future Readiness

How does your solution support IoT-based tracking, blockchain for secure transactions, or digital twin technology?
CCS evolves and strengthens with advanced technologies like IoT, Blockchain, and Digital Twin. Our platform already integrates IoT through handheld devices (HHDs), scanners, X-rays, automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), and data loggers, ensuring seamless data capture and real-time visibility. Additionally, our Digital Freight Corridor leverages Blockchain to enable secure, transparent, and tamper-proof transactions, enhancing trust across stakeholders.

What is your roadmap for adapting to future trends in air cargo (sustainability, e-commerce growth, drone logistics, etc.)?
Our roadmap for the future of air cargo is built on innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation. We are continuously enhancing our platform to support green logistics initiatives, including paperless operations, optimized routing, reduced truck dwell time, and sustainable objective tracking. This includes minimizing documentation, creating more jobs, and ensuring technology readiness. With the rapid growth of e-commerce, our solutions streamline cross-border processes, automate compliance, and enhance last-mile connectivity, ensuring a more efficient and future-ready cargo ecosystem.

How does your solution reduce operational costs and improve efficiency?
Our solution reduces operational costs and enhances efficiency by automating key processes, optimizing resource utilization, and enabling seamless collaboration across stakeholders. Through digital documentation, workflow automation, and real-time data sharing, we minimize manual efforts, reduce errors, and accelerate cargo movement. Advanced analytics and AI-driven insights help optimize capacity planning, reduce delays, and improve decision-making.