The Hindu Business Line : IBS secures two deals for SmartCargo

CargoJet and Northern Air Cargo, both based out of North America, have picked the IBS offering over international competitors, said Mr V.K. Mathews, Chairman and Managing Director of the Technopark-based company.

Effective tool

SmartCargo supports integrated management of cargo reservations and ground operations.

An effective tool for cargo capacity management, tracking, pricing and revenue optimisation, it enables accurate estimation of available cargo capacities using historical information.

Revenue streams get a boost-up through better management of available capacities.

The product also helps maintain integrated cargo tariffs, thus enabling airlines to provide the best possible prices as also assess effectiveness of operations in terms of revenue. SmartCargo makes available updated information on shipment status, which can be communicated to the supplier/customer via the Internet.

It supports barcode scanning for ease of data capturing and reduced errors, Mr Mathews said.

Online tracking

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, CargoJet selected SmartCargo for its combination of optimised inventory control, Internet booking capability and on-line track and trace services.

Mr Anju Virmani, Chief Information Officer, said, "We were attracted to SmartCargo because it gives us big cargo system management capabilities at a very cost-effective price."

CargoJet operates a fleet of B727-200 freighters across Canada and wants to expand into international cargo services.

Ms Stephanie Holthaus, Vice President of Cargo - Northern Air Cargo, said, "We intend to offer e-tracking services to our regular customers and use the inventory control and revenue management features of the system to improve on our freight yields."

Northern Air Cargo is a supplemental air carrier across the State of Alaska.

It has a mixed fleet of DC6, B727-100 and ATR 72 freighter aircraft and hauls all types of air cargo.