Forwarders and airlines: 'people are the centre', tech an 'add-on'

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Welcome to the second of our two-part assessment of forwarders’ relationships with carriers. Today we focus on how technology deployed by airlines is helping forwarders. Yesterday we looked at the way container lines’ use of technology only served to worsen the divide between them and the forwarding community.

Airlines’ deployment of technologies appears to be having the opposite effect on carrier relationships with their forwarding partners when compared to the container lines, with forwarders claiming that it is improving efficiencies rather than severing connections.

Forwarders, including EAS International  MD Adam Komorowski and 1Up Cargo GM for South Africa Cindy Luyt, said where ocean freight operators seemed determined to swap people for digital tools, the same was not true of airlines.

“In air freight the picture is different. Air cargo still runs largely on relationships. Airlines invest in digital tools but in many markets, they keep local teams local sales and people who are close to the operation,” Mr Komorowski told The Loadstar.

“You still have account managers, who know your structure, understand your cargo profile and react fast. In the post-pandemic volatility, when the market was unstable, it was this human-to-human cooperation that saved shipments.”

Such comments indicate a marked difference in forwarders’ self-perception through the eyes of carriers, with many believing that the ocean lines consider forwarders little more than an irritation to be stamped out.

Unlike other forwarders, Mr Komorowski and Ms Luyt put far more emphasis on the way container lines’ use of technology created distance between them and forwarders as a core reason for the breakdown in relations, when contrasted with airlines.

“Airfreight tech more often supports relationships rather than replacing them; we use digital platforms like WebCargo and cargo.one for rates and bookings, but the channels complement the relationship, they do not remove it,” said Mr Komorowski.

“I can book standard freight online and that’s fine, but also know I can pick up the phone when I need something non-standard or an urgent change. That is the difference. The tool is an add-on. The person is the centre.”

Much of the dissatisfaction with ocean freight arose during the pandemic, carriers being accused of opportunistic and exploitative practices geared towards undermining freight forwarders, with their vast cash windfalls seemingly expediting this desire.

On the airfreight side, the experience throughout Covid proved markedly different, and it seems that forwarders are not alone in believing their relationships with airlines came out of the period largely intact.

Former forwarder and head of cargo at Delta Air Lines Peter Penseel told The Loadstar: “The freight forwarders actually do the business for their customers, and we are an extension of their service offer, I think the relationship did not change.”

Mr Komorowski said there was “a practical reason,” Mr Penseel had touched upon: most international air cargo moves through forwarders, meaning airlines know that cooperation is not merely optional, but the foundation of the product.

Ms Luyt added: “As air cargo requirements are often significantly more time-critical than sea cargo, it is essential that communication methods are aligned with the urgency of these operations.

“In this regard, I can confirm that airlines have markedly improved their performance, both in terms of technological interfaces and the availability of knowledgeable personnel to provide timely assistance.”

Although if it seems all “goodwill and cheer” between airlines and forwarders, executive director of the Airforwarders Association Brandon Fried pointed out that during the capacity crunch, airlines “held the leverage.”

This, he told The Loadstar, meant that they often made unilateral decisions on pricing, space allocation, and service terms – but with the normalisation of capacity, the relationship moved closer to something of parity between the parties.

He added: “The pandemic reset the power dynamic between airlines and forwarders, but it has not fully reset. Some carriers have re-engaged forwarders as partners, others are still operating with a pandemic-era mindset.”

For Mr Komorowski and Ms Luyt, the key appears to be that the airlines have kept the “human channels open”, which Mr Komorowski said meant “problems get solved faster, information is more precise and accountability is clearer”.

“That directly improves service for the end customer. Air cargo is fast dynamic and often high-value, high-sensitivity or high-urgency. In that environment, a ticket is not enough. You need decisions and you need action,” he added.

To ensure this, there must always be a human connection – “people who know the industry and the specifics of the region that you are operating in” – because “action comes from people who are close to operations and who feel the consequences”.