INCLUDE
We have been introducing with each edition of inSight our six strategic focal points, and divided them into two themes: The Basics, addressing the industry basics, and The Future, helping our industry to be ready for future opportunities.
In this edition, we address INCLUDE, the name given to a long-term Cargo iQ programme to enhance the visible in our tagline ‘visibly better’.
The principle of INCLUDE is to ‘include’ all shipments in route map planning and control them wherever possible.
Prior to this program, shipments only received a route map according to stringent business rules: all booking information needed to be known, with accompanying offset data in place, and all status updates would have to be received in a strict order.
The INCLUDE programme introduces some flexibility into our specifications, to allow operational shipment monitoring on what can be seen, even if that does not encompass the whole cargo journey.
It is about including the imperfect, so that the complete picture can be analysed to enable continuous improvement.
Given Cargo iQ’s all-encompassing approach to implementation, there are various groups working on the INCLUDE programme.
Central to the creation and maintenance of standards is the Airport-to-Airport Specification sub-Working Group (sWG), a small team of four people who know the specifications inside-out and can think through the implications of rule changes.
The sWG for Smart Data also looks at what Cargo iQ can ,and should, do with its shipment data.
You can read more about Cargo iQ’s latest Working Group virtual meeting by clicking here.
It is crucial to provide the correct reasons why shipments have not been delivered as planned.
Implementation comes primarily from our Cargo Data Management Platform (CDMP) providers, but with this program, it is also crucial that Ground Handling Agents (GHAs), airlines and forwarders plug the gaps in data, from Freight Waybill (FWB), to booking, all the way through to the delivery at destination; INCLUDE represents continuous improvement from the whole of the membership.
INCLUDE started in 2018, with a sWG analysing various scenarios where members were lacking shipment visibility.
From this came the implementation of a detailed error report, which tracks the reasons why shipments do not qualify for reporting and details which information is missing.
Before the INCLUDE sWG was launched, there were some assumptions made about why certain data was not provided and therefore shipments could not be qualified for reporting, but this analysis had never been done in a quantitative way before.
The true reasons for gaps in data were gathered by this group by surveying members in detail, and from that we were able to see clearly, for the first time, why certain pieces of the puzzle were missing.
As well as the summary and detailed reports on non-qualified shipments, which are produced by CDMPs and made available to members on a regular basis, investigations into missing data are enshrined in our audit procedures.
You can read more about the updates we’re making to our audit procedures by clicking here.
Within our implementation trajectory for 100% reporting, airline members must instate regular reviews of gaps in booking information, gaps in offset information, message quality, and shipments with errors.
If the qualification of shipments falls below a certain level, they must provide a plan to improve the situation.
There are also regular reviews by CDMPs on data quality, coverage, and congruency to aid operational members in their investigations.
Visibility Maps are aptly named because they shine a light on ‘imperfect’ scenarios, which were previously hidden.
Where, up until now, route maps were never shared with the forwarder because not all details were known (either regarding the full booking or for certain status updates), Visibility Maps provide insight on what can be seen, even if that does not represent the full picture.
This not only aids real-time operational monitoring, but also greatly helps members to investigate the causes of imperfections, through the inclusion of these scenarios in our Smart Data reporting.
These shipments are not regarded as ‘fully qualified’, but by recording the planning and movement we can see into our data warehouse, and we can finally investigate what went wrong and fix it for the future.
To read more about Cargo iQ’s continuous improvement of key focus areas click the below links:
An overview of Cargo iQ’s strategy
Story edited by meantime.global