An aeroplane won’t wait. But the cargo that needs to be loaded onto it arrives from all sorts of directions and from various parties. This presents a particular logistical challenge, especially at an airport like Schiphol. Ground handlers’ capacity is limited, cargo must be delivered within the correct time slots, and different parties are all heading towards the same locations at the same time.
Suppose a flight departs at midnight and cargo must be delivered by a certain time. Every consignor wants to hold on to the goods for as long as possible so they can be included on the flight. The result is that various hauliers head for the same ground handler at roughly the same time. One with a full lorry, the other with only part of the available load space.
This leads to extra vehicle movements and congestion around the handling area. At the same time, customers want to know where their freight is, which stages have already been completed and whether everything is going according to plan. It is precisely in this combination that Bos Logistics sees an opportunity to organise things more intelligently: making the physical flow of goods more efficient and providing better insight into the information surrounding it.
“Any carrier can collect and deliver a pallet,” says Dave Schuurman, who is closely involved in the development of On Air Transport within Bos Logistics. “For us, the difference lies mainly in how you organise the processes surrounding it.”
On Air Transport: the link around the airport
On Air Transport focuses on transport between ground handlers at the airport and the warehouses of Bos Logistics or its customers. For imports, Bos Logistics collects air freight from the various ground handlers and takes it to its own warehouse or directly to a customer’s warehouse.
For exports, the process works the other way round. Goods are collected within the Benelux and taken to a warehouse, where any additional activities may take place. The freight is then sent to the relevant ground handler at Schiphol at the appropriate time.
Bos Logistics has been providing pre-carriage, distribution, warehousing and post-carriage services for air freight for many years. The development of OAT, which was launched around three years ago, focuses on how this final stage around the airport can be organised in a smarter, more predictable and more transparent manner.
This involves both the consolidation of physical cargo flows and the associated information. A digital portal provides insight into the flow of information relating to shipments. In this way, transport, data and technology come together in a single process.
Why use five lorries when there’s a smarter way?
A key principle behind OAT is consolidation. Instead of making as many separate journeys as possible to the same ground handlers, Bos Logistics bundles freight flows wherever possible. For exports, this means that goods from different customers can be consolidated before they are transported to the airport. This allows for better utilisation of vehicles and reduces the number of individual journeys required.
For imports, the same principle works in the opposite direction. An incoming aircraft may carry freight for a large number of different consignees. If each consignee sends a vehicle separately to collect their goods, this results in many individual journeys to the same ground handler. By consolidating freight flows, the same process can be organised using fewer vehicles.
This is particularly relevant at an airport where available space and capacity are under constant pressure. Fewer individual movements can help reduce congestion around ground handling operations, whilst a higher load factor ensures that available transport capacity is utilised more efficiently.
Consolidation thus contributes to a more intelligently organised flow of goods within an environment where many parties rely on the same infrastructure. Furthermore, a higher load factor and fewer individual vehicle movements make operations more efficient and contribute to more sustainable transport. It is precisely at a busy airport that operational efficiency and sustainability can go hand in hand.
From a pile of paperwork to knowing in advance what’s coming
At the same time, the way in which freight is handled at the airport is changing. “In the past, you’d be sent to Schiphol with a pile of paperwork, so to speak,” explains Dave. “Nowadays, you first check the systems: has the freight arrived, can I collect it, and will it fit in the van?”
Advance notification is also becoming increasingly important. Ground handlers are increasingly working with time slots. A carrier must indicate in advance when they will arrive and which freight is being delivered or collected. If the available capacity within a particular time slot is reached, the transport must take place at a different time.
This requires ever more forward-looking planning: knowing in advance what is available, what can be transported and when there is capacity to handle it. OAT ties in perfectly with this development. Transport, planning and information are becoming increasingly interconnected, enabling goods flows to be organised in a more systematic manner.
The freight is on the move. The information moves with it.
An efficient physical flow of goods also requires reliable information. After all, throughout the journey, one key question remains for the customer: what is happening to my freight in the meantime?
That is why a digital portal has been developed around OAT. Through this platform, customers gain insight into their consignments and key milestones within the process. Physical transport and digital information are thus becoming increasingly interconnected. For Bos Logistics, this is a key part of the ongoing modernisation of its air freight operations: moving goods efficiently whilst simultaneously providing customers with digital insight into what is happening en route.
For Dave, this is precisely where a significant part of the added value lies. “The portal we’ve developed and the visibility it provides also ensure transparency for our customers.” The practical benefit of this is that customers are less reliant on individual phone calls, documents or updates to find out what’s happening with a consignment.
In air freight, it’s all about milestones
That visibility is particularly important in air freight. A consignment passes through various stages that are crucial to the process. In the sector, these are referred to as milestones. When was the consignment collected from the sender? When did it arrive at Schiphol? How long was the freight held in the warehouse? When were any additional activities carried out? And when was the consignment actually delivered to the ground handler?
“Milestones are very important in air freight,” explains Dave. “This way, you also gain insight into that final stage.” According to him, it was precisely that final leg to the ground handler that was less transparent until about one and a half to two years ago. In retrospect, documents could be used to show when a consignment had been unloaded, whilst that information was less readily available during the process itself.
By recording these moments digitally, a more complete picture emerges of the journey a consignment takes – both during the process and afterwards. This gives customers a better insight into a part of the air freight chain that was previously more difficult to track.
Don’t check every consignment, but spot where things go off course
Greater insight also changes the way a logistics operation can be managed. When the normal progress of consignments is visible digitally, an employee does not need to constantly check every individual consignment manually. Attention can be focused much more precisely on situations where something is out of the ordinary. After all, a consignment proceeding according to plan requires a different approach to one where a milestone is not reached at the expected time.
This leads to a shift towards managing by exception. Staff can see more quickly where action is needed and focus their attention precisely where human judgement and swift action make the difference.
When asked what the key benefit of this development is for customers, Dave doesn’t have to think twice: “Visibility and transparency. Absolutely.” For the customer, this means more than just knowing where a consignment is. It provides greater clarity throughout the process, highlights any discrepancies sooner and reduces uncertainty. It is precisely this combination that contributes to a better customer experience and, ultimately, to customer satisfaction.
Technology and operational expertise
OAT has been developed over recent years by drawing on various disciplines within Bos Logistics. The initial direction was set by Frank Bos Junior, after which colleagues from Business Intelligence, project management, transport, planning and day-to-day operations worked together on both the digital and operational aspects of the concept. According to Dave, around twenty people were involved at some stage during the development.
It is precisely this multidisciplinary approach that is important. A portal must function well technically and also align with the reality faced by drivers, planners, warehouses, customers and ground handlers. An operationally smart idea is further strengthened when the information surrounding it is also well organised.
OAT is therefore a concrete example of how digitalisation and innovation within Bos Logistics are becoming an integral part of day-to-day logistics. Technology, data and operational knowledge are linked together to organise processes in a smarter, more transparent and, ultimately, more scalable way.
The next step: ever more predictable
This development is continuing. One of the ambitions is to further digitise the process and ultimately to work as paperlessly as possible. Physical documents that are still part of certain processes must be phased out wherever possible. The volume of ad hoc information sent via email can also be progressively reduced once bookings, statuses and associated documents are centrally available in digital form.
This provides a clearer overview and reduces manual processing, and fits within the broader move towards a more modern and sustainable logistics operation. Reducing paper use is one aspect of this. Equally important is that information becomes immediately available digitally and can be utilised throughout the entire process.
Moreover, the ambition extends beyond documentation. Bos Logistics ultimately aims to organise movements involving ground handlers in an increasingly systematic manner, for example by delivering and collecting freight at fixed times throughout the day. Customers will then know when the next movement is due to take place and can register available freight accordingly.
This will enable goods flows to be increasingly consolidated into predictable movements. The more freight that can be consolidated in this way, the more efficiently vehicles can be deployed and the better the available capacity around the airport can be utilised.
From carrying out transport to organising the flow
This is ultimately where the development behind OAT comes together. In a dynamic environment such as Schiphol, significant value is created by organising every aspect of the physical journey effectively.
Knowing when freight is available, cleverly combining different goods flows, taking available slots into account in advance and highlighting which milestones have already been reached. This makes operations more predictable and allows staff to focus their attention on the moments when action is actually required. The role is therefore evolving further and further towards organising and managing the logistics flow.
For customers, this means greater insight, transparency and predictability. For operations, it means a smarter deployment of vehicles and information. And at an airport where many parties are simultaneously using limited capacity, consolidation and higher load factors can help to reduce unnecessary vehicle movements.
OAT thus brings together various developments that are becoming increasingly important for the future of logistics: digitalisation, innovation, efficiency and sustainability. The digital portal ensures visibility and transparency, whilst consolidation helps to organise physical goods flows more intelligently. In this way, digital innovation and logistics expertise come together in day-to-day operations and reinforce one another. Ultimately, this is where the strength of smart air freight lies: organising the entire movement as intelligently as possible.