JAL updates cargo processing systems

The departure of flight JAL 371 from Tokyo’s Haneda airport to Kitakyushu on September 28 marked a significant step for Japan Airlines, as the carrier’s first domestic service to carry shipments processed using the Cargospot software platform from Luxembourg-based CHAMP Cargosystems SA.
The cut-over of JAL’s domestic operations is the first phase of a wider technology transformation programme, and marks the first use of Cargospot in Japan. The system is already being used to provide business critical applications for more than 200 carriers plus around 3,000 ground handlers and GSAs around the world, and CHAMP CEO John Johnston said ‘our expansion into the Japanese market marks a significant milestone in our evolution’.
JAL’s Executive Officer for Cargo & Mail Tsuyoshi Yamamura, said it was ‘a great pleasure’ to complete the transfer of the domestic business, noting that ‘JAL Cargo started using the last generation system about 30 years ago’. The airline believes that the replacement of a core business legacy system by software-as-a-service ‘will give us good opportunities to improve the quality of service for our customers, and lend impetus to a prosperous business future.’
* CHAMP announced on October 6 that it had established a new subsidiary to work with small and medium-sized forwarders in the air freight sector. CHAMP Forwarding Systems SA will be offering the company’s Logitude Software-as-a-Service platform, integrated with the Traxon CargoHUB information and message distribution system. Spanning the full freight forwarding life-cycle across multiple modes, the Logitude software offers a range of tools to manage quotes, shipments, bookings and consolidations, as well as supporting electronic documentation through the eDocs module.