Lufthansa Cargo and cargo.one have launched a joint initiative that removes the prerequisite for freight forwarders to hold valid Air Waybill (AWB) stock before making an air cargo booking.
cargo.one users can now book Lufthansa Cargo’s global capacities and have an AWB automatically assigned.
Freight forwarders using cargo.one to book shipments with Lufthansa Cargo can book immediately without needing to find a valid AWB number first, although they can choose to still enter one manually. The user can simply click “Book Now” for any of Lufthansa Cargo’s offers, and an AWB is automatically assigned.
The benefits include an even quicker booking time and less booking errors, and is an example of driving new standards for airlines in customer-centric digital distribution, said the companies.
Lufthansa Cargo is the first of cargo.one’s airline partners to facilitate Auto Assigned AWBs in bookings.
Ashwin Bhat, chief commercial officer of Lufthansa Cargo, said: “At Lufthansa Cargo we are committed to finding new ways to drive our digital user experience across all of our distribution channels. Launching automatic assignment of Air Waybills with cargo.one is exactly the type of feature that helps us to differentiate in our digital journey and deliver freight forwarders the best possible outcomes and enhance their experience with Lufthansa Cargo.”
Oliver Neumann, founder and co-chief executive officer of cargo.one, stated: “Users love cargo.one because it’s super easy to use, accurate and simple. Removing the pesky copy-pasting of AWB numbers makes booking simpler, faster and removes a source of errors. A small improvement with a big impact on our forwarders’ daily work.”
For decades, the progression of an air cargo booking has relied upon the manual allocation of an AWB number - a process designed to reflect the paperwork of the past. If a freight forwarder runs out of AWBs, the time needed to request these from an airline will prevent them booking, and can cause a loss of business.
