The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has backed a new initiative encouraging new air cargo leaders of the future and collaboration in the supply chain.
Staff from companies including Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, Jan De Rijk Logistics, Tosoh Corporation, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Agility, and Swissport visited each other’s sites to gain a better understanding of processes and explore new ways of collaborating.
The initiative was launched by TIACA, with the help of Air Cargo Netherlands, as part of the Association’s commitment to training and supporting the next generation of air cargo leaders.
TIACA vice chairman and Jan de Rijk Logistics chief executive officer, Sebastiaan Scholte says: “This initiative will hopefully be the start of many more to follow, where we can develop young talent to be the leaders of tomorrow.
“It is a unique program as it involves a vertical integration of the supply chain with complete openness and transparency.
“It is more and more difficult to discover and develop talent, especially in small and medium sized companies.
“Ideally, we would like to see this develop into an internship scheme, so we not only prepare our future talent, but also improve cooperation in the supply chain.”
TIACA’s Education and Research Committee members will be discussing next steps for the scheme at their board meeting.
“We have gained understanding for each of the partners’ activities in the air cargo supply chain,” says Jan de Rijk Logistics sales manager, Jeroen Leemans, who participated in the initiative last week.
“What we have found is that by working closely together there is a lot to gain every step of the way. Currently we optimise our own processes and we do a good job, but issues arise around the transfer of information as well as the physical hand-over process.
“For the air cargo supply chain to grow, we need to understand how to work better together with our partners,” he adds.
TIACA has developed a Professional Development Workshop Program aimed at growing management skills for air cargo professionals. The next workshop takes place in Anchorage, Alaska, from August 29 to 1 September, 2017.
The program, designed by Strategic Aviation Solutions International (SASI), gives participants an appreciation of the entire air cargo supply chain and the component sectors by encouraging discussion and the sharing of perspectives, as well as providing practical advice and insight.
