Finnair Cargo has benefitted from the upturn in airfreight volumes, and is very excited about the prospects of its COOL Nordic Cargo Hub at Helsinki Airport when it becomes fully operational in January 2018.
The perishable area of the €80 million ($95.6 million) terminal will open for fish shipments in October and the facility will be fully operational in January 2018.
The terminal contains a number of systems to ensure cargo is handled correctly and exactly as the shipper requested.
Finnair Cargo head of global sales, Fredrik Wildtgrube says: “As we are creating the most modern air cargo terminal concept in the world, we are entering a new territory with enormous potential and thus need to take time to streamline our processes and ways of working to fit the new environment.”
The cargo management system, SkyChain will be connected to the warehouse automation systems and the integration of these systems will provide the airline with a new ecosystem that will enable proactive planning and steering of cargo flows and resources.
Wildtgrube says: “It will also enable active monitoring and immediate actions, if needed e.g. in the terminal’s dedicated temperature controlled areas featuring ambient monitoring sensors connected to SkyChain – to prevent any deviations from shipper’s instructions.”
The warehouse automation and cargo management system will provide improved capabilities in response to customers’ demand for supply chain transparency.
The air cargo market has been picking up globally, and this has also been noticeable in Scandinavia though overcapacity remains an issue.
The business model at Finnair Cargo is based on its connections between Europe and Asia via Helsinki, and demand has been strong on these routes.
Wildtgrube says: “Our performance has been fuelled by the growing air cargo demand between Europe and Asia. This is both ways but especially certain lanes from the megacities in Asia have been developing exceptionally well and our experience supports also the data and analysis IATA has published on the air cargo market development in general.”
Wildtgrube believes airfreight is a key element to speed up a company’s supply chain, and reaching customer demand much more quickly is becoming more and more important in a market where product lifecycles are getting shorter and customer demand is harder to predict.
Wildtgrube says: “With our expansive route network and new cargo handling capabilities we believe there is a lot of potential to be discovered in terms of improving the supply chains of companies in Finland and elsewhere, and closer collaboration between all stakeholders in the transport chain would enable us together to design faster supply chains that can become real and tangible competitive advantages for our customers.”
Air cargo customers expect a fast and reliable service that preserves product integrity, and Wildtgrube explains: “We think that continuous process development combined with investments in modern facilities and new technology bringing improved monitoring and reporting capabilities will be essential in future to provide great customer experience for our customers both in Finland and abroad.”
