Lufthansa Cargo is stepping up its cooperation with start-up cargo.one by acquiring a minority shareholding in the Berlin company.
Cargo.one was founded in 2017 by Moritz Claussen, Oliver Neumann and Mike Rotgers, providing a platform for booking and marketing air cargo capacity.
It focuses on offering dynamic spot rates and enabling their booking, making cargo.one the first platform of its kind.
Lufthansa Cargo chief executive officer and chairman of the executive board, Peter Gerber says cargo.one is an important step towards digitisation of the air cargo industry.
He says: “We are pleased to have been one of the first airlines to recognise the potential of this multi-airline platform for our customers and to have made ourselves compatible. We are impressed with the technology and user-friendly product. We are also driving digitisation in our industry through cooperation with start-ups and financial investments such as that in cargo.one.”
Cargo.one founder, Moritz Claussen says: “The investment in our technology signals to our customers that cargo.one is a strong partner with which to join forces to drive air cargo digitisation. Air cargo capacity worldwide can be made available online through our innovative distribution technology. Accordingly, we want to grow to become a global leader. The minority investment by Lufthansa Cargo now also demonstrates that even a star player in the industry is impressed with our technology.”
Lufthansa Cargo invested in technology start-up Fleet Logistics in early 2018, which acts as an online marketplace, matching customer demand for cargo services with free capacity.
The airline has also been cooperating with technology accelerator, Plug and Play since February 2018, bringing technology start-ups and established companies together.
Lufthansa Cargo head of digital transformation, Boris Hueske says: “The close cooperation between Lufthansa Cargo and technology start-ups melds comprehensive air cargo experience with a technology-driven, fresh view of global logistics processes.
“By acquiring a share in cargo.one and Fleet Logistics, Lufthansa Cargo is emphasising its strategic commitment to elevating the air cargo industry to a higher level of digital maturity.”
