Cross-border e-commerce logistics – Strategic success factors for airports

Abstract

E-commerce has become a real game-changer in the air cargo industry and is forecasted to be the main growth driver in the following years. Airlines, forwarders, integrators and airports are trying to increase their market share in this growing market and hence develop strategies to attract as much e-commerce activities as possible. This paper investigates the cross-border e-commerce market from the airport's perspective. First, a market analysis is carried out and an overview of the air cargo industry is given. Moreover, the relevance of e-commerce for airports is highlighted. Second, by means of a literature review, the potential factors on which airports can focus to attract cross-border e-commerce are identified. Those factors are then verified by conducting structured interviews with different actors involved in the cross-border e-commerce air transport chain and as well as by performing an AHP analysis. As a result the following factors are identified as an absolute prerequisite to develop cross-border e-commerce at an airport: ability to pre-clear e-commerce goods, high airlift and land capacity. Furthermore, the e-commerce market should be facilitated by seamless data exchange. The outcome of this research will be relevant for the industry as it will enable airports to check whether their strategy is focusing on the right critical success factors to boost the local e-commerce cargo flows.