Air Cargo Supply Chain Research Articles

Performance analysis of a blockchain-based messaging system implementation for air cargo supply chains

ABSTRACT The air cargo supply chain’s goal is to achieve fast shipment movement through multistage coordination among multiple air cargo stakeholders. The lack of transparency in the end-to-end supply chain and complex digital connectivity is what limits the traditional peer-to-peer communication flow in the fragmented air cargo industry. Blockchain technology can enhance communication transparency by streamlining multistage message flows via smart contracts and by acting as an intermediary to simplify digital connections among air cargo stakeholders. Despite the benefits of applying blockchain for air cargo messaging, as blockchain is an emerging technology, technical concerns in the areas of performance, privacy, and interoperability can hinder the practical adoption of the blockchain system. To address practical implementation concerns, a blockchain-based messaging system using the Algorand public blockchain is developed in our work to demonstrate the practicality of blockchain. Transaction data privacy can be protected by the encryption key exchange algorithm, which supports forward secrecy. Our experimental results provide practical performance insights into the Algorand blockchain for streamlined messaging from various aspects related to transaction submission, confirmation, and retrieval. Our results show that by leveraging the Algorand blockchain, our proposed system can offer scalable, efficient, reliable, and cost-effective communication channels for air cargo messaging.

Experimental simulation of temperature non-uniformity in a loaded container along air cargo supply chain: Mango case study

The cooling time of mango boxes (initial temperature 19 °C) at different positions in a Unit Load Device (ULD) located in a test room of 6 °C was monitored. Plaster mangoes were used due to the high perishability of real mangoes. The influence of box designs (closed and top-open) on the cooling time were studied. Both box designs showed shorter Half-cooling time (HCT) at the bottom than at the top. Closed boxes exhibited more uniform temperatures in the ULD. Heat transfer in closed boxes was primarily conduction, while natural convection played a significant role in top-open boxes. Then, the ULD was exposed to variable ambient temperatures to simulate real conditions in an air cargo supply chain. The results demonstrate that the critical step is the airport tarmac; after 2 h for example, the temperature at the top rose to 50 °C (with external air at 32 °C), resulting in a 10 °C increase in the mangoes in the top box.

The economic impact of E-commerce on the U.S. airports: Cost savings and productivity growth

The rise of e-commerce, fueled by digitalization and shifting in consumer demand, has revolutionized air cargo. While all e-commerce stakeholders are engaged in fierce competition to increase their market share, airports as integral elements of the air cargo supply chain could not be apathetic to this competition. This study examines the economic implication of e-commerce on high cargo volume airports, focusing on cost savings and productivity growth. Utilizing the Farrell measure of input-oriented technical efficiency, we estimate scope economies for the U.S. airports between 2009 and 2019. The results reveal higher scope economies for high cargo volume airports, indicating greater cost savings resulting from e-commerce activities. In addition, the Malmquist index is employed to assess productivity growth. The index is decomposed into technical change, efficiency change, and scale change. The findings show a 3.3% overall productivity growth in the U.S. airport industry, primarily driven by technical change. Besides, high cargo volume airports exhibit higher productivity growth compared to low cargo volume airports, with 4.1% and 2.9% growth rates, respectively. The gap between high cargo volume and low cargo volume airports widened in 2017, aligning with the pre-pandemic peak in e-commerce activity. Furthermore, high cargo volume airports experience higher efficiency gains and technical advancements. While efficiency gains are attributed to improved performance and increased capacity utilization, the technical advancements can be explained by the digitalization and customized operations associated with e-commerce. Overall, the results highlight the significant contribution of e-commerce to cost savings and productivity growth in high-cargo volume airports.

Experimental study of air cargo temperature variations and its impact on mango quality

An air cargo supply chain for fresh mango was investigated from Thailand to France. Measurements of air temperature, air relative humidity, and fruit (peel) temperature were conducted using thermo-hygrometer data loggers in cartons. In a Unit Load Device (ULD) containing 148 cartons, twenty-seven instrumented cartons were placed at different positions to observe spatial and temporal temperature variations during 12 h cruising. At the destination, mango quality attributes were assessed at different time-points during 15-day storage at 16.1 °C and 21.6 °C. Throughout the supply chain, fruit temperatures ranged from 16.6 °C to 30.5 °C. During cruising, fruit temperatures in upper cartons remained almost constant, whereas base carton temperatures continuously decreased from 26.1 °C to 18.1 °C. Because of a short cruising period in comparison to a storage duration at the destination and proper ambient temperature condition during the experiment, carton position in the ULD had no discernible impact on fruit quality during storage. Fruit stored at 16.1 °C preserved superior fruit quality compared to 21.6 °C storage. For the same storage temperature, better quality of fruits stored in Thailand demonstrated the impact of air shipment on product degradation. The measured temperature and relative humidity evolutions were used as input parameters of a mass loss evolution model. A comparison with the measured data exhibited good agreement (RMSE < 1.8 % mass loss). Considering 10 % mass loss as a critical value, this model allows an estimation of the product shelf life based on a supply chain scenario.

The ground handler dock capacitated pickup and delivery problem with time windows: A collaborative framework for air cargo operations

We study a typical problem within the air cargo supply chain, concerning the transportation of standard Unit Load Devices (ULDs) from freight forwarders’ to ground handlers’ warehouses. First, ULDs are picked up by a set of available trucks at the freight forwarders’ premises within a time window. Next, they are delivered to the ground handlers, also within a time window, and discharged according to a Last In First Out (LIFO) policy. Due to space constraints, ground handlers have limited capacity to serve the trucks and waiting times may arise, especially in case freight forwarders do not coordinate their operations. Therefore, in this paper we consider a cooperative framework where this transportation is coordinated by a central planner. The goal of the planner is to find a proper routing and scheduling that minimizes the sum of the transportation and waiting times at the ground handlers’ warehouses, while satisfying the capacity of the trucks. We propose two mathematical formulations, one based on the routing and the other based on the packing aspect of the problem. To solve large instances of the problem, an Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search algorithm is also developed. With numerical experiments, we compare the performances of the two models and the metaheuristic, and we quantify the benefits of the proposed framework to reduce waiting times.

Auction-based coopetition in the landside air cargo supply chain

Increased competitiveness with other transport systems and declining operation margins have motivated freight forwarders in the air cargo transport industry to look into horizontal collaboration. This paper focuses on developing a fully integrated five-phase auction-based coopetition model, a form of horizontal collaboration where competition is preserved. A combinatorial auction is used to exchange transportation requests without having to reveal critical company information. Freight forwarders submit requests into an auction pool, where they are grouped into attractive bundles by a central planner and offered for auction. The request selection and bundling procedures are based on the time windows of the request deliveries. A freight forwarder’s bid on each bundle is equal to the marginal profit of that bundle, which is obtained by solving two NP-hard routing problems with a simulated annealing and large neighborhood search meta-heuristic. A unique aspect of the auction is that the dock capacity of the ground handlers is taken into account, which helps to alleviate truck congestion at the ground handlers. The potential of the auction-based coopetition model is shown for an air cargo supply chain scenario. There is a clear increase in profitability for the collaborating freight forwarders because the auction model decreases the transportation costs for the entire coalition. This cost reduction is achieved by an increase in transport efficiency, while the collaboration disadvantages, as seen in the literature, are limited.

International Air Cargo in Time of Crisis: Global Challenges and Modal Shift Provide Transformational Opportunity in Commerce and Law

The current pandemic has elevated the critical need for a dependable, resilient, air cargo supply chain to the forefront of commercial and legal discussion. Throughout its history, air cargo has evolved in parallel with other unimodal means of cargo transport into a global multimodal transport paradigm. The unimodal legal regimes governing individual modes of cargo transport have not kept pace with the growth and development of global cargo transport and its associated legal issues. The unimodal regimes do not adequately reflect the relational, commercial, and operational realities of the contemporary global multimodal supply chain. The authors identify key changes in air cargo and multimodal supply chain logistics and relationships, and discuss the resulting contemporary legal issues that have emerged and must be addressed. The authors advocate that a multimodal cargo transport regime is needed to reflect these current realities and to accommodate future multimodal evolution. At a minimum, update and integration of the Warsaw, Montreal, and CMR conventions is indicated. The authors emphasize the essential need for continued integration of new technologies and complete digitalization of the air cargo supply chain in order adequately to prepare for the global multimodal cargo transport paradigm of tomorrow. aviation, air cargo, CMR, Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention, unimodal, multimodal, global multimodal supply chain, digitalization, technology

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The economics of Africa's floriculture air-cargo supply chain

This article examines the economics of Africa's emerging air cargo supply chains, taking floriculture as a case study. Floriculture is an important employer, and earner of foreign exchange for several regions of central/southern and eastern Africa including more recently Ethiopia. Air transportation often plays a critical role when the supply-chain involves high-value, non-durable, relatively light-weight, and compact consignments such as flowers, and geographically when regions are difficult to access by other trunk modes. The success of air cargo chains, however, depend as much on the quality of surface modes serving various “last mile” access and egress functions, as well as efficient nodal interchange points and the availability of suitable airport and airline capacity. The last, because of the important role of belly-hold space, includes consideration of passenger as well as cargo specific services. To meet the needs of Africa's floriculture sector, a variety of supply-chain models have emerged that embrace air and surface links, as well as storage at various points in the chain. The paper considers the nature of these chains, the reason d'être for their structures, and their limitations.

A Strategic Analysis of Cargolux Airlines International Position in the Global Air Cargo Supply Chain Using Porter’s Five Forces Model

The objective of this research was to examine Cargolux Airlines International’s, one of the world’s major dedicated all-cargo airlines, strategic position in the global air cargo supply chain. To achieve this objective, a qualitative research approach was used. The data gathered for the study was examined by document analysis. The strategic analysis of Cargolux Airlines International was underpinned using Porter’s Five Forces Model. The study found that Cargolux has developed an extensive portfolio of products that satisfy discrete air cargo market segments’ requirements. The airline has also entered strategic partnership agreements with Emirates SkyCargo, Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA), and Oman Air, which has enabled the partners to expand their route networks and to better optimize their available air cargo capacities. Cargolux has also established Milan-based Cargo Italia, which focuses on serving the important Italian air cargo market. The airline has also developed a successful two hub strategy in conjunction with one of its major shareholders, Henan Civil Aviation and Investment Company (HNCA). In 2017, Cargolux commenced a journey of transformation with the introduction of the “Cargolux 2025 Strategy”. A limitation of the study was that Cargolux’s annual revenues were not available. It was, therefore, not possible to analyze the airline’s revenue performance.

Closing the gaps in air cargo security

The study investigated if establishing common international security standards through mutually recognized security programs would make the air cargo supply chain less vulnerable to terrorist activity and increase trade efficiencies. Divergent air cargo security programs result in separate measures that lack a unified front against terrorism and slow the shipping process. By proposing the Global Protocol for Air Cargo (GPAC) to the aviation security community, I examine the idea of an international framework to unite government and industry to create the most secure and efficient aviation cargo supply chain to date. The research overall explores ways to unify air cargo stakeholders by raising the bar on security measures and absorbing the burdens placed on securing the aviation industry.

Optimization of the air cargo supply chain

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate and optimize the various operations within the air cargo chain. It pursues to improve the efficiency of the air cargo supply chain and to provide more information to the decision-makers to optimize their fields. Design/methodology/approach: The method used is a process simulation modelling software, WITNESS, which provides information to the decision-makers about the most relevant parameters subject to optimization. The input for the simulation is obtained from a qualitative analysis of the air cargo supply chain with the involved agents and from a study of the external trade by air mode, given that their behaviour depend on the location. The case study is focused on a particular location, the Case of Zaragoza Airport (Spain). Findings: This paper demonstrates that efficiency of the air cargo supply chain can increase by leveraging several parameters such as bottlenecks, resources or warehouses. Originality/value: It explores the use of a simulation modeling software originally intended for manufacturing processes and extended to support decision making processes in the area of air cargo.

Study on Supply Chain Cooperative Games between Airport and Cargo Airways within International Air-Transport Hub

Speed economy, proposed by Japanese scholars Masaki Tamura, refers to get the cost savings flow by accelerating the transaction process [1], which brings the a large market space to the cargo/express delivery industry [2]. Due to the rapidly growth of China air cargo/express market and the ongoing increasingly opening up of the sky, inter-national cargo/express giants have set up their hubs in China. The arrival of these global logistics integrators has brought a lot of influence to the development of airport. Hereinto, the unbalance between the scales of China cargo hubs and the rapid demand of air cargo/express development, the cooperation model of airports and air cargo/express have become the most urgently issue to explore. Therefore, on the basis of airport and airway co-competition analysis, the characteristics of the air cargo supply chain, and the airports and cargo airlines supply chain behavior, this paper will use the non-co- operative game of principal-agent model and the cooperative game model to analysis the revenue distribution of airport and cargo airway on the supply chain, this paper applies the cooperative game theory within a supply chain to analyze the cooperation model of airports and air cargo/express, so as to makes strategy suggestions on airport development.

Roles of the airport and logistics services on the economic outcomes of an air cargo supply chain

This paper introduces an air cargo supply chain operations reference (ACSCOR) model to examine the integrated impact of airport operating strategies and industrial forces on airport performances, and quantifies the economic benefits of the air cargo service business. In the light of Singapore and Hong Kong statistics, it is shown that the cargo traffic at an airport is significantly influenced by its operating characteristics, the performances of its downstream airfreight and supporting logistics industry, and the economic environment that it is functioning within. Through the traditional economic models, it is found that on average Hong Kong experiences a higher accelerator effect but lower multiplier effect in airport investment compared to Singapore. While the multiplier effect may signify that Singapore can benefit from higher returns in terms of the spillover effect to the overall air cargo supply chain, the higher accelerator effect in Hong Kong corresponds to the empirical results from the ACSCOR model that advocate Chek Lap Kok airport increasing its physical inputs relative to human inputs.

Challenges in the air cargo supply chain

article Challenges in the air cargo supply chain Authors: Girish Ramachandran Amsterdam Operations of Tata Consultancy Services in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Amsterdam Operations of Tata Consultancy Services in Amsterdam, The NetherlandsView Profile , Sanjay Tiwari KLM Cargo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands KLM Cargo, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsView Profile Authors Info & Claims Communications of the ACMVolume 44Issue 6June 2001 pp 80–82https://doi.org/10.1145/376134.376174Published:01 June 2001Publication History 1citation1,660DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations1Total Downloads1,660Last 12 Months57Last 6 weeks4 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access