Cathay Pacific Cargo has adopted Cargo IQ's new milestones for planning and monitoring warehouse operations to drive supply chain visibility.

CargoIQ said Cathay is one of its first members to implement Freight into and out of Warehouse tracking milestones.

It added that its Freight into Warehouse control (FIW) and Freight out of Warehouse control (FOW), have been implemented by Cathay at the Hong Kong International Airport to bring enhanced visibility of cargo during warehouse and ramp handling operations.

Cargo iQ added the new milestones to its Master Operating Plan (MOP) — which outlines the individual milestones for measuring the end-to-end journey of air cargo shipments — in March of this year.

 Cargo iQ further said that the addition of FIW and FOW to the MOP brings "previously lacking visibility and planning capabilities to the point of shipment handover between the warehouse handler and the ramp handler at the airport."

"The implementation of the FIW/FOW milestones brings collective benefits for airlines, ground handling agents, and the CDMP provider," said Frosti Lau, general manager of Cargo Service Delivery, Cathay Pacific. 

Lau added that the handling agents have a clearer view of the planned offsets for operational planning, while airlines will gain more visibility of the handover process.

"This visibility could help to identify any potential areas for improvement in the handling activities, and we are dedicated to refining our process to ensure shipments are ready for customers as planned," the Cathay Cargo executive added.

The whole project in Hong Kong took around six months from planning through to implementation.

The airline already plans to roll out the new tracking milestones across its global network.

"We believe airlines and ground handling agents are the parties who would see most benefits of having visibility on the two milestones, and ultimately this assures the delivery promise to customers," Lau added.

With these latest milestones, a Cargo iQ Route Map for an airfreight shipment is gradually expanding to monitor every segment of the supply chain, with the ultimate goal being full supply chain visibility.

"With their great commitment to implement these new events, Cathay Pacific Cargo and their partners in Hong Kong are reinforcing the importance and usefulness of monitoring the point of handover from warehouse to ramp and vice versa," said Laura Rodriguez, manager of implementation and quality assurance, Cargo iQ.

"With this information, the industry will be able to identify pain points and make vital improvements to operational processes," she added.