Cargo iQ has completed the trial of its new Small and Medium Enterprise Solution to provide improved planning and control options to small and medium-sized forwarders who work with member airlines on a small-scale or on a regional basis.

According to Cargo iQ, the SME solution will enable a route map and status updates to be made available to the forwarder for individual consignments, in line with the common business practices and milestones set out in Cargo iQ’s Master Operating Plan, developed as a system of clearly defined business processes.

“With Cargo iQ SME, we provide a turn-key solution for independent freight forwarders to benefit from shipment planning and control through shared route maps and operational visibility for various milestones along the shipment lifecycle,” said Chris Davies [second from right in photo], manager of product and technology at Cargo iQ. “Cargo iQ’s members work together to continuously improve the value of air freight for customers, and, by expanding our solutions portfolio, we are opening the door to a wider section of the air cargo industry.”

After registering with an accredited Cargo iQ SME IT service provider, forwarders can immediately benefit from Cargo iQ performance management tools.

The SME solution trial started with CCS Italy, which specializes in innovative, value-added IT solutions for freight forwarders, air cargo carriers and ground-handling agents.

“Taking part in Cargo iQ’s SME solution trial is a great opportunity for CCS Italy to demonstrate how independent freight forwarders can work with air cargo carriers to benefit the overall air cargo industry,” said Gianni Mauri, senior consultant of CCS Italy.

The solution uses cloud solutions provider Riege Software’s back-end Cargo Data Management Platform technology.

“We always put our focus on scalability, to serve customers from the smallest to the largest on the same high technological level," said Christian Riege, managing director of Riege Software. “To expand this approach to IATA’s Cargo iQ initiative targeting SMEs was an extra stimulus – with the awesome outcome of facilitating SMEs access to Cargo iQ.”

Forwarders that join the SME portal will also have the option to apply for full Cargo iQ membership to benefit from additional performance reporting, benchmarking, collaboration and insights.

“Upgrading allows smaller freight forwarders to put the Cargo iQ stamp of approval next to their names after a vigorous audit and certification programeme, and provides access to other tools, such as our member-only Door-to-Door Performance Management System,” said Davies.

An official launch date for SME will be announced following an evaluation of the trial phase, according to Cargo iQ.