AirAsia moves to Unisys cloud for cargo management

by Payload Asia

Unisys Corporation has announced that low cost carrier AirAsia has cut over to the cloud-based Unisys Logistics Management System (LMS) to manage its domestic and international cargo services across its network of affiliates.  Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia Cargo has a flight network covering more than 100 destinations across 20 countries in Asia and Australia.

The contract will run for a minimum term of  three-and-a-half-years after cutover, with Unisys replacing the legacy system with the cloud-based LMS which will provide the core cargo system capabilities for AirAsia Cargo and its affiliate companies on a per-air waybill basis, saving the carrier capital investment. The migration from the carrier’s previous system took less than six months and went live in October 2014 to support AirAsia’s growing cargo business, Unisys said.

The use of this cloud approach means that all AirAsia’s affiliates will benefit from centralised information management and visibility as well as common processes. As the Unisys system is browser-based, authorised users can access it from many devices including personal computers, tablets and other mobile devices.

“AirAsia’s successful business is underpinned by an effective cost management strategy.  The Unisys cloud-based model supports this strategy as we were able to cut over to the new system quickly and we pay on a consumption subscription basis. In addition, with multiple AirAsia affiliates transacting business on each other’s service, we needed an integrated system with centralised information management and visibility to further increase efficiency across the organisation,” said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Group CEO.

Olivier Houri, president and general manager of worldwide transportation for Unisys, added: “The cloud-based Unisys LMS is a great fit for AirAsia’s low cost model as implementation was fast and LMS scales to match the carrier’s growth. AirAsia joins a growing and active community of leading cargo airlines that collaborate to shape continual system improvements and innovations.”