Independent forwarder members of the WCA will all have free access to WIN’s e-Air Waybill (e-AWB) platform for the remainder of this year, delegates at the WCA’s Annual Conference 2016 heard in mid-March in Abu Dhabi.
The web-based platform, which connects to over 90 airlines, is now open for WCA members – numbering 6,056 member offices in 186 countries – to submit any International Air Transport Association (IATA) Resolution 672 (paperless) e-AWB free of charge on the web, as well as make e-bookings and receive tracking alerts.
“We are at a tipping point with the level of e-AWB adoption in the industry approaching the halfway mark, so we are very pleased to be able to offer the WCA this opportunity to leap forward,” said John DeBenedette, managing director, WIN.
“Independents can act now to gain the same level of efficiencies already enjoyed by multinational forwarders and tap into the growing trend of airport fast lanes for cargo tendered with electronic data in advance,” he added.
“WCA takes pride in our long history as an innovative business development platform helping independent forwarders compete on a level playing field with their larger rivals,” said Dan March, CEO of WCA.
“For our members, going electronic is not just about eliminating paper or helping airlines increase their efficiency which is all well and good, but equally important it’s about benefiting from the real-time shipment visibility, system integration, and member collaboration features that we’ve also built into WIN,” March said.
“I applaud the move and congratulate WCA’s leadership for supporting air cargo’s drive to go paperless,” commented Glyn Hughes, IATA’s global head of cargo. “Air cargo needs to upgrade its value proposition as shipper expectations become ever more demanding and paper-based solutions just can’t deliver the quality, transparency and predictability that is required.”
WIN is an online platform for independent freight forwarders to connect with partner agents, airlines, container lines, and other logistics service providers for secure shipment collaboration and visibility in the cloud.
