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It's Not Why, It's Why Not!
By David W. Hockersmith
Chair, Cargo Automation Committee
Taken from the Sept/Oct edition of Forward
Official Publication of the Airforwarders Association
Recently I was asked to explain why a member of our Airforwarder Association would want to use the Association's sponsored "Universal Domestic Waybill." This question struck me as very peculiar. My first thought was "Why wouldn't they?"
There's an old saying that each of us has our own point of view or our own unique perception or reality. I guess this is one of those times where each of us in this industry tends to have our own unique perspective. Since the very first meeting of our association over 10 years ago, our members have expressed concern and interest regarding Collections, Carrier Service Standards and Automation. Quite often our members call David Wirsing, our Executive Director, inquiring about advances in EDI, Barcode and Scanning, and Electronic Bookings, yet these same people will totally ignore a money saving, time saving solution right before their eyes!
Yes, I'm speaking of our domestic waybill! The cost for a single box of forms averages only $0.14 per form, yet I've heard one of our members say, "Why should I pay for them when the carrier provides them for free?" If the cost of these forms is your only focus, then your problems are even larger than our current economy.
Think about these facts for a moment:
| • | The information is already in your computer system, why manually type it again |
| • | Can your night operations staff find the unique carrier waybill, go to your typewriter and complete the form in 35 seconds? Well if they can't, then you are wasting money each and every night. At the minimal cost of $15.00 per hour, your employee would need to complete the entire process in 35 seconds to equal the cost saving of not purchasing the $0.14 form. |
| • | What is your cost when they make a typing mistake and have to start over? |
Sometimes the simplest solutions are often the best. A business solution doesn't have to be costly or complicated to be effective.
For the past several years the Airforwarders Association has been working with several organizations in an attempt to find a provider who could actually transmit Pickup, Recovery & Delivery status electronically. Since we're on the topic of solutions and "Why Not," we should alert our members to the fact that "eTrac" by DataTrac has completed testing and is in production and use be several U.S. forwarders. Finally we have a company who has a working solution, not just a plan!
EDI for maser airway bill status with U.S. air carriers has been available for years, but no such communication method was ever established to our ground and delivery carriers until now. If you're serious about automation and improving your systems then we suggest you take advantage of some of the solutions available through our organization.
Remember the question is "Why Not?" not "Why?"
