The Times They Are A Changing… Or Are They?

Anyone spending time at the recent WCS could not avoid the deluge of messaging on digitalization. The word was on display pretty much wherever you looked and wherever you listened.

But here at ULD Care, we would like to ask the question about how is digitalization going to change the world of ULD? Are we really going to take advantage of the smorgasbord  of new technology unfolding before our eyes and really do things differently or are we simply going to confuse movement with real progress?

After all, in the words of one of the panelists in a WCS panel: “this industry needs to get better at letting things go”.  Applying this approach to the world of ULD, we need to ask ourselves: is this industry ready to give up using paper and pencils, LUC and MUC EDI messaging and siloed reporting or will they still be the current modus operandi 10 and 20 years from now?

Actually, when it comes to digitalization, the IULDUG, now past celebrating its 50^th birthday, can lay claim to being a very early adopter of a digital process. Adopter of a digital process even though it was carried on the IATA main frame and produced rearms of computer printouts. Even though it was carried out on the IATA main frame and produced reams of computer printouts. It is therefore fitting that 50 years later, ULD CARE should be again working to deliver a state-of-the-art digital solution for this industry.

And just as back in the 1970s when the IULDUG was first set up, participating airlines were required to have their own in-house ULD management systems, while the IULDUG provided the community service when ULD moved between different members. Therefore, in today’s world where the industry seems to be heading for a massive acquisition of ULD-related data, there is both an opportunity and a need for a common platform to share the details of each transfer of a ULD between the relevant stakeholders.

With the repurposed IULDUG system and the E-UCR app, ULD CARE stands ready to take the lead in delivering an industry-wide digital transformation, enabling all stakeholders to enjoy borderless information regarding those ULD assets they are holding or managing.

IATA WCS 2025

There was a great deal of excitement, as over 1800 delegates gathered for the 2025 IATA world cargo symposium. Which was, as to be expected, liberally sprinkled with Dubai stardust!

We want to give a big shout out to the ULD community not only for showing up in person but actually making up 20% of the exhibitors. Nobody managed to match the size and scale of the Emirates or dnata booths, but nevertheless, the ULD community put on a very good show. And it was very nice to see so many of them there.

On the downside it remains disappointing that we had to wait until Thursday morning with quite a few of the delegates nursing hangovers from the previous evenings gala event to actually see ULD content in the program. But we did have a surprisingly large audience who were treated for some very interesting presentations, probably first amongst these was an excellent Airbus presentation on the A350F, an aircraft that is going to set new standards for digital connectivity. And interestingly, we were informed that many of these features would indeed be retrofittable onto earlier generation Airbus freighter aircraft.

Another big takeaway from the WCS was the involvement with FIATA. For a few months now, there have been considerable communications between ULD CARE and FIATA through Markus Muecke. Markus has multiple years of experience in forwarding and has been deputized by FIATA to take a good look at the implications of forwarder use of ULD.
During WCS this led to some very interesting conversations, including with the current President of FIATA, Turgut Erkeskin. We are hoping to see greater ULD awareness “buy in” from the forwarder side of the industry from these initiatives.

ULD CARE 2025 Annual Conference

With five months left to go, preparations for the ULD CARE conference are already underway. As already advised, this will take place in conjunction with the Air Cargo Handling conference being held this year in Copenhagen on 14-16 October. The full program will be made available very shortly on the ULD CARE website. For a quick preview, please read on….

We are planning to have our traditional welcome event on the evening of October 13^th. Delegates are encouraged to make sure they arrive in time for this event, which may be held either at the hotel or somewhere in the nearby vicinity.

On the morning of October 14^th, we’ll organize two working group sessions. The first will be on the whole subject of digitalization following the coffee break. The second will be on sustainability. All our delegates and delegates from the larger ACH event are encouraged to participate in these working groups.

On the afternoon of the 14^th, we will join the opening sessions of the main ACH event, during which ULD CARE will have a presence on the main stage.

Wednesday 15^th is a full-on ULD CARE day, and we do mean full on. During the course of the day, we will have speakers and panelists on the four key ULD CARE initiatives plus a session on innovation before we wrap up the day.

Digitalization

This subject has now become mainstream and when it comes to ULD, the discussion has probably moved on from the different types of technologies to the much more important discussion on how to make best use of the enormous amount of data that is going to be collected. ULD CARE believes strongly that as the neutral party, it can serve as a clearing house through its longstanding IULDUG system for relevant parts of this data, which otherwise end up in different silos to the detriment of the industry as a whole.

Knowledge and Training

The continuing high turnover in the industry coupled with the lack of sophisticated infrastructure for much of the ULD handling means that trained personnel remain essential if ULD is to be handled in a safe, damage-free manner. Over the years, training has moved from face-to-face classroom training to online digital training and now with the arrival of AI we have new tools to work with to overcome the challenges of getting the necessary information out across the world to multiple workforces in multiple languages. In this session, we will be introducing a couple more ULD 60 Seconds videos, as well as hearing more about the ULD Challenge established by our partner Airport College two years ago.

Sustainability

Front and centre in the ULD industry, ULD CARE has for two years been working on developing a Sustainability Label under the guidance of Louise Platell of VRR and at this year’s conference, the very significant progress they have made will be put on show. The sustainability issue is not going to go away and, given the vast amount of waste found in typical cargo operations, there remains an enormous amount to be done.

Safety

It would be negligent for us not to cover the whole safety issue relating to lithium batteries. But this year we would like to take a slightly different angle given that now a considerable number of airlines have introduced both FCC and FRC. Meaning that this is no longer some kind of theoretical discussion but is a practical day-to-day operational consideration. And the challenge now is to make sure that these are being properly used, meaning that they need to be in perfect condition and also be properly loaded or fitted. But it is also creating an understanding across the entire industry that these are essential safety items requiring proper handling at all times.

Innovation

Though we already have a jam-packed schedule, we are still managing to shoehorn in a session on innovation where we are inviting a number of different speakers to share their views on innovations that this industry can expect to see in the coming months and years.

All these sessions will be a combination of speaker presentations and panelists, and we are working hard to bring in as many voices from outside the ULD industry, such as other trade associations and other segments of the industry.

Following this very packed day, we will all be able to enjoy the Air Cargo Handling dinner located somewhere in Copenhagen.

On the morning of Thursday the 16^th, we will be back in the main plenary hall with the rest of the Air Cargo Handling community. And once again, ULD Care will take its place on the stage alongside representatives of the other sectors of the industry as we try to increase awareness of all matters ULD.

And one final note on this newsletter, ULD CARE is doubling down on its social media messaging through LinkedIn.

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