Tag: Payload

  • Unisys wins Payload Asia Customer Choice for IT Service Provider of the Year for excellence in air cargo

    Unisys wins Payload Asia Customer Choice for IT Service Provider of the Year for excellence in air cargo

    Unisys Corporation has won the Customer Choice Award for IT Service Provider of the Year at the Payload Asia Awards, honouring innovation and excellence in the air cargo supply chain. Unisys was recognised for Digistics, a holistic and integrated digital logistics solution that enables air cargo carriers to streamline their freight management and improve operational efficiencies.

    The awards, hosted by leading industry publisher Payload Asia, were presented in Singapore on 12 October 2017. Determined by popular online voting, the awards spotlight air cargo supply chain companies that have excelled despite a challenging global air freight market – demonstrating agility, innovation and superior strategic planning – and having a beneficial impact on market trends.

    Digistics features a modern, cloud-based architecture that greatly improves a carrier’s speed to market, while advanced analytics and machine learning technologies analyse past, present and future data to optimise supply chain operations and route planning. The cloud-based solution allows for seamless integration into existing systems and supports multiple device types – including mobile devices, tablets, touchscreen devices, and PCs – enabling a more agile, digital workspace.

    “This award is a testament to our clients as much as it is to us,” said Tony Windever, vice president and general manager, Unisys Asia Pacific. “We have seen first-hand the commitment and dedication our clients have toward embracing digital transformation to foundationally transform their business operations, and through our partnership and collaboration, have developed software to meet those most critical business needs.”

    This acknowledgement is the latest recognition for Unisys cargo capabilities. In July, Unisys’ predictive freight capability was honoured at the ICMG 2017 Australasian & Asia Pacific Architecture Excellence Awards, and in September, Digistics won the global award for “Best Software Architecture” at the ICMG 2017 USA Architecture Excellence Awards.

    Digistics is the first comprehensive digital air cargo solution that offers catalogue-based disruptive solutions via the cloud, providing end-to-end functionality from operations to route planning. The solution bridges the gap to the digital age of travel and transportation, leveraging advanced analytics – powered by machine learning – to help carriers improve their speed-to-market while also reducing costs.

    “The increasing list of third-party awards and recognition validates and supports our approach to transforming supply chain operations. We are thankful to our clients and business partners in further endorsing Digistics as their choice of product for air cargo operations,” said Dheeraj Kohli, vice president and global head of Travel and Transportation for Unisys.

    Unisys has more than 55 years of experience providing innovative IT solutions to the travel and transportation industry. Unisys cargo solutions are used by many of the world’s leading carriers, who collaborate via the Unisys Cargo User Group (UCUG). Unisys and UCUG members have worked with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for more than 20 years on initiatives such as e-Freight, Cargo iQ and XML messaging.

  • Payload Asia magazine honours excellence in the air cargo supply chain

    Payload Asia magazine honours excellence in the air cargo supply chain

    The Payload Asia Awards 2017 returned for its sixth edition, with more than 90 nominations vying for the 20 awards categories and more than 25,000 online votes received in the Customer Choice Awards. All results – from both Customer Choice and Industry Choice – were audited by an independent auditing firm, Alpes Assurance. The awards seek to honour the very best in the industry and took place over a spectacular gala dinner and awards ceremony, held at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Singapore. Gracing the event was the guest of honour, Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo, International Air Transport Association (IATA).

    Confronting and overcoming the manifold challenges in the air cargo sector by creating innovative products and services, and delivering real value to customers is the hallmark of the companies excelling in this industry. The Payload Asia Awards 2017 looked to celebrate these traits and the perseverance, innovative strategies and many other successes of the air cargo community in the face of unprecedented market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty.

    For the highly coveted title of Overall Carrier of the Year, Qatar Airways Cargo and Turkish Cargo walked away with the Industry Choice Award and Customer Choice Award respectively. This year marked the second consecutive year that Qatar had walked away with the Industry Choice Award title for the Overall Carrier of the Year.

    This year, Ethiopian Airlines snagged both Industry and Customer Choice Award for the Rising Star Carrier of the Year, a testament to its standing in the industry. Other carriers picking up awards included: All Nippon Airways, Singapore Airlines Cargo, Swiss WorldCargo, United Cargo, VietJet Air Cargo, AirAsia Cargo, Atlas Air and Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

    Hong Kong International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport were awarded the Industry Choice and Customer Choice for the Asia Pacific Airport of the Year respectively. Ground handling awards saw the same trend of Singapore and Hong Kong dominating the category, with Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) and SATS taking home the top prize in this category. Meanwhile, Leipzig/Halle Airport and Liege Airport were the winners in the European Airport of the Year category.

    Chapman Freeborn Airchartering and Air Charter Service again emerged victorious in the Charter Broker of the Year category this year, whereas ECS and Air Logistics Group championed the GSA/GSSA of the Year category this year. Other highlights saw All Nippon Airways (ANA) and flydubai Cargo both winning X-Factor Awards for their unique and highly successful business strategies. Lufthansa Cargo and Thai Airways snagged the Corporate Social Responsibility Award, and DHL Express and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) took home the Green Award. IBS Software and Unisys were awarded IT Provider of the Year.

    In the express provider categories, DHL Express and FedEx Express took home the award for Global Express Provider of the Year, and SF Express and Kerry Express took home the award for Regional Express Provider of the Year. Kerry Logistics and Crane Worldwide Logistics were awarded Global Logistics Provider of the Year, and Hong Kong Air Cargo Industry Services (Hacis) made a clean sweep for the Regional Logistics Provider of the Year.

    Among the 23 awards given were three special Editor’s Choice Awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award, which honours an industry veteran who has made an extensive and invaluable contribution to the air cargo industry over many years, went to Tony Tyler. Before he retired in June 2016, he was Director General and Chief Executive Officer at The International Air Transport Association (IATA). Preceding the five-year tenure at IATA, Tony was Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong.

    Also under the Editor’s Choice Award category, Emirates SkyCargo was awarded Marketing Award of the Year, and Lufthansa Cargo took home Media Award of the Year.

    Dual tracks

    Payload Asia, a respected voice of the air cargo industry which has now been publishing for over 30 years, continued its unique awards approach. Kicked off three years ago, the approach features two, parallel sets of awards for each category: The Customer Choice Awards and the Industry Choice Awards – highlighting two equally important but slightly different views of excellence, one based on popular votes and the other on a detailed assessment by senior industry executives.

    The Customer Choice Awards carry on the previous years online voting system by customers and Payload Asia readers, with all results officially audited by an independent auditing firm. The Industry Choice Awards on the other hand, are determined by a senior level industry panel of 16 judges drawn from across the industry and assessed via a points system based on the published criteria, with the process and results also audited. A full list of awards and winners can be found below.

    The awards were presented during a gala dinner attended by more than 200 members of the air cargo fraternity from around the globe, and hosted by Payload Asia, part of the Contineo Media group.

    The Gala Awards Dinner was preceded by a two-day conference programme and both will return again next year. It is anticipated this event will continue to be an important highlight on the air cargo industry’s calendar.