CargoAi

Harnessing the most sophisticated and modern technologies in the airfreight domain

Cargo Ai enables the seamless and effective management of the end-to-end cargo booking process using a single tool

Launched in 2019 by its founder and CEO, Matthieu Petot, Singaporeheadquartered CargoAi is a SaaS application offering air cargo digital solutions to freight forwarders, airlines and GSAs.

Petot created CargoAi three years ago with the vision of bringing best practices and technologies that were commonplace in other sectors to air cargo.

Creative and driven by an innovative spirit, Petot is the quintessential logistician and freight professional with impeccable industry credentials having spent more than six years at Air France - KLM Cargo and Martinair Cargo.

End-to-end management

CargoAi allows users to manage the entire air cargo booking process via a single tool. The online platform brings together freight forwarders, airlines and GSAs, and offers shipment quote issuing, booking and tracking.

All airlines’ schedules including cargo capacity are displayed in the application. Freight forwarders can check the flight schedules at a glance and compare rates thanks to this unique solution. CargoAi offers a range of levels of integration for airlines, from APIs to emails.

Forwarders can request quotes and make bookings via the platform. The application allows airlines and GSAs to manage all quote and booking requests in one place. The tool also provides customers with data and analytics including 3D viewing of the shipment and capacity forecasts.

Global Supply Chain engaged oneon-one with Matthieu Petot, where he spoke expansively on a wide spectrum of subjects related to the infusion of technology in the freight sector. Petot explained the role of CargoAi in the freight-technology interface.

Global Supply Chain (GSC): For those unfamiliar, what is CargoAi in a nutshell, and what are its mission statement and corporate objectives?

Matthieu Petot (MP): CargoAi is a technology company digitizing processes for Forwarders, Airlines, GSAs, TMS (Transport Management Systems) users and other players in the air cargo industry. We focus on supporting logistics players on their digital transition and offering a full toolbox that brings efficiency, capabilities and visibility and eventually fuels the profit machine.

We do this through the CargoAi flagship marketplace, but also through the rest of our portfolio, consisting of the API Suite, White Label, Business Intelligence as well as Sustainability Suite.

GSC: Why was CargoAi founded?

MP: Cargo Ai was founded with a simple mission: to bring the best available technology as well as the most efficient processes and best demonstrated practices from other industries into airfreight.

GSC: How has CargoAi performed to date since its founding?

MP: The pace of airline and forwarder adoption is well beyond business forecasts and expectations. This of course due to the pandemic-driven acceleration of all things digital, but it is also a direct result of our customer-driven product development.

At CargoAi, customer centricity is not just a buzzword but a day-to-day reality where we see improvements in workflows and larger solutions being developed because of exchanges with our customers and partners.

After the launch of the CargoAi

flagship eBooking marketplace in 2020, we have onboarded over 5,500 freight forwarders in 103 countries. Our users can book on our 63 airlines which are live in our portfolio to date.

We have become the number 1 platform in terms of airlines available for instant booking, thanks to the trust built with global airlines, but also through our strategic partnerships with the ECS Group, the leading GSA worldwide. The ECS Group has set a strong target of transitioning 25% of their bookings from manual to digital on CargoAi by the end of the year.

Besides the marketplace, we have also developed a number of other solutions for the airfreight industry. We have recently launched our API Suite product which enables direct integration of all marketplace functionalities within a forwarder operative environment. On the other side, our White label eBooking solution empowers airlines with a flexible, easyto-implement eBooking channel.

We also launched our CO2 (carbon dioxide) calculator in 2021 which lets forwarders view and select flight options the carbon dioxide emitted in mind, as well as monitor specific AWBs along with the exact carbon emissions. Sustainability is ingrained in our DNA and we are looking forward to developing the tools even further to make an impact and support freight forwarders with their carbon reductions initiatives.

GSC: What sets CargoAi apart? What are your distinctive attributes?

MP: It is interesting to see that the three marketplaces are taking very differentiated paths with their product and positioning.

One of them is going towards the eGSSA route, by building sales organisations in the market and directly competing with existing GSAs.

The other one is taking the digital forwarder route, building a customerfacing organisation who can contact directly shippers and offer them a solution to book directly with some airlines.

At CargoAi, we are focusing on making the procurement journey more efficient for freight forwarders of all sizes. For smaller

forwarders specifically, there are a lot of pain points that we set ourselves to solve due to their lack of access to airlines and we are working with our significant airline portfolio to improve this.

GSC: Tell us about the composition of the CargoAi team?

MP: We have the best team that combines many years of experiencing on the smartest technology of serverless architectures, and the best knowledge of airfreight.

GSC: Who in the logistics, supply chain and air cargo industry can use CargoAi products?

MP: With the width of our current product portfolio, Airlines, GSAs, Freight forwarders and TMS are our main customers. Of course, schedules, tracking and Business Intelligence data can vastly benefit airfreight players of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.

GSC: Tell us about your partnership with TAP (Portugal) and Etihad Airways?

MP: We welcomed TAP Cargo and Etihad Cargo as part of our live airlines approximately a year ago. Through our range of distribution solutions, we are helping these airlines realize new revenue streams, reduce costs, and capture more of the digital booking market.

The CargoAi marketplace, API Suite and White Label solutions significantly broaden the distribution and marketing horizon for cargo carriers, thereby producing a continued beneficial impact on the top and bottom lines.

GSC: How is CargoAi faring in the Middle East and how significant is the region for the brand?

MP: Since its inception, CargoAi has been a worldwide solution. It is very important for us to be developing all main airfreight markets simultaneously because our customers expect worldwide solutions, not just a quick fix that only improves workflow in a specific market.

We already have users in the marketplace and have been overly ambitious growth plans in the region by the end of the year, with major partnership announcements in the pipeline. Stay tuned!

GSC: What opportunities and challenges confront CargoAi going forward?

MP: Our mission is to connect the airfreight industry with cloud-native and API-first architecture, the best of Saas marketing technology, air freight expertise and a very pragmatic approach. This is a vast mission and one of the key challenges is to carefully select the pain points to be addressed and stay focused on executing the chosen strategy.

Thankfully, we have been able to tap into the vast and rich background of our Advisors to ensure we address the industry’s requirements from a 360 perspective.

GSC: How did CargoAi perform in the Covid-19 era (2020 / 2021) and how were your financial metrics impacted by the pandemic during the period?

MP: As it has been described by all major airfreight players, the pandemic has been a tailwind for the need to adopt digital solutions. CargoAi was born at the start of the pandemic and we can confidently say that this situation has allowed us to win several months on our financial forecast due to accelerated adoption on both airlines and forwarders side.

GSC: What is your vision for CargoAi going forward?

MP: We envision a well-connected airfreight ecosystem facilitated by the CargoAi technology and pragmatic solutions. Moving forward, we are planning not only organic growth, but also to partner up with smart solution or service providers, all of which will contribute to adding value to our customers’ supply chains.