Today’s transportation professionals don’t have time to waste in a competitive transportation landscape. With more options than ever, transportation professionals are constantly searching for faster, more reliable options.
Yet despite this demand for urgency, shippers and freight forwarders can’t avoid certain crises. For example, an aircraft on the ground (AOG) crisis presents unavoidable hassles and slowdowns for transportation professionals using airfreight. Without the parts on-hand to repair planes and get freight in the air, transportation professionals will likely see considerable costs to both reputations and the bottom line from AOG crises.
However, transportation professionals can ensure resilience in high-stakes transportation scenarios by getting ahead of AOG and partnering with a provider of expedited airfreight recovery. Expedited airfreight trucking, paired with the latest transportation management technology, helps transportation professionals connect parts to planes as quickly as possible. With expedited air freight recovery from Carrier911, today’s transportation professionals can surmount the insurmountable slowdowns caused by AOG and keep high-stakes airfreight on track.
Airfreight trucking transports cargo to and from airports or logistics hubs. It involves moving freight to an aircraft before departure or delivering it to the next destination after arrival. Airfreight trucking recovery involves expedited airfreight pickup and delivery when a disruption has occurred that has made the situation urgent. An example may be a truck delivering needed parts to an AOG that needs maintenance, repair, or overhaul (MRO). Maintenance teams need parts as quickly as possible in a high-stakes AOG situation.
Standard, par-for-the-course service is perfectly fine in many areas of life. AOG crises are not one of them. When airfreight emergencies occur, freight forwarders need fast, reliable solutions. Anything less than working with experts may lead to dire consequences, including lost revenue, upset customers and logistics partners, and a battered reputation. Let’s dive into three of the biggest challenges magnified by not seeking a recovery partner with a proven track record of success in conquering unique obstacles.
The black box in an aircraft is vital for authorities to study after a crash to determine what went wrong. Similarly, in airfreight trucking and recovery, not having visibility until well after a disruption is much too late. Without real-time information on the status of a shipment after an AOG situation, time is lost due to countless emails and calls as stakeholders struggle to procure an accurate ETA and find the driver’s current location and shipment status.
Exchanging those insights with stakeholders is essential but only valuable if that information is current. Even if the rescued shipment gets delivered on time, partners frustrated by a lack of visibility might lose trust in you and look for another partner for future rescue operations. Without constant, easy-to-access visibility, stakeholders struggle to coordinate, and further disruptions after an AOG may make an on-time delivery almost impossible. The lack of transparency often means missed opportunities and unhappy customers.
Working with carriers that offer only limited capacity is asking for trouble in recovery operations. The chances of a successful recovery plummet when dealing with partners limited to regional capacity instead of nationwide access. AOG problems can occur anytime, anywhere, and there will be few options if there isn’t on-demand national capacity.
Counting on airfreight trucking carriers that aren’t reliable means you could be left without options when you need them the most. Will they be there for you if a crisis occurs at 11:30 p.m. midweek on a rainy night? Will enough trucks and drivers be available to deliver the needed part quickly? Limited capacity may mean serious consequences, including delayed recovery efforts, increased costs, and plunging customer satisfaction.
Transporting and recovering airfreight is time-consuming and complex if an air cargo trucking recovery carrier does not have the experience and efficient practices to deal with the legal and documentation processes. In a situation where time is already critical, the risk of delays compounds when crossing international borders. Recovery companies can’t just show up to recover the cargo and expect it to be released instantly. They must have all documentation ready, including invoices, a bill of lading, import/export licenses, customs documents, insurance proof, and inspection certifications.
Freight forwarders and carriers must also comply with all licensing, regulatory, insurance, and safety standards to retrieve the cargo and continue recovery operations. And in the high-stakes airfreight industry, there are often updated guidelines that all employees must be up to date on. Using slow, manual processes rather than automation may also lead to sloppy work when time is of the essence, making an already challenging situation worse after an AOG crisis.
When a grounded aircraft has jeopardized air cargo delivery, you need more than just run-of-the-mill recovery options to handle the problem and get the situation back on track. Experts must offer knowledge and urgent solutions to ensure the expedited recovery goes off without a hitch. Here are three factors that make top recovery carriers stand out.
The “black box” shouldn’t be an issue in air cargo recovery operations. It’s now commonplace to shed some light on the situation and provide real-time visibility. All parties need to know how the shipment is coming along at all times, and should expect to see the freight’s current condition, the drivers’ precise location, and an accurate ETA. Real-time visibility allows stakeholders to be on the same page, share open lines of communication, and be alerted if there are more disruptions.
An AOG situation has already heightened the risk of delays and dissatisfaction. Any other glitches may mean a loss of revenue and reputation as partners and customers move on to a recovery company that provides the end-to-end visibility they crave. With current software technology, there’s no longer an excuse to have a recovery operation cloaked in a cloud of uncertainty that dissolves trust. Transparent insights into the shipment status are necessary, from when airfreight trucking providers start the rescue mission to the final mile.
An AOG scenario is possible anywhere at an airport or logistics hub. In these situations, having nationwide, on-demand capacity is required for time-sensitive MRO. The shipment may also require special care, such as security, tracking devices, and refrigeration. Having the proper capacity ensures that all conditions are met to deliver the freight as safely and cost-effectively as possible. When an AOG puts a high-value shipment behind schedule, transportation professionals must have on-demand access to flexible capacity nationwide.
An expert air cargo recovery team should be able to follow all legal requirements and have all of the required paperwork and documentation ready to go when they reach the logistics hub or airport to rescue the freight. Using transportation management system software such as Turvo’s Integration Hub incorporates streamlined documentation that is user-friendly and instantly sharable across all transportation nodes. Implementing automated processes provides visibility and is a massive improvement over past times of frantically trying to call and email, often leading to confusion, more delays, and paperwork mistakes. A grounded aircraft reduces the margin of error in recovery operations, and utilizing robust software streamlines the process to avoid any more disruptions.
An AOG freight crisis is never good news. But it’s how you react to the adversity of an AOG that counts to determine if it will be a successful delivery or a nightmare that leaves everyone wondering what went wrong. With real-time visibility, robust capacity, and streamlined software, freight forwarders and carriers can work together to resolve AOG crises and get everything up and running again.
When facing high-stakes AOG, today’s transportation professionals need airfreight recovery they can trust. With Carrier911, transportation professionals can access the airfreight recovery they need, as well as a vital range of airfreight recovery assets:
Carrier911 provides an invaluable lifeline for today’s transportation professionals in high-stakes airfreight emergencies. If optimized airfreight recovery sounds right for your business, contact Carrier911 today to schedule a demo.
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