GERMAN forwarder DB Schenker operated its own freighter network during the pandemic and decided to continue post-Covid in response to customer demand, reports London's Air Cargo News
GERMAN forwarder DB Schenker operated its own freighter network during the pandemic and decided to continue post-Covid in response to customer demand, reports London's Air Cargo News. 'There is no doubt that operating a freighter is more challenging now as air freight rates are coming down from the peak. But there is another component in offering an own-controlled capacity solution to the customer,' said DB Schenker air cargo chief Asok Kumar.
Mr Kumar said forwarders such as DB Schenker can fly into less congested secondary airports where air freight has a higher priority than at a major passenger hub, and so retain full control of the supply chain.
DB Schenker's own-network freighters were put in place primarily to meet Covid demand, and although the capacity situation has changed, Mr Kumar is convinced that the strategy should continue.
'Our customers tell us that the need to have such own-control capacity is still very relevant, not just because of access to reliable capacity and just-in-time shipments but also for just-in-case. Just in case there is another major disruption where everything goes wrong again,' he said.
'The cost of supply chain and logistics services increased dramatically during Covid, and we found that a lot of finance organisations became involved in procurement which was previously not so prevalent or apparent. Before Covid it was pretty much the logistics professionals who would do the cost analysis and everything else.
'Even if the costs have come down, many of our customers' finance organisations will still be involved in influencing, controlling and managing the process.
'It is coming very much from a cost perspective, and when you devise and re-design a supply chain solution it is not just the per kilogramme cost of the product that has to be managed, because there are a lot of other costs involved in airfreight which are not so visible,' Mr Kumar said.
'These finance professionals may not see the less obvious aspects of reinventing a supply chain. They might believe that these aspects are already factored into their decisions, but if they only focus on the cost itself, their procurement methods will be different.'
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