 Board Member Products & Sales of Lufthansa Cargo AG Dr. Alexis von Hoensbroech left no doubt of his top priorities for Lufthansa Cargo when speaking to FlyingTypers last week.
“For us, the most important issue is to get back to growth.
“The last few months have been rather disappointing, demand in the most important airfreight markets being very sluggish.
“Lufthansa Cargo has felt this noticeably.
“We want to reverse this development and are working very hard to offer our customers an even better service.
“And, of course, we want to successfully launch our new pricing structure.
“I strongly believe that we are well prepared to offer our customers a good price model that will make us easier, less complicated, and, above all, faster.”
The Price Is Right
“The switch to a new price system is—alongside our hard daily work on the market—clearly the dominating topic for our sales team.
“After all, we want everything to work smoothly and perfectly by October 25, the changeover date.”
Focus Activity
“Moreover, we are naturally also working on longer-term issues, especially in the context of our future strategy of ‘Lufthansa Cargo 2020.’
“One of our goals is to present a further cooperation partner this year.
“The cooperation with our first partner, ANA, is going very well, and I see a lot of potential in such cooperations.
“As for our freighter fleet, it is now well-positioned with currently five B777Fs and 14 operative MD-11s.
“In addition, we still have five B777F options, which we will decide on in due course.
“As is well-known, we postponed the decision to build a new logistics center in Frankfurt earlier this year.
“But in the interim we will of course keep working on our processes at the Lufthansa Cargo Center, investing in speed and quality.”
Growing Product Line
“Our product portfolio has grown exponentially during recent years. Lufthansa Cargo now offers a repair service for dangerous goods, which will save our customers time and trouble if DGR cargo is not delivered to us in an airworthy condition.
“Additionally, we now offer a door to-door service for perishables utilizing a vacuum cooler.
“There is even something new for man’s best friend: Lufthansa’s Pet Premium Service.
“Excellent service coupled with cutting-edge innovation is the result of constant streamlining and simplification.
“We intend to remain number one in service quality, and are constantly working on improving and expanding our services.”
Fresh As Listerine
Earlier this year Dr. Alexis von Hoensbroech burst upon the air cargo scene, fresh as Listerine, and then appeared at the big Air Cargo Europe gathering in May with a stunningly simple, understated approach to a business he admittedly was learning about on the job.
But in this case, the rookie spoke to the veterans with the fresh perspective and keen, intuitive insight the air cargo industry desperately needed.
“I came to air cargo from the passenger side of the business, whichis highly digitalized today,” Dr. Alexis said in Munich this past May.
“Access to the passenger process is vast, from smart phones to computers, and provides real time transparency in a seamless fashion, and in an instant.
“I recall working on a project 15 years ago that prioritized digitalization for air cargo.
“It is apparent that today, nearly a decade and a half later, we have not moved far enough with that process.
“So while there are several initiatives today—including these IT sessions at Air Cargo Europe—my take is that it is really time for air cargo to move on into the new century and embrace a digital solution.
“Put another way—if we don’t do it then others will do it for us.”
Makes A House Call
There were lots of words and speeches and big thoughts this past May at Air Cargo Europe. After Dr. Alexis’s appearance, we walked away from the conference thinking air cargo had finally found a doctor who made house calls, delivering the medicine of clear thinking and new ideas right into air cargo’s home.
Since that time Dr. Alexis has received consistently high marks from the shipping and airline community for his direct person-to-person approach.
“He is a good listener,” is a comment we hear quite often.
“Alexis is very smart but always wiling to hear new ideas and to also deal with challenges,” is another.
“The air cargo world was totally new to me eight months ago,” Dr. Alexis said.
“It was very exciting to dive into this world and get to know the people and companies.
“I am really amazed about the spirit and enthusiasm of the people working in this industry.
“It became clear very fast: This is not a box and container industry, this is a people business!”
Sail On, Sailor
We wonder eight months in, if Alexis had it to do all over, would he accept his current post again?
“Absolutely!
“For me it is a fantastic opportunity to work in a new industry with a great team, and to contribute to our future!
“It is clearly not easy given the current market environment and the competitive situation.
“But it is like in sailing: ‘Sailing in sunny weather looks nice, but sailing in the storm is where you can really make a difference.’
“And it is also more fun!”
The Road Ahead
“The companies in this industry do a great job in facilitating the flow of goods around the world.
“However, as I have said, our processes are still pretty manual and paper based.
“If we want to keep up with the developments of our shippers and at the integrators, we need to push digitalization at all levels.
“This will make us all more efficient, enable us to meet the data demand of our customers and increase the quality in the transportation chain.
“With our strategic eCargo program, we want to drive this change.
“Our future will not only depend on our ability to manage the flow of goods but also on our ability to enable the parallel flow of data.”
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Dr. Alexis shared some thoughts about this special, albeit fleeting time of year, noting, “2015 has been a summer of contrasts.”
“First I spent one week in Iceland with my wife: wonderful scenery and lots of outdoor activities—just perfect for relaxing.
“As a contrast, we then went to Spain together with all four kids: the ideal summer vacation destination for the whole family.”
Geoffrey Arend |
