SmartKargo Mobility... Business Intelligence and Instant Shipment information from any device, even the Apple Watch

     When it comes to new ideas for air cargo which, in the language of pilots, “turn a Chandelle” (180 degrees) from the norm, it is fair to say that since World War II our industry has been punctuated with the hopes and dreams of some original thinkers and plenty of dreamers and doers.
      Walk around any air cargo trade show worth its salt and there is usually someone, maybe an airline or a container supply specialist, with another big idea for air cargo.
       So looking for people with a light bulb burning brightly above their head is not only great sport, but also lots of fun. Frankly, it’s the stuff of life.
      For us that moment most recently occurred when we met Milind Tavshikar, CEO and Founder of SmartKargo.
      The Monty Python TV show that segued between skits by announcing: “And now for something completely different” would love this guy, because he is unlike anyone else in air cargo.
      His original idea is so smart, it’s stupid.

He Goes Behind The Cloud

     Milind graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge with a dream of creating an innovative solution that could be a game changer in logistics.
     His team had already won the prestigious finalist Award at the MIT100K competition and received venture capital. While doing an industry scan, he quickly noticed a big gap between technology used by integrators like Fedex and airlines with a similar cargo business.
     Milind’s 10-plus years’ experience in architecting enterprise solutions like SAP for large companies was instrumental in the design of SmartKargo as an end-to-end business solution. His core skills in computer engineering coupled with his management expertise and business process knowledge was a great combination to build the product that the company envisioned. He organizes and leads a team of experts from the airline industry and takes advice from these veterans to ensure all minor details are considered.
     After a relentless 6 years of design, engineering, and testing, SmartKargo was launched in 2012. In a short span of 3.5 years, 10 major carriers around the world have deployed the solution. Deployment times have been cut by over half and end users love the interface. SmartKargo is the only solution completely ‘born on the Cloud’—thus leveraging a massive global infrastructure at a fraction of the cost—in comparison to in-house IT systems. Seamless and natural extensions like Mobility and Business Intelligence have made the product a complete and robust offering in the air cargo marketplace. 

It's About Priorities

    “Continuous and constructive innovation is a top priority,” Milind says.
     “We are constantly evaluating potential areas where technology solutions can solve the air cargo industry’s long lasting business challenges.
     “For example: if a customer finds it difficult to transmit air waybill data from a location where he does not have access to a computer, we make it available on a smartphone.
     “If he doesn’t have a smartphone, we make it available on a flip phone using SMS technology!
     “Another example: when a business leader is in a meeting room looking for data on sales for a particular sector, we make it available real-time on a iPAD.
     “And the list goes on.
     “We believe we have built SmartKargo on a technology infrastructure where ‘everything is possible’ and we want the Air Cargo industry to experience that!

”

The Big Line Up

      “SmartKargo currently provides an end-to-end air cargo software solution to more than 10 innovative, forward-looking commercial airlines and a freighter operation across the world.
      “The advanced solution provides airlines with the management of belly space in over 200 airplanes, with distribution touching about 300 airports and management of over 10 million pieces per year.”

Born On The Cloud

      “The advantages of our ‘born on the Cloud’ platform are formidable,” Milind insists.
      “I think we need to do a better job of educating the industry on what benefits this fact brings to bear on their business and operational environment.
      “Our 100% Cloud solution gives us enormous power with flexibility at a affordable price point.
      “SmartKargo has built a solution that reduces the learning curve and time to market.
      “A technology solution that creates business opportunities and increases efficiencies has to be a winner.
      “No existing cargo solution does all that SmartKargo does: comprehensive functionality from shipper to recipient; management reporting and business intelligence built in ‘Big Data’ strength; and robust mobile apps—helping carriers meet the requirements inherent in e-Commerce. Cloud architecture means that no upfront hardware investment is required by the client.
      “We also realize we are in an industry where solutions built before I was born are still running in production environments. Our system currently speaks to the legendary BA80 with the same level of ease as it can transmit a cXML message to a newer partner system. That is the beauty of a cloud environment that has it all! This is only one of the reasons the industry should embrace SmartKargo,” he says.

No Money Down

      “Fast integrations, with ease of use and training for frontline agents, relieves the burden of resource allocation for the carriers.
      “Our support and service is unmatched, and the simplicity and power of the SmartKargo solution minimizes the need for carrier allocations of IT staff, which is a huge issue in the cargo business. As you are aware, the needs of the Cargo business often take a backseat to the IT demands and priorities of the passenger business.
      “In comparison, it takes at least four or more years to design and develop a cargo management solution for an airline if they decide to do it in-house. “The sunk cost of programming and hardware alone will be upwards of double-digit million dollars.”

Upgrades Easy Peasy

      “Maintenance and upgrades for a complex cargo management solution is a huge issue for our competitors, as they are not a ‘born on the Cloud’ system. A client-server architecture sitting behind corporate firewalls can take an enormous effort to keep up to date, putting operational strain on the business and customer, not to mention employee relations. Realities and timelines don’t often match the promise of the slick brochures. Our Cloud-based system however, is built to mitigate this challenge.
      “The extensive amount of configuration options in the SmartKargo Cloud platform make each customer unique, but also, at the same time, the same!”

Innovation Has A New IT Address

      “While our focus is on fast and solid implementations for our customers, it should be noted that the Cloud design enables adaptability and innovation. For example, we have recently deployed an ‘Uber-like’ solution that covers first mile and last mile services for air cargo movement, and are creating a technology backbone that can be of immense value to e-Commerce companies that need speed-to-market for new products and services.
      “Our customers can now seamlessly connect and communicate with each other, thus opening up new routes and business lanes that they never imagined were an option. It’s all about adding incremental revenue without adding cost!”      

SmartKargo executives, (l to r)—Jay Shelat, Milind Tavshikar and Vladimir Camacho.

When It Comes To Customers, We Listen