CARGO 2000 FAILS TO IMPLEMENT TECHNOLOGY PLAN

CARGO 2000 FAILS TO IMPLEMENT TECHNOLOGY PLAN

CARGO 2000 FAILS TO IMPLEMENT TECHNOLOGY PLAN

   Cargo 2000, the interest group of 36 leading cargo airlines and forwarders,
has decided to scrap its plan for developing a standard information technology network to
link the air cargo industry.
   Cargo 2000 members had expected to pick at a meeting next month an IT vendor
(either Unisys or Britain’s Syntegra) to develop a "common data management
platform." But the group’s technical sub-committee has recommended that Cargo
2000 "should not dictate an information technology solution to members, rather it
should encourage them to focus on opportunities to take cost out of the system by
implementing the common standards set out in the (master operating plan) and by using the
Internet as the communications platform."
   Cargo 2000 said it now wants to act as "a standards certification agency
for the air freight industry." The group plans to set membership criteria, to monitor
implementation and to certify carriers and forwarders that comply with the group’s
service standards.
   Although Syntegra and Unisys "demonstrated that they could provide the
technology we were looking for, a single source solution to the CDMP was not in the group’s
best interest, as it would have slowed members down," said Jim Hartigan, Cargo 2000
chairman and vice president of cargo for United Airlines. "A multi-phase solution
that enabled members to move at Internet speed was preferable."
   Formed under the auspices of the International Air Transport Association,
Cargo 2000 has been working for three years to help airlines and forwarders share shipping
data and speed the flow of air freight. Cargo 2000 members said a standard IT system would
give them a competitive weapon against the international freight services offered by
integrated carriers, such as Federal Express and United Parcel Service.