China to adopt use of electronic air waybills

It has recently been announced, during the sixth Air Cargo China exhibition and conference held in Shanghai between June 17th and June 19th, that the Chinese industry will need to adopt the use of electronic air waybills (e-AWB) in the near future. Newly appointed Global Head of Cargo, Glyn Hughes, has said: “e-AWB is something the Chinese air cargo market needs to know more about, and implement in the future, in order to catch up with the rest of the world.”

Executive President of AirBridge-Cargo Airlines, Denis Ilin, has appeared enthusiastic and positive regarding the imminent take-up of the electronic replacement by the Chinese industry, to which he commented: “Companies will enter this process because it is quicker and more profitable way of doing business. Customer, shippers and forwarders will work in this harmonised, digitised approach, as it is a beneficial process for everyone if used in the right way and convenient for the customer.”

Many view the e-AWB as a way of streamlining, eliminating the need for labour intensive paper-based processes. Ilin has also commented to say that streamlining is needed within the supply chain to help carriers meet their delivery times as easily as possible.