Qatar Airways Cargo the first in the industry to introduce a fully automated mail management system

Qatar Airways Cargo the first in the industry to introduce a fully automated mail management system

  • The cargo carrier is the first in the industry to fully automate its mail management system
  • Descartes Velocity Mail (vMail™) has been fully integrated within the cargo carrier’s management information system CROAMIS

DOHA, Qatar, 2018-Oct-31 — /Travel PR News/ — Qatar Airways Cargo has rolled out an automated mail management system at more than 50 stations across its global network, making it the first in the industry to introduce this major enhancement to its business. The cargo carrier has also signed an agreement with leading logistics solutions-provider Descartes, and integrated its Descartes vMail™ solution with its in-house cargo management information system, Cargo Reservations, Operations, Accounting and Management Information Systems (CROAMIS) for electronic data interchange messaging.

Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo, Mr. Guillaume Halleux, said: “The roll out of the automated mail management system across several destinations in our network will immensely benefit our customers and the flourishing e-commerce business. Our dedicated teams have been working hard for months to ensure the seamless integration and interface between the two data-heavy systems, Descartes vMail™ and our in-house CROAMIS system. This is certainly a game-changer in the industry as we move forward with our automation and digitalisation initiatives that not only enhance the customer experience, but also demonstrate our contribution to the environment by implementing 100 per cent paperless operations.”

Vice President of Network Integration Strategy at Descartes, Mr. Jos Nuijten, said: “We are excited that Descartes vMail™ is helping Qatar Airways Cargo to fully automate mail management. As international e-commerce growth continues to increase demand for air mail transportation, our technology improves operational productivity and provides greater visibility essential to transforming the customer experience.”

The Descartes vMail™ team provides support to each of the cargo carrier’s stations on demand 24 hours a day. This seamless integration enables the complete automation of the airmail logistics chain from origin, through to the hub and onto the final destination, making manual entries a thing of the past. With more than 100 tonnes of international airmail transiting daily through the carrier’s dedicated Airmail Unit at Hamad International Airport in Doha, this major enhancement to its QR Mail product has greatly increased efficiency and provides unrivalled quality, end-to-end transparency, accuracy and accelerates the physical flow of airmail, while keeping the entire process paperless. Other benefits include easy billing, robust revenue accounting and real-time track and trace of mail consignments. In the coming months, Qatar Airways Cargo will be rolling out the automated mail management system to more stations in its global network.

QR Mail is a specialist product within airline’s cargo product portfolio, providing premium service offerings for airmail transportation to global postal and e-commerce operators through an extensive network. Qatar Airways Cargo has been equipping its network with electronic data interchange capability since October 2017, starting with the exchanges of CARDIT and RESDIT messages between postal entities and the airline. These system-embedded messages allow both parties to exchange handover and acknowledgement notifications of each mail item handled. In less than a year, Qatar Airways Cargo has managed to provide airmail EDI capability to more than 50 stations throughout its network.

The dedicated Airmail Unit at the carrier’s hub in Doha has a daily mail handling capacity of 500 tonnes with promising prospects of becoming semi-automated in the near future. This semi-automation will enable increased efficiency in the sorting and handling of postal units allowing the airline to achieve accelerated turnaround times.

The cargo carrier’s airmail transport tonnage has increased by 40 per cent in 2017-18 compared to 2016-17, with more than 100 tonnes of international airmail now transiting daily through its Doha hub. The cargo carrier received two Boeing 777 freighters last month, and thanks to these product enhancements, fleet expansion, a global network and cargo revenue and tonnages rising each year, Qatar Airways Cargo is now the world’s second largest cargo carrier.

About Descartes:

Descartes (Nasdaq:DSGX) (TSX:DSG) is the global leader in providing on-demand, software-as-a-service solutions focused on improving the productivity, performance and security of logistics-intensive businesses. Customers use its modular, software-as-a-service solutions to route, schedule, track and measure delivery resources; plan, allocate and execute shipments; rate, audit and pay transportation invoices; access global trade data; file customs and security documents for imports and exports; and complete numerous other logistics processes by participating in the world’s largest, collaborative multimodal logistics community. www.descartes.com

Notes to Editors:

About Qatar Airways: 

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating more than 20 years of Going Places Together with travellers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world’s fastest-growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2018, including Gothenburg, Sweden; Da Nang, Vietnam; Mombasa, Kenya and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Business Class’ by the 2018 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Business Class Seat,’ ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.

Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system offers passengers up to 4,000 entertainment options from the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the award-winning airline’s on-board Wi-Fi and GSM service.

Qatar Airways proudly supports a range of exciting international and local initiatives dedicated to enriching the global community that it serves. Qatar Airways, the official FIFA partner, is the official sponsor of many top-level sporting events, including the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cups, reflecting the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s own brand message – Going Places Together.

Qatar Airways Cargo, one of the world’s leading international air cargo carriers, serves more than 60 freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally on more than 200 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes two Boeing 747-8 freighters, 15 Boeing 777 freighters and eight Airbus A330 freighters.

For further information, please contact:

Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 4022 2200
Email: qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa

Source: Qatar Airways

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