C2K to begin revision of door-to-door standards

More than 60 technical and operational managers took part in a meeting of C2K’s (Cargo 2000) technical working group last week as part of a drive to implement new quality standards for the air cargo industry. The group met in Vienna, Austria, to finalize C2K’s revised airport-to-airport specification and kick-start a revision of its door-to-door (D2D) process definitions.

C2K’s audit and certification program is also being refreshed by the group, ready for a re-launch next year.

Ariaen Zimmerman, executive director C2K, said the technical working group has “taken some important steps” to improve air cargo processes and added that C2K is “in a strong position to embark on a more detailed revision and update of our current audit and certification program to ensure it is robust.”

At the Vienna meeting, C2K members addressed the final post-implementation issues of the new airport-to-airport specification, which defines the standard processes for movements, at air-waybill (AWB) level – from airport at origin to airport at destination – that have been adopted by airlines, forwarders and ground handlers.

C2K can now move forward with a revision of its D2D specification, which defines standard processes, at house-AWB level, for all D2D movements adopted by forwarders and trucking companies in the group.

A new D2D task force – including forwarders, IT companies and airlines – will begin revising the specification immediately and will hold its first official meeting this month in Frankfurt.

The C2K technical working group is also identifying ways to add information to the data it captures in order to measure and report new key performance indicators for the industry. The group is developing an implementation plan for this smart-data project, which is expected to be rolled out next year.

Most of the C2K projects and activities are planned for implementation in 2016, with the D2D specification due for formal adoption in 2017, the group said.