Air freight capacity at the push of a button: DB Schenker establishes digital connection to more than 50 airlines

Ahead of the expected annual peak season in air transport, DB Schenker has chosen cargo.one to digitally connect with dozens more airlines from across the globe. The collaboration enhances the global logistics service provider’s portfolio of live capacity access from nine originally to over 50 airlines in total. From now on, DB Schenker can better identify suitable capacities and fitting rates for ad-hoc shipments of its customers.

Thorsten Meincke, Global Board Member for Air & Ocean Freight, DB Schenker: “We continue to digitalize transportation by establishing solutions that are highly demanded on the market. By boosting our access to available airline capacities, we save time for our customers and make processes faster, smoother, and more efficient for them. cargo.one is the perfect fit for this endeavor as they bring profound expertise in managing the massive amount of real-time data to the game.”

Christa Koenen, Global Board Member for Information Technology and Digitalization (CIO/CDO), DB Schenker: “Every day we strive to lead the digitalization of the freight forwarding industry. With more than 150 years of business expertise, we aim to choose the ideal external providers to build up new options based on innovation and technology. Efficiency gains accomplished through IT help to make the entire logistics industry more resource efficient. The more carriers DB Schenker connects to digitally, and thus automates and optimizes processes, the better the final choice for our customers will be. The concept is comparable with automated last-minute deals from airlines or travel agents.”

Moritz Claussen, Founder and Co-CEO, cargo.one: “DB Schenker has chosen cargo.one to further speed up its path to powerful digital transformation. We are thrilled to provide a state-of-the-art air freight procurement platform that boosts efficiency, accuracy, and user-friendliness for our new partner. With cargo.one’s top-tier infrastructure, DB Schenker can elevate customer satisfaction and sharpen its competitive edge.”

The demand for rapid short-dated sourcing of air freight capacities and market prices has grown in relevance as global supply chain disruptions have become a normality and e-commerce demand for air transport keeps rising. Therefore, since 2022, DB Schenker has established direct API interfaces with nine airlines from Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia.

Scaling up capabilities to maximize efficiencies

Now DB Schenker has decided to partner with cargo.one, a market-leading air freight procurement technology provider. It acts as a digital connector between airlines and freight forwarders. With the new collaboration, DB Schenker receives access to seamlessly book with over 50 airlines in total and will benefit from cargo.one’s continuous carrier growth.

DB Schenker’s digital infrastructure for air freight draws on an integrated landscape of six systems. For customers, all processes are bundled in DB SCHENKER connect to receive rate offers and see the latest status updates of their shipments. The new additional choice of spot capacities and trade lanes is available immediately and without any changes to the familiar customer interface.