Cargowise: The AI Opportunity Air Cargo Cannot Afford to Miss Starts With Better Data.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Artificial intelligence may promise faster decisions, better shipment visibility and fewer manual tasks, but air cargo companies face a more basic challenge before those gains can be realised: fragmented and inconsistent data.

Shipment information is still created, copied and exchanged by airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers, technology providers and customers using different systems. Every manual entry, translation or reconciliation creates another opportunity for errors.

As AI adoption accelerates across global supply chains, that weakness is becoming harder to ignore. An intelligent system working with conflicting shipment records is like an air traffic controller receiving several versions of the same flight plan.

For decades, air cargo stakeholders have exchanged Master and House Air Waybill information through messaging standards such as FWB and FHL. Separate copies of the same shipment data are commonly held across several systems.

Elias Hatzigeorgiou, Senior Product Manager at WiseTech Global, said the fragmented structure allows discrepancies to emerge whenever information moves between parties.

The consequences include increased manual reconciliation, weaker visibility and operational resources being diverted from the physical cargo journey.

Air cargo has already made significant progress through electronic Air Waybills, digital booking tools, tracking platforms and automated workflows. However, the expanding digital footprint has also increased the volume of information shared across the supply chain.

More data does not automatically mean better data.

The International Air Transport Association developed ONE Record to provide a secure and standardised framework for accessing air cargo shipment information.

Unlike traditional messaging systems, ONE Record does not create another central platform or database. Shipment data remains with its original source and is made available to authorised partners through a consistent data model.

The approach is intended to reduce duplicate records, improve transparency and strengthen data security while creating a more dependable foundation for automation.

WiseTech recently announced a large scale production implementation of ONE Record with Lufthansa Cargo and IBS Software.

The project focused on Master Air Waybill data. A shipment record created directly in the CargoWise platform was made accessible to Lufthansa Cargo through the ONE Record standard, demonstrating how forwarders, airlines and technology companies can work from consistent information.

Dr. Jasmin Kaiser, Head of Information Management and Chief Data Officer at Lufthansa Cargo, said the production connection would support faster links with customers and partners while preparing the business for additional digital and AI powered services.

Jonathan Parkinson, Head of Cargo Digitalization at IATA, described the implementation as a major milestone because it moved ONE Record beyond pilot projects and into production at scale.

Artificial intelligence and generative AI rank among the highest digital investment priorities for supply chain leaders, according to Gartner.

Applications already include predictive visibility, document processing, customer service, exception management and earlier identification of operational risks. Research cited by WiseTech indicates that companies deploying AI across supply chains have reported service level improvements of up to 65%.

Those gains depend on the information supplied to the technology.

Hatzigeorgiou said AI could improve estimated arrival times, identify disruptions and support better operational decisions only when shipment information was complete and trusted.

Where data remains fragmented, automation may simply accelerate the processing of incorrect information. A standardised shipment record therefore becomes more than an information technology improvement. It becomes the foundation on which air cargo’s AI ambitions either advance or fail.