Setting online booking trends: cargo.one leads implementation of Auto Assigned AWBs with Lufthansa Cargo to optimize booking success for freight forwarders 

Driving booking success: cargo.one users can now book with Lufthansa Cargo without an Air Waybill stock by simply having one auto-assigned within their booking confirmation

 Lufthansa Cargo and cargo.one today launched a joint innovation that removes the prerequisite for freight forwarders to hold valid Air Waybill (AWB) stock before making an air cargo booking. As part of a seamless booking experience, cargo.one users can now book Lufthansa Cargo’s extensive global capacities and have an AWB automatically assigned. The benefits include an even quicker booking time and less booking errors, and is an example of driving new standards for airlines in customer-centric digital distribution.

For decades, the progression of an air cargo booking has relied upon the manual allocation of an AWB number - a process designed to reflect the paperwork of the past. If a freight forwarder runs out of AWBs, the time needed to request these from an airline will prevent them booking, and can cause a loss of business. Dealing with AWB stock requires efforts for both forwarders and airlines alike. 

From today, cargo.one rolls out Auto Assigned AWBs with Lufthansa Cargo as its launch partner. Freight forwarders using cargo.one to book shipments with Lufthansa Cargo can book immediately without needing to find a valid AWB number first, although they can choose to still enter one manually. The user can simply click “Book Now” for any of Lufthansa Cargo’s offers, and an AWB is automatically assigned. Put simply, Auto Assigned AWBs with cargo.one now makes booking air cargo even easier than booking a passenger flight.

Ashwin Bhat, Chief Commercial Officer of Lufthansa Cargo, comments, “At Lufthansa Cargo we are committed to finding new ways to drive our digital user experience across all of our distribution channels. Launching automatic assignment of Air Waybills with cargo.one is exactly the type of feature that helps us to differentiate in our digital journey and deliver freight forwarders the best possible outcomes and enhance their experience with Lufthansa Cargo.”

Oliver T. Neumann, Founder & Co-CEO of cargo.one, said, “Users love cargo.one because it’s super easy to use, accurate and simple. Removing the pesky copy-pasting of AWB numbers makes booking simpler, faster and removes a source of errors. A small improvement with a big impact on our forwarders’ daily work.” 

In analyzing the concern for freight forwarders, a study by cargo.one of users that incurred AWB issues during the past year revealed that 55% had run out of stock. A further 33% had experienced delays with their own AWB stock management, and 12% had experienced an AWB validity failure. 

Auto Assigned AWBs is a strong example of the efficiency advantages that a digital booking infrastructure delivers to forwarders. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, cargo.one has seen a surge in digital adoption from freight forwarders worldwide and growing demand for digital-first processes.

Lufthansa Cargo is the first of cargo.one’s airline partners to facilitate Auto Assigned AWBs in bookings - now available free of charge for all the airline’s worldwide capacities.