SHIPPING cargo in the Gulf states achieved a milestone recently when two local freight carriers communicated using electronic data interchange (EDI).
Dubai Express and DNATA World Cargo were the first of 25 agents in the Gulf who are plugged into the Cargo Community System (CCS), dubbed Equation, using software called EAST.
Equation allows cargo agents to track consignments electronically from dispatch through to the final delivery using EDI.
Cargo agents who have used the system predict that it will change the way the Gulf's cargo community does business, streamlining cargo operations.
The CCS connects Dubai's cargo agents to the Dubai Air Cargo System at the Dubai cargo village and to the host systems of Emirates, British Airways and Singapore Airlines, enabling cargo agents to request and book space, obtain air waybill numbers from DNATA and print air waybills in their own offices.
Equation will be launched in phases. In the next stage, several more airlines who have undergone technical testing and commercial discussions will come on line. They will then be connected to banks, Dubai Customs and the Dubai Ports Authority.
