Why Air Cargo Companies Are Turning to Outsourcing for Digital Transformation

If you’re in air cargo, you’ve likely felt the pressure to “go digital” — the faster, the better. And that’s for a reason. The entire airline industry is undergoing a tech transformation, expected to unlock nearly $45 billion in value by 2030, primarily through smarter and more efficient operations.

But here’s the thing: digital transformation in logistics isn’t easy, especially if your internal team is already stretched to the limit. That’s where outsourcing saves the day. In this post, we’ll explain why it’s the right move for air cargo companies and how it actually helps.

What’s Driving the Urgency for Digital Transformation in Air Cargo?

So, why is everyone seeking digital tools for cargo management? The answer is simple: to stay relevant. The old ways of doing things no longer work. Let’s take a closer look at what’s driving this industry-wide push.

Market Pressures Are Growing

Customers expect faster delivery and real-time updates without excuses. That’s a challenging task in an industry where delays and high fuel costs are already major headaches.

In fact, 50% of air, rail, and ocean carriers cite reducing delivery delays as their top priority, while 32% focus on cutting fuel and other operational costs. These issues aren’t going away anytime soon, and tech is increasingly seen as the core way to solve them.

The Ecosystem Is Becoming More Connected

Cargo operations go far beyond the runway. Air freight must pass through customs systems, partner networks, and last-mile delivery platforms. That means integration is a must.

Forty percent of logistics firms surveyed by S&P Global view cloud computing as the most impactful tech for supply chain digitization. This is followed by IoT and AI/ML, which are helping air cargo companies sync systems and share data in real time.

Yet, getting there requires the right architecture, and that often means partnering with outside experts. It’s no surprise that most carriers now work with a primary technology partner to lead their logistics digital strategy.

Legacy Systems Are Blocking Growth

Manual paperwork, clunky interfaces, and siloed systems don’t just slow processes down — they actively block growth. And the industry knows it.

Right now, 67% of shipping and logistics firms say they have a digital transformation strategy, and another 31% are considering one. That leaves only a tiny 3% not thinking about going digital at all. The takeaway is clear: falling behind on tech is no longer an option.

Why In-House Isn’t Always the Best Fit

Going digital sounds great until you try to build everything yourself. Doing it in-house is usually costly and slow. And talent shortages hit hard...

Here’s why building air cargo IT solutions internally isn’t always the most practical route:

• Hiring logistics-savvy engineers isn’t easy. Of course, there are plenty of talented software engineers out there. But finding ones who understand air cargo operations? That is challenging. You need experts who understand shipment tracking logic and know-how logistics ecosystems actually work.

• High development costs and slow time-to-market are a thing. Even if you do find the right in-house team, building from scratch is anything but cheap. You’re juggling salaries, benefits, infrastructure, and various other costs. And time-to-market? Spending more than 12 months on a simple internal platform can mean you’re already behind your competitors by the time you launch.

• Niche tech skills are hard to source. Digital transformation in logistics often requires very specific technical capabilities: cargo-specific APIs, real-time data sync, integration with fleet and warehouse management systems, you name it. In-house teams may simply lack that depth of experience. And training can take months.

How Outsourcing Solves These Challenges

Outsourcing software development for air cargo lets companies skip the painful parts of going digital alone. Don’t just take our word for it. Look at how it worked in our experience.

From Challenges to Innovation: The IATA Cargo Hackathon

Back in 2020, we teamed up with Air Canada for the IATA Cargo Hackathon, an event that promotes innovation in air cargo. Developers from 29 countries competed to create smarter solutions for the industry — all in just 28 hours of coding.

What did we build? AIR J.A.R.V.I.S. — an AI-powered application that predicts, prioritizes, and automatically resolves incidents in the airfreight process. Fully integrated with IATA’s ONE Record API, it provides a real-time, centralized dashboard highlighting risks, status updates, and suggestions for automation in cargo operations.

The result? Winner of the 2020 ONE Record Hackathon — and proof that bringing in the right outside team can solve highly specific, complex logistics challenges in a very short time.

Tangible Results: Air Canada’s Cargo Booking Portal

Hackathons are great for prototypes, but what about full-scale products? We also built Air Canada’s enterprise cargo booking portal, a platform that simplifies online booking, real-time tracking, and shipment management for their business customers.

As part of the project, we delivered more than just a new interface. It was a data-driven growth tool. With built-in analytics dashboards and integration into Air Canada’s legacy logistics systems, the platform gave their team insights into opportunities and ways to leverage them.

The proof of our efforts’ effectiveness is in the numbers. Over 40% of Air Canada Cargo customers switched to the new platform, choosing it over older systems like phone or email.

Why It Matters

What do these stories show? Freight and logistics outsourcing offers:

• Access to logistics-savvy talent. Our experience in air cargo led to solutions like AIR J.A.R.V.I.S. that directly addressed industry pain points — rebooking at-risk shipments.

• Faster development, lower costs. Winning the IATA Hackathon in just 28 hours proves that the right outsourcing team can build impactful solutions quickly and cost-effectively.

• Specialized technical expertise. From integrating with ONE Record APIs to connecting with legacy logistics systems, outsourcing partners offer niche skills that internal teams often lack.

In short, outsourcing brings speed, in-depth industry knowledge, and results when you need them most.

Key Solutions That Can Be Built with an Outsourcing Partner

What exactly can you build when you bring in an outsourcing partner with the right experience? Way more than just a website. Let’s look at the possible air cargo IT solutions:

• Custom cargo tracking dashboards. These offer real-time visibility into shipments, their statuses, and estimated delivery times. Even better, you can connect data from multiple sources — airlines, freight forwarders, customs — to create a single view of your operations.

• Scheduling & dispatch platforms. These can help you optimize shipment routing and handling, ultimately minimizing delays. For example, if you need automated rebooking for at-risk shipments, our platform, AIR J.A.R.V.I.S., offers just that.

• Integration with TMS/ERP systems. Siloed systems are one of the main roadblocks in your industry. Outsourcing teams can connect your cargo operations to transportation management systems (TMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, and even customs interfaces.

• Document automation for customs. Customs paperwork is a headache no one wants, but automation can make it painless. An outsourcing partner can build cloud solutions for air freight companies that generate, validate, and submit forms for customs clearance.

• AI/ML features for demand forecasting and route optimization. These let you forecast demand spikes, optimize cargo routes, and predict which shipments are at risk of delays.

Final Thoughts

Digital transformation isn’t just one of the air freight technology trends. With growing market pressures, the need to connect all your systems in one place, and ubiquitous automation, it’s the only way to stay ahead.

And by choosing freight and logistics outsourcing, you don’t have to digitize your processes alone. You can simply count on an experienced partner to modernize your operations with custom dashboards, AI/ML features, and seamless integrations.

In case you need help with that, get in touch with Integrio Systems. With our hands-on experience in the air cargo industry, we can turn your digital goals into tangible solutions.