Air Service Center consolidates shipments in Frankfurt
Airfreight customers benefit from monthly flight plans with fixed capacities and rates.
Reliable, quick and flexible – this is how Antonio Velasco and his team sum up the service provided by a. hartrodt's Air Service Center (ASC) at Europe's largest cargo airport in Frankfurt. The Manager Air Service Center is responsible for the consolidation department, "the heart of airfreight". This is where a. hartrodt loads almost 80 percent of all shipments from Germany to around 70 destinations worldwide. Cargo arrives overnight at the ASC warehouse from all of the company's own German stations, where it is consolidated by destination. "We take care of the operational handling until arrival at the airport of destination," says Antonio Velasco.
CargoCity South: Own warehouse working around the clock
The ASC prepares a monthly flight schedule with fixed capacities and rates. Via a standardized Transport Management System, the stations of a. hartrodt Germany have access to this schedule and can book shipments. "The ASC operates like an airline," says Antonio Velasco. The 5,500 square meter warehouse in CargoCity South is open around the clock. According to the manager, the main handling days are Friday to Sunday.
Customers get attractive prices
"By consolidating the shipments, we achieve better purchase rates due to higher volumes," explains Nadine Wild, Manager Pricing & Procurement Airfreight. On many routes, a. hartrodt builds its own aircraft pallets, which usually go all the way through to the warehouse at the destination. Australia, for example: In Sydney and Melbourne, a. hartrodt also dismantles the airfreight pallets in its own bonded warehouses. "This gives importers a price advantage compared to loose freight," says Nadine Wild. The transit time to the airport of destination is usually two to four days – whether from Frankfurt to Latin/North America, Africa and the Middle East, Asia or Oceania.
The ASC works closely with a. hartrodt's German branches of, as well as "with our companies or agents abroad," says Antonio Velasco. He puts the average monthly turnover at 600 tons and 3,000 shipments.