THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
PayCargo, a US-based rapidly growing online payment platform for the shipping and cargo industry, has entered into a partnership with IBS Software that will broaden its digital payment network and enable carriers and ground handling companies to digitalize and simplify their payment systems with a substantial reduction in manual efforts.
The integration with IBS Software’s world leading industry platform – iCargo – will help PayCargo streamline its operations and bring added value to its vendor base through more streamlined operations. The move will be particularly helpful to PayCargo in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in view of the growing necessity for work-from-home culture and a soaring demand for reliable online freight payment platform solution.
The partnership is part of PayCargo’s continued focus on collaborations and partnerships with other supply chain stakeholders. It will enable both IBS Software and PayCargo to position themselves as the most trusted digital platforms in their respective areas within the industry. For IBS Software, a leading SaaS provider of core IT platforms for the air freight industry, the partnership is part of its ongoing initiatives to enable rapid adoption of digitalization for its customers, including many of the world’s largest airlines and cargo ground handlers.
“The integration with IBS Software continues our philosophy of collaborating with industry partners to facilitate the expeditious release of shipments,” said Lionel van der Walt, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) The Americas at PayCargo LLC.
“Integration with our airline and ground handler vendors’ operational system partners makes sense as it enables their staff to expedite the release of cargo without the need for accessing multiple systems and automates data flows to save time and avoid costly human errors,” he added.
This has become even more relevant as the global cargo and shipping supply chain has been witnessing phenomenal changes in the way it does business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the majority of employees now working from home. As social distancing has become part of the global policy to halt the spread of the pandemic, using cash, checks, vouchers and traditional POS terminals has become unsuitable while the need for contactless processes, such as digital payments, has become a sheer imperative.
“COVID-19 is expediting digital transformation across the air cargo industry and PayCargo is working with partners such as IBS Software to lead the delivery of meaningful solutions to help the industry weather the storm,” said van der Walt. “Our online payment platform is proving to be valuable to stakeholders as it is helping drive transparency, cost efficiency and boosting operational performance.”
He added: “PayCargo is pleased to collaborate with IBS Software to drive such digital change in the air cargo industry. This is much needed and critical to the success of the transformation that is essential to secure the future of the industry.”
Ashok Rajan, Senior VP & Head of Cargo & Logistics, IBS Software, said, “The air cargo industry has been traditionally seen as a laggard in adoption of innovative technology, but this is poised to change significantly. The demand for faster, more reliable and more transparent supply chains is increasing at a never before pace and digitalization is the key to unlock huge potential for every party in the supply chain.”
“IBS software has been working towards this by investing into the iCargo platform to create an ‘ecosystem of digital extensions’ by partnering with specialist providers to enable our customers to seamlessly adopt digital processes and capabilities to their businesses,” he added.
“Digitalization in the payments and settlement process will enable cargo carriers, cargo ground handling companies as well as freight forwarders to improve cash collection, reduce manual effort and make the overall process more transparent and streamlined. This is especially proving to be a major enabler in the context of COVID-19 that has mandated companies to think outside the box to make their process ‘touch-free’ – a trend, which will accelerate adoption of innovative technology.”
“We are very happy to partner with PayCargo in the area of digital payments and settlements to make such capabilities easily accessible to our customers,” Ashok added.
