The tripartite arrangement means that DHL Global Forwarding and DSV now have visibility and access to Cathay Cargo’s schedules, capacity and booking within CargoWise, which works with 24 of the 25 largest global freight forwarders.

The data integration with CargoWise, and its direct links with other forwarders, is part of Cathay Cargo’s promise to improve customer-centricity and exemplifies its continuing digital strategy to strengthen its customer experience at every touchpoint. Cathay Cargo’s API connection to CargoWise, was designed by its innovation partner, Global Logistics System (HK) Company Limited (GLS), which also designed Cathay Cargo’s Click & Ship booking platform and other industry-leading digitalisation projects.

Cathay Director Cargo Tom Owen said: “At Cathay Cargo, we know how important it is to move alongside our customers and we are delighted to roll out our booking inventory to more of our global forwarder partners and others on the CargoWise platform.

“By embracing new technologies, digitalising our systems and using our own API, it proves that we are working hard towards our vision of becoming the world’s most customer-centric air-cargo service brand.”

Scott McCorquodale, Head of Airline Connectivity at WiseTech Global, said: “We are pleased to work with Cathay Cargo on its digitalisation journey. CargoWise customers now have full visibility of Cathay Cargo’s schedules and flight availability with real time API connections to efficiently book and subsequently manage their shipments. More than just e-booking, the direct data integration enables research and booking, with the flexibility to subsequently modify bookings as needed.”

Max Sauberschwarz, Head of Global Air Freight at DHL Global Forwarding said: “We believe digital integration with carriers is crucial to enhancing our services. We're thrilled that Cathay Cargo is now integrated with CargoWise. Aligned with our Strategy 2025, focused on ‘delivering excellence in a digital world’ within the DHL Group, we're intensifying our commitment to digital transformation. Implementing digital links like APIs improves data exchange and booking processes, making our services more convenient and efficient. This, in turn, enhances service quality and efficiency for our customers, reinforcing our commitment to delivering excellence in every aspect of our operations.”

Mads Ravn, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Air Freight at DSV, added: “We are pleased to team up with our partners at Cathay Cargo on a host-to-host connection. At DSV, we believe digitalisation is the only sustainable way forward. We will all become more efficient and in return grow faster with those investing in API.”

Cathay Cargo will continue to work with its forwarding partners to offer its inventory and booking via their own systems as part of its digitalisation journey. Forwarders interested in accessing the API connection will soon be able to do so via GLS’s API sandbox, which will be released in the first quarter of 2024. 

Cathay’s Owen added: “The successful implementation of more of these API integrations shows its growing popularity with our forwarding partners and we look forward to extending this enhanced experience to more of our customers in the coming months.”