Cathay Cargo has worked with Envirotainer to make the shipment-status data provided by its Releye® RLP and RAP active containers available to its customers on the Cathay Cargo website via an API (application programming interface) connection, bringing more transparency to Cathay Pharma shipments.

This new connection means that shipments using Envirotainer’s Releye® containers carried by Cathay Cargo will also be able to be monitored by Cathay Cargo’s Operations Control Centre. The OCC will then take proactive steps to ensure integrity of any shipment, as they do already with shipments using Cathay Cargo’s next generation Ultra Track solution.

Rather than Ultra Track’s Bluetooth data link, Releye® containers use cellular transmission to broadcast data in real time. As with Ultra Track, stored data from the flight segment of the journey is transmitted as soon as the container is in range of cellular towers on the ground (for the latest list of Ultra Track ports, download the map from here).

With this new data connection, customers who have leased containers can now access all the relevant data from any given shipment journey, including internal temperature, battery level, location and shipment milestones passed in real time via the Cathay Cargo website, in addition to the existing Envirotainer Control Tower Service.

Being able to access the information from one source, especially on multi-legged shipment journeys, will add efficiency and extra assurance for customers.

‘We’re proud to be able to provide this seamless connectivity to our customers and to further enhance our ability to deliver real-time visibility for temperature-sensitive shipments,’ says Cathay’s Head of Cargo Markets and Customer Solutions Siddhant Iyer. ‘Envirotainer's cutting-edge technology in the Releye® solution and its digital services have ensured that we can provide exceptional services to our customers and set a new standard in airfreight logistics. With the new data connection, customers who have leased containers can now access all the relevant data from the shipment journey in real time via cathaycargo.com.’

Cathay Cargo’s Digital team has been able to link its systems with the Envirotainer portal using the Envirotainer Developer Guide to consolidate tracking information from air-cargo movements and container metrics onto a unified platform.

‘Envirotainer is honoured to collaborate with Cathay Cargo in revolutionising temperature-controlled logistics,’ says Paul Seet, Global Key Account Manager Airline from Envirotainer. ‘The seamless integration of our Releye® solution highlights Cathay Cargo’s commitment to excellence, ensuring the safe and precise transportation of temperature-sensitive cargo. Together, we are providing our joint customers with unparalleled visibility and peace of mind for their shipments.’

According to Cathay Cargo Customer Solutions Manager Janice Kwan, tie-ups like these are a key part of Cathay Cargo’s digitisation strategy and highlight how digital solutions are transforming air cargo, bringing new advantages to customers – and the operation.

‘It’s a positive step for us to have more container data integrated into our systems in terms of operational efficiency,’ she says. ‘Developments like these can ultimately replace some of the manual work that we do now, as well as providing the shipment transparency that our customers are increasingly asking for.’

This connection with Envirotainer shows what is possible, and the hope is to integrate with the other packaging options and suppliers available from Cathay Cargo in the future to add further customer benefits and operational efficiencies already enjoyed by subscribers to Cathay Cargo’s Ultra Track service.