SDCExec.com |

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — March 8, 2010 — Descartes Systems Group, a federated global logistics network, unveiles its e-freight solution, Descartes e-Pouch, created specifically to address the International Air Transport Association (IATA) e-freight initiative and the needs of the air freight industry to automate and standardize the cargo shipment process.

The IATA e-freight initiative is an industry-wide program that aims to reduce the use of paper documents in the airfreight supply chain by moving to a simpler, paper-free, electronic environment. It involves, among other participants, airlines, shippers, freight forwarders, ground handling agents, and customs authorities.

The Descartes e-freight solution helps to group electronic shipment documents together in a unified construct – the e-Pouch. Descartes' e-Pouch allows users to easily share information with the appropriate parties, automate routine interactions, flag problems, such as missing documents, at the earliest possible instance and provide a repository for retrieval of completed deliveries.

Built upon Descartes' Global Logistics Network (GLN), e-Pouch integrates with Descartes' multi-party suite of air cargo management tools, including solutions for bookings, shipment monitoring, quality performance reporting and customs filing. In addition to the air cargo management tools, Descartes logistics messaging network reduces the investment required to connect and exchange documents between logistics and other trading partners.

Descartes e-Pouch is designed to handle air shipment documents in a fully automated fashion including integration of electronic images. In areas where structured electronic documents are not available, e-Pouch uses the GLN imaging services functionality to capture original documents and insert them into the air shipment folder. This service operates in a similar fashion as paper document processes. In addition to automating air shipment processes, Descartes e-Pouch provides an interface and exception management facilities to repair specific classes of data problems.

"The highly demanding and competitive nature of the air freight industry demands that organizations exchange data between disparate systems in an efficient manner, but also requires full information visibility into each and every shipment," said Cindy Yamamoto, Senior Vice President of Global Logistics Product Strategy at Descartes. "With Descartes e-Pouch, users can readily share information with the appropriate parties and comply with emerging industry standards such as IATA's e-freight initiative to improve efficiency and reduce costs across the air cargo industry."