We catch up with Amar Kale, Co-Founder and CEO of Kale Logistics, about the critical need for parcel level visibility in air freight. With the newly launched AvSys platform, Kale Logistics seeks to maximise the opportunity presented by massive e-commerce growth, improve visibility at a parcel level, and solve operational bottlenecks caused by outdated tracking systems and new customs regulations.
“Where’s my parcel?”
It’s a question many of us have asked at some point or the other along the course of our e-commerce journey. Often, there has not been a definitive answer, and for good reason. Visibility at a granular level was always a challenge.
And this is a hurdle that will loom ever larger in the years to come. The rapid rise of ecommerce has fundamentally reshaped the global supply chain. Just a few years ago online shopping accounted for a mere eight percent of the global air cargo industry. Today, that figure stands at twenty four percent. Industry experts project that by the end of the decade ecommerce will dominate capturing up to forty two percent of all air freight. This explosive growth presents a unique set of challenges that traditional logistics systems are simply ill equipped to handle effectively.
As we spoke with Amar Kale, Co-Founder and CEO of Kale Logistics, we understood the pressing need for modernization, as he explained the strategic thinking behind their new platform AvSys.
He highlighted that while airlines and handlers possess robust logistics systems these platforms are designed to track bulk shipments rather than individual parcels. When a consumer orders a mobile phone, the airline cannot pinpoint its exact location because that single device is consolidated into a box. That box goes into a bag which is then tied to an agent’s house airway bill. Multiple house airway bills form a master airway bill and those make up a single flight manifest.
This layered consolidation means that once an e-commerce giant hands off a parcel to an airline or cargo handler visibility vanishes. Consumers constantly ask where their parcel is and currently the supply chain struggles to provide a definitive answer once the item reaches the airport.
AvSys was created to bridge this massive information gap by providing tracking at a granular piece level.
The lack of visibility creates severe operational and compliance issues globally. Amar pointed out recent regulatory shifts such as the United States removing its eight hundred dollar de minimis threshold. Previously inexpensive shipments entered without formal customs declarations. Now, every single item requires clearance at the commodity or SKU level. If customs officials flag a single mobile phone for inspection, the absence of a parcel level tracking system means ground handlers must manually coordinate with agents’ ecommerce platforms and logistics providers.
Until the specific item is located the entire cargo load of that flight remains grounded. This triggers a massive domino effect delaying warehouse operations and stalling the broader supply chain.
Furthermore, ground handlers currently suffer from extreme platform fatigue. Because legacy systems lack parcel level capabilities handlers are forced to toggle between different proprietary systems for various massive ecommerce retailers. Managing freight through ten different interfaces is highly inefficient and prone to error.
AvSys, More elaborates, eliminates this fragmentation. By offering a single unified platform capable of piece level tracking it empowers the entire ecosystem. Airlines can develop specialized products tailored for ecommerce and ground handlers can process shipments with unprecedented efficiency.
Recognizing the future trajectory of global trade Kale Logistics viewed the development of AvSys not just as a business opportunity but as a fundamental responsibility to fully prepare the aviation industry for an impending era defined entirely by seamless global ecommerce operations. It is a necessary and vital step forward for everyone operating within the global supply chain.
And finally, maybe we’ll finally be able to know where our parcel exactly is. The long, elusive hunt for it might finally come to an end.
