Lufthansa Cargo and cargo.one have launched a joint innovation that removes the prerequisite for freight forwarders to hold valid air waybill (AWB) stock before making an air cargo booking.

An AWB will be automatically assigned when cargo.one users book Lufthansa Cargo’s global capacities, the companies said. The benefits include an even quicker booking time and less booking errors.

“For decades, the progression of an air cargo booking has relied upon the manual allocation of an AWB number – a process designed to reflect the paperwork of the past,” the companies stated. “If a freight forwarder runs out of AWBs, the time needed to request these from an airline will prevent them booking, and can cause a loss of business. Dealing with AWB stock requires efforts for both forwarders and airlines alike.”

Lufthansa Cargo has become the launch partner for auto assigned AWBs on the cargo.one platform. Freight forwarders using cargo.one to book shipments with Lufthansa Cargo can book immediately without needing to find a valid AWB number first, although they can choose to still enter one manually.

“At Lufthansa Cargo we are committed to finding new ways to drive our digital user experience across all of our distribution channels,” said Lufthansa Cargo’s chief commercial officer Ashwin Bhat. “Launching automatic assignment of air waybills with cargo.one is exactly the type of feature that helps us to differentiate in our digital journey and deliver freight forwarders the best possible outcomes and enhance their experience with Lufthansa Cargo.”

Oliver Neumann, founder and co-CEO of cargo.one, commented: “Users love cargo.one because it’s super easy to use, accurate and simple. Removing the pesky copy-pasting of AWB numbers makes booking simpler, faster and removes a source of errors. A small improvement with a big impact on our forwarders’ daily work.”