Silk Way West to operate with ACL Airshop’s ULD tracking tech

After less than one month on the market, ACL Airshop’s real-time Bluetooth-enabled ULD tracking technology is already translating into more cargo business, as carriers take steps to eliminate so-called “black spots” from the airfreight supply chain.

“Improved ULD logistics has become one of our strategic focuses, as it directly contributes to the bottom line, while substantiating the growth of the top line,” said Emile Khasanshin, vice president of global operations for Silk Way West Airlines, which confirmed a multi-year ULD management agreement with ACL Airshop.

Khasanshin also said that ACL Airshop’s technology fit into the carrier’s “substantial expansion plans,” adding that the new Bluetooth technology “will be a game-changer for us both, and for our end-customers.”

The Silk Way deal builds on ACL Airshop’s announcement last month of a strategic alliance with CORE Transport Technologies, and the introduction of real-time Bluetooth tracking on its ULDs. ACL Airshop is now installing CORES’s low-energy Bluetooth devices into the company’s ULDs, which report ULD locations within airports and around the globe.

After decades of being relegated to the fringes of air freight, ULDs are now being recognized as an important unit for tracking and measurement, ACL said, prompting renewed interest in technology that can track individual units and compile that into system level data on efficiency and movement.

This alliance extends 10 years of ACL Airshop’s service partnership with other airline units of Silk Way Holding.