Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, announces the MOU at the Aviation Community Reception in January.

The air cargo and logistics community is seeking to sharpen its competitive edge with a sector-wide programme called e-freight@Singapore to integrate its supply chain by transmitting data electronically for re-use in downstream activities, promote the adoption of paperless air freight documentation, develop and improve industry capabilities. The programme is part of efforts by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to work with multiple agencies and trade associations to improve operational efficiency, end-to-end supply chain visibility and achieve productivity gains, with the aim of promoting Singapore as a leading global air cargo and logistics hub.

At the inaugural Aviation Community Reception on 29 January 2010, CAAS, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Singapore Aircargo Agents Association (SAAA), the Singapore National Shippers' Council (SNSC) and the Singapore Logistics Association (SLA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly collaborate on the initiative e-freight@Singapore.

Speaking at the event, Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the MOU marked a significant step forward for the industry. “This partnership between CAAS, IDA, the local industry associations and IATA aims to raise the capabilities of the sector. e-freight@Singapore will improve operational efficiency and achieve cost savings through the use and adoption of information technology, giving our air cargo and logistics sector a strategic competitive edge.”

With the MOU, a general working arrangement is established among the parties to facilitate and jointly implement the e-freight@Singapore programme.

Championed by CAAS, the project will see IDA enhancing and providing advice on the use of infocomm technology to increase operational efficiency and productivity. IATA will provide industry-accepted standards, while the trade associations SAAA, SLA and SNSC will be consulted on the implementation of e-freight@Singapore and will be actively engaged in the marketing and adoption activities.

e-freight@Singapore enables the capturing of data at source, and the transmitting of the data electronically in an interconnected supply chain, for re-use in downstream activities. It uses the global IATA e-freight messaging format which can be extended to global air cargo operations.

By electronically linking the stakeholders in the supply chain, e-freight@Singapore promotes the adoption of paperless freight documentation, reduces processing time and enhances data accuracy by reducing the need for repeated manual data entry. The stakeholders which include shippers, freight forwarders, ground handlers, the airlines and overseas partners, will also be able to improve their freight performance, as the increased supply chain visibility enables more detailed business analytics.

It will enable them to measure and further improve their performance and make more informed decisions when dealing with inconsistencies.

Shippers and freight forwarders can look forward to process cargo shipments faster and more accurately, as well as to provide information to downstream partners and submit applications to regulators, in advance of the physical cargo movement.

The airlines and overseas partners can experience productivity gains, as shipment information are provided earlier. Processing times in their downstream activities can be reduced, enabling less delay in flight schedules of airlines, and in the clearance procedures of overseas partners.