News • 03.06.2024
FAIR@Link under the allivate umbrella
DAKOSY and Fraport form joint venture
Anyone who is active in the cargo business at Frankfurt Airport knows about FAIR@Link. As a Cargo Community System for air freight, it is firmly anchored in the vocabulary of the industry. Now a new name has been added that is important to take note of: allivate.
The company name allivate is the short form of what the company represents. It is a combination of the words "elevate," "aviate" and "allies," and symbolizes the vision of creating innovative air freight processes for and together with customers. The focus is on digitalizing and automating existing processes with the Cargo Community System.
- elevate represents a commitment to creating innovative freight hubs with fast, efficient and reliable processes, taking operations to the next level and defining new industry standards
- aviate reflects the focus on the aviation industry
- allies emphasizes working in partnership with local cargo communities to create solutions that meet their needs
allivate is the name of the new joint venture between the international airport operator Fraport and the software company DAKOSY, each with a 50 percent interest. Together, the two companies are joining forces to establish digitalization as a future pillar for air freight. Two experienced experts who have shaped the development of the established FAIR@Link Cargo Community System will share the management of the company. These are Martina Schikorr (Fraport) and Dirk Gladiator (DAKOSY).
The objective of the merger is to continually develop the jointly-established Cargo Community System at the Frankfurt site. With over 1,100 companies now involved, it has been successively expanded into one of the most modern IT platforms for ground handling of air freight since 2015. Now the joint venture also wants to reach beyond national borders. "allivate will help us to further advance the digitalization of air freight handling internationally. Frankfurt Airport is taking on a pioneering role with this example of best practice. It demonstrates how the FAIR@Link IT platform facilitates a high degree of networking and integration between the companies and authorities involved, which can improve handling and customs processes sustainably," says Gladiator about the joint venture's vision.
"allivate will help us to further advance the digitalization of air freight handling internationally."
The successful model that has grown over the years has now been given its own framework to set the course for rapid and also long-term growth. At the same time, it sends a strong signal to the local cargo community, which has helped shape and support the digitalization concept for the neutral IT platform from the very beginning. "The companies involved are assured that, alongside DAKOSY, they will also have Fraport by their side as a trusted partner for the digital infrastructure and, through allivate, a central point of contact on site," says Schikorr, explaining the clear benefits for the participants.
allivate did not need long to get up and running. The skills that the two partner companies bring to the table perfectly complement each other and could be used from day one. More specifically, airport operator Fraport offers its extensive airport know-how and its role as a neutral link between the local cargo community and the authorities. This role in particular means that Fraport is familiar with the needs and requirements of all parties involved along the supply chain. DAKOSY brings its extensive IT expertise in all aspects of cargo handling and customs clearance as well as many years of experience in the development, operation and technical support of the Cargo Community System as "made in Germany."
"The companies involved are assured that, alongside DAKOSY, they will also have Fraport by their side as a trusted partner for the digital infrastructure and, through allivate, a central point of contact on site."
More speed for innovations
The joint venture will be able to leverage its strengths in the development of new digitalization products. For Gladiator, the processes of air freight handling and digital infrastructure are inextricably linked in order to position the company for the future. "The new structure will further increase the speed at which we can deliver innovations to the market. This is an important competitive advantage in view of the technological leaps in IT," predicts the allivate Managing Director. allivate builds on a large data pool, meaning that new digital applications can be developed solely on the basis of data which is already available. The existing functionalities include the digital handling of customs, security, dangerous goods, consolidation and SCM processes.
Targeted marketing to additional airports
With its extensive automated processes, the Frankfurt location already functions as a kind of showroom for allivate. Gladiator and Schikorr can show interested parties in real time how digital processes lead to greater transparency and shorter handling and delivery times. Other airport operators are invited to get an idea of how a Cargo Community System can be put into everyday use by everyone involved in the transport chain. In fact, the establishment of cargo community systems at other air freight hubs would be more than just a win-win situation for the airports. "The freight forwarders and handling agents who operate at multiple air freight locations would also benefit from working with familiar interfaces and processes across the board," explains Gladiator.
The managing directors of Allivate GmbH
For Martina Schikorr, the key to speeding up and optimizing processes lies in taking a holistic approach.Thanks to her many years of experience in capacity planning and process optimization in flight operations at Fraport AG, she knows the most effective means of achieving the best possible cooperation between different companies within a process chain. At allivate, she brings together the needs and requirements of all participants in the supply chain and thereby makes freight processing at cargo hubs more efficient.
For over 30 years, Dirk Gladiator has held leading positions at DAKOSY AG in Hamburg and has a wealth of experience and expertise in the digitalization of logistics processes. Together with the Hamburg port community, he has built one of the most advanced Port Community Systems in the world. One of his greatest strengths is that he always keeps an eye on the entire process in order to improve it as a whole.
