This document discusses the career of an individual working in the airfreight and logistics industry. It describes their roles at various companies over time, taking on increasing responsibility. They started at ChartAir Europe B.V., an airfreight broker, and helped launch a courier service. They later returned to ChartAir to manage the important Philips account. They took on responsibility for operational, administrative and automation changes, implementing early electronic data interchange systems. They also helped develop value-added logistics services and software. Additionally, they initiated an industry user group to improve communication and the freight forwarding software package through shared input.

1. ChartAir Europe B.V.
After completing my military duties in Germany, I started my career at Schiphol Airport working for
ChartAir Europe B.V., which was an Airfreight Broker.
At that moment, a company with 5 staff members
Courier service
After I worked with Chartair for several yours Nedlloyd (the mother company) of ChartAir recognised
the need to start a road courier service. Based on the good experience they had with my operational
skills they asked me to be responsible for the operations of the new company, I accepted this
challenge with pleasure.
Philips
When ChartAir was able to gain Philips as a client the management asked me to return to ChartAir to
take the operational and partly the commercial responsibility for this major account. Philips is at that
moment one of the three larges airfreight accounts in the Netherlands, for which ChartAir has obtained
the privilege to move almost all Import and Export airfreight.
Due to the above and major changes in the airfreight market, ChartAir started focussing the airfreight
market increasingly as an airfreight forwarder. The responsibility of the operational and administrative
changes that occurred within the company where given to me.
ICT
Besides the above and due to the fact that Philips demanded a large amount of data to be exchanged
electronically I received the responsibility of the companies automation and the EDI traffic that came
along with that.
For that time (1990) we did quit some pioneering with regards to data exchange.
Orders where electronically booked and with an absolute minimum of manual input form the
employees processed within the system. Airline bookings and electronic AWB information was send
electronically to the airline and customs clearance was done with EDI as well.
All these messages in the Edifact “language” where completely integrated in the freight forwarding
system.
Together with customs and the CCS Cargonaut we designed and implemented the AMOR message,
with this message we made going to customs for clearance stamps unnecessary.
Because of the simplicity and effectiveness of the message we where nominated for a innovation price
by the government.
VAL
Value Added Logistics was and is a “hot” item in de forwarding world. It is obvious that some of our
clients demanded VAL service from us. The responsibility analyse and coordinate the development of
the software needed to full file such a task and setting op the necessary operations of a 3000 M2
warehouse was given to me.
One of the clients processed in that warehouse was shipping computer system all over Europe within
24 hours after the client ordered. Of course, the use of completely integrated EDI messages played a
major role in completing this task.
User group
In the interest of ourselves and some other Dutch forwarders that where using the same forwarding
software as we where I initiated the forming of a user group.
This user group had the task to ensure good communication between all parties involved in the Dutch
airfreight industry. The other goal of the group was to improve the freight-forwarding package by
mutual input and purchases of software changes. It goes without saying that EDI played an important
role in this process.