CargoAi celebrates turning five

‘Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?’ is a favorite or dreaded job interview question, depending on which side of the desk you’re sitting. No one being asked that question in 2018/19, could have predicted what would happen during the subsequent five years. It was pre-pandemic and pre-digital-booking Gold Rush. It was then also pre-CargoAi, which now celebrates its 5th anniversary and an incredible upward development in a very short space of time. CargoForwarder Global (CFG) asked CargoAi Founder and CEO, Matt Petot (MP) about those past five years, and what he has planned for the next five.

The future of air cargo lies in data-driven decision-making. Images: CargoAi

Matt Petot is CargoAi’s mastermind

CFG: Matt: 5 years and a rocket rise on the digital air cargo scene. Congratulations! Is this how you envisaged CargoAi happening? What was your initial motivation to start up?
MP: I envisioned CargoAi as a solution that would help bridge the gap between air cargo operations and the digital world. The industry was ripe for innovation, but it lacked the right tools for seamless integration. My motivation was to create a company that could simplify complex processes and increase transparency, giving stakeholders access to real-time data and better decision-making tools. I knew we could make a difference, but the speed of our success has been incredible, even if I always wanted to go faster.

CFG: How, where and with whom did you celebrate your 5-year anniversary?
MP: We are actually celebrating with the whole team next week. It is great to get everyone together, especially as we are a fully remote company with people living in locations ranging from New Zealand to Ecuador. This provides great energy and pride to our teams to have such diverse colleagues and demonstrate we can build something great together with modern tools.

CFG: Where do you stand today in terms of airline partners / global capacity coverage / forwarders? Any interesting figures you would like to share with CargoForwarder Global readers, to put CargoAi’s success into perspective?
MP: We are proud to offer 104 airlines to over 18,000 freight forwarder users in 130 countries. It is great to see airlines reaching out to us by themselves, now, as they need to be visible to maintain their business and market share. Our team is focusing to onboard more freight forwarders, who are now shifting from their previous solution as they realized we have a larger airline coverage and more features than our competitors: from rate management, options to hold bookings, shipment tracking, to shipper quotations, etc.

CFG: What geographical regions are CargoAi’s definite strengths and where does its focus lie for the next 12 months?
MP: Our strongest presence is still in Europe, but we see significant growth in North America, with major airlines moving to digital this year. Asia is accelerating fast with airlines coming onboard as well, and thanks to the full benefit of our CargoWALLET, which is our unique scalable solution to accept payment in 47 currencies.

CFG: Looking back, was the pandemic a blessing or do you believe the air cargo industry was already ripe for digitalization by this point?
MP: The pandemic acted as a catalyst. While the industry was already moving towards digitalization, the crisis highlighted inefficiencies in traditional processes and spurred the need for agile, digital solutions like CargoAi. In many ways, it forced a faster adoption of the tools and innovations that were long overdue.

CFG: Green Tech: What can CargoAI users look forward to in this area, on top of your existing initiatives? What are your thoughts on Sustainability within air cargo?
MP: Sustainability is very important to us as a company and as individuals. However, to be honest, it has been hard for us to get the similar commercial successes as in distribution or payment. It seems we are not the only one in the same situation, so it is not a product issue but potentially a market readiness one. I believe air cargo has a responsibility to reduce its carbon footprint, not only to measure. This is what our solution provides with the CO2 benchmark based on our unique tracking capabilities, but it seems this is not the priority for a lot of players, yet.

CFG: What were the greatest surprises in the first five years?
MP: One of the biggest surprises has been the speed of adoption across various segments. When we first launched, we expected a slower pace, but the industry’s openness to change has been remarkable. Additionally, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much value we’ve been able to extract from data. It’s become clear that the future of air cargo lies in data-driven decision-making. Of course, like every entrepreneur, I was very optimistic and thought adoption was going to be even faster.

CFG: How has being a member of CargoTech influenced CargoAi’s development?
MP: Being part of CargoTech has accelerated our development by enabling collaboration with other tech innovators in the cargo space. It’s provided a platform for shared knowledge and resources, helping us refine our products and push the boundaries of what’s possible in air cargo technology.

CFG: You recently brought Olivier Veyrac on board as Senior Vice President of CargoWALLET. Settling into the world of air cargo, what is his verdict so far?
MP: Olivier is very new to the team but has already brought fresh perspectives, and his insights have highlighted potential in our various use-cases, where digitalization is still nascent but growing. He is impressed by the product and what the team has achieved in the last 2 years, and sees great potential as they have developed unique paying capabilities that are critical for the industry and customers we serve.

CFG: What’s on schedule for the next 5 years?
MP: Over the next five years, we plan to continue expanding our global reach, particularly in under-digitized regions. Our focus will also be on enhancing our AI-driven tools, further developing green tech solutions, and ensuring seamless integration with customs and regulatory bodies. We aim to solidify our position as the go-to platform for end-to-end cargo distribution and payment.

Thank you for the interview, Matt, and again: Happy 5th Anniversary!

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