CargoForwarder Global’s ‘Spotlight On…’ series inspects a different area of the air cargo industry every week. In the past 5-10 years, the industry has been pushed to change to accommodate the rapidly evolving world market. e-commerce is one of the biggest triggers forcing it to reconsider its commercial and operational processes. A greenfield approach in the shape of a start-up might just be the best way to bridge the gap between traditional air cargo and e-commerce. Such is Denis Ilin’s consideration as he pools his decades of air cargo and recent 4 years of postal services experience, and works on launching an e-commerce-focused start-up: e-Smart Logistics. He takes us through his tasks and endeavors, and offers advice to those looking to enter the air cargo industry.
CFG: What is your current function and company? And what are your responsibilities?
DI: I have recently started a new Dubai-based company, e-Smart Logistics, where I am a managing partner and CEO. As is true for any start-up in its early stage, my hands are full of all kinds of matters – building up a team, talking to potential customers, preparing our product for the launch, as well as wrapping up the investment agreements with my other partners and investors.
e-Smart Logistics (or e-SL) is an e-commerce logistics specialist delivering, in partnership with major air cargo carriers, fully integrated end-to-end logistics solutions to e-tailers and e-shippers. Our services are supported by an IT platform provided by our strategic IT partner, KALE Logistics.
We target to launch in Q2 this year, so it is currently a very dynamic period for both e-SL and myself.
CFG: What does a normal day look like for you?
DI: I would rather say what my normal year looks like. On average, over the last decade, it has been from 110 to 130 flights a year, which is probably not far away from some pilot’s numbers. And, as I can judge by my friends and colleagues, this is not unusual in air cargo. This industry is global, so you are constantly on the road to see your clients, business partners, vendors, checking out your own stations and talking to your team.
Of course, now we all use video calls as a routine, however, this has not eliminated the travel but just added dynamics to our work. More meetings per day and the schedule is much tighter as now you squeeze a video call in between your face-to-face ones or just have one call after another with (at best) a few spare minutes in between.
So, it is quite common to have a video call before your flight, another one upon arrival, then a few normal calls while you are in a taxi, and so on and on and on. Ah, not to forget to sort out your emails either on the flight or in between meetings.
Air cargo and logistics is about movement, so is my (our) lifestyle.
CFG: How long have you been in the air cargo industry, and what brought you to it?
DI: I started in 1995 as Duty Ops Controller in 24/7 flight operations of a cargo airline, right after university. This year is 30 years of my career, of which I spent 26 years in air cargo and logistics.
I graduated as a math student with a degree in Applied Mathematics from the Moscow State University. However, the mid-nineties were quite a challenging period for the Russian science and economy, so to continue my academic career would have meant having barely enough money to live on, thus young people were moving elsewhere. There was an international cargo airline, Volga-Dnepr, based in my hometown of Ulyanovsk, in Central Russia, operating a fleet of giant Antonov and Ilyushin freighters around the world. That was a very dynamic, growing business, interesting international prospects, so I said to myself: why not try it?
Twenty years later, I left Volga-Dnepr Group as President and CEO of Air Bridge Cargo airlines. And I never regretted my decision back in 1995, not for a single day.
CFG: What do you enjoy most about your job?
DI: Probably, its global nature. Visiting different countries, meeting people from different cultures – a privilege which probably not many people in the world have an opportunity to experience in life. Besides, the industry is never the same; one has to adapt to a new reality every day – especially in the charter business. However, scheduled services and contractual logistics are not far away from this in terms of new circumstances and operational challenges.
It is never boring, that’s for sure – both professionally and personally.
CFG: What do you see as the greatest challenges in our industry?
DI: Safety. The growing dynamics of global logistics and external factors bring serious challenges to keep our industry and customers safe and sound. New-era technologies bring huge opportunities. However, when misused, they create serious safety and security concerns.
CFG: What advice would you give to people looking to get into the air cargo industry? Any particular training they should aim for?
DI: Ability to quickly adapt to the new technologies. Not sure how to train people to learn that, however, a company’s agility and openness to accommodate new technological opportunities is becoming its serious competitive advantage. Unfortunately, the air cargo industry sometimes is too stuck in its own old practices. Paperwork, manual processes, lack of transparency of the shipments, etc.
And, by the way, that is what e-Smart Logistics is doing – helping air cargo to talk to its growing e-commerce clients in the modern e-commerce language, rather than using traditional ‘air cargo’ manners. The latter works, but at the price of a low margin to the air carriers.
CFG: If the air cargo industry were a film/book, what would its title be?
DI: It is probably “Passion”: a never-ending love story of a happy life.
Thank you, Denis, for your insights!
If you would like to share your personal air cargo story with our CargoForwarder Global readers, feel free to send your answers to the above questions to cargoforwarderglobal@kopfpilot.at We look forward to shining a spotlight on your job area, views, and experiences.
