Tag: Logistics technology

Overview

Hermes Logistics Technologies (HLT) has built a strong partnership with Velora, supporting the ongoing evolution of its cargo and logistics operations through a combination of strategic collaboration, operational enhancement and long-term technology planning.

SaaS Migration With Optimal Efficiency

A major milestone in the collaboration came in late 2025, when Velora successfully migrated its Hermes Cargo Management System from an on-premise environment to HLT’s cloud-based SaaS ecosystem.

The move to SaaS provided Velora with a more agile and scalable operating environment while reducing the burden of managing physical infrastructure and ongoing system maintenance internally. It also created a stronger foundation for future enhancements, faster access to new functionality and wider ecosystem capabilities.

Despite the complexity of migrating a live cargo management platform, the transition was completed with only four hours of operational downtime, a significant achievement within a high-pressure cargo environment where operational continuity is critical.

The success of the wider programme was recognised by Velora in January 2026, when HLT received an award acknowledging its contribution to the significant data and technology migration project that supported the organisation’s transition from the Etihad Airport Services Cargo brand.

Yuval Baruch, CEO at Hermes Logistics Technologies, said:

“Cargo operations cannot stop while technology evolves. The success of the Velora migration reflected the close working relationship between both teams and a shared focus on delivering change without disrupting live operations. That collaborative approach continues to shape how we support Velora today.”

A Service Recovery Solution, Which Kept Cargo Moving

Following the migration, HLT continued working closely with Velora on a range of operational enhancements and future development initiatives as part of the company’s longer-term digitalisation strategy.

That partnership became especially important in March 2026, when a major AWS outage impacted the UAE region and disrupted multiple critical cloud services.

For Velora, the incident created immediate operational challenges around database recovery, access to operational data and service restoration. Rather than waiting passively for cloud services to recover, HLT and Velora immediately began coordinating recovery efforts across several parallel workstreams.

Recovery options within the UAE region continued to be explored, while fallback environments, operational workarounds and alternative recovery paths were simultaneously prepared and validated in parallel.

Throughout the process, the focus remained firmly on maintaining operational continuity, protecting data integrity and ensuring that any recovery approach remained controlled and safe within a live cargo environment.

Naresh Ranganathan, Senior Vice President, Cargo & Logistics at Velora, said:

“What stood out during both the SaaS migration and the AWS outage recovery was the level of responsiveness and collaboration from the HLT team. The relationship has always felt like a partnership rather than a supplier arrangement. During a highly challenging operational situation, the teams worked together quickly, pragmatically and with a clear focus on keeping the business moving safely.”

The recovery effort highlighted the operational importance of strong technology partnerships within modern cargo environments, particularly during periods of disruption where responsiveness, communication and coordinated decision-making become just as important as the underlying systems themselves.

A Long-Term Partnership

Today, HLT continues to support Velora’s wider cargo technology roadmap, including future rollout planning for additional stations, reinforcing a long-term partnership built around operational resilience, continuous improvement and collaborative delivery. The recent award further reflects the close working relationship between both organisations and their shared commitment to delivering successful operational outcomes.

By Lance Duppa-Whyte, Product Director, Hermes Logistics Technologies

When people talk about air cargo technology, they often focus on features.

How many modules does it have? How many integrations? Does it support AI? Is it cloud-based?

Those things all matter, but after spending more than 30 years in the industry, I’ve come to believe that the best cargo technology doesn’t demand your attention.

In a busy cargo operation, people aren’t thinking about software. They’re thinking about flights that need to close, customers waiting at reception, warehouse activity, dangerous goods, truck arrivals and unexpected operational issues.

The system shouldn’t become another thing competing for their attention. Instead, it should quietly guide users through their work, present the right information at the right time and help prevent mistakes before they happen.

I often think back to my early days working at Lufthansa Cargo. We didn’t have digital workflows telling us what to do next. Much of the knowledge sat with experienced people who understood the operation because they’d lived it.

As the industry became more digital, one of the biggest opportunities was capturing that operational knowledge and embedding it into the systems people use every day. Good cargo software doesn’t just record information, it helps users make better decisions by highlighting missing information before it becomes a problem, presenting related data together so users don’t have to search multiple screens or guiding someone through a process they’ve only performed a handful of times.

These are the kind of improvements that make a real difference in a live cargo environment. They provide users with confidence that the information they’re seeing is accurate and that they haven’t overlooked something important during a busy shift.

If users finish their day thinking about the operation rather than the software, I think we’ve done our job well.

By Yuval Baruch, CEO, Hermes Logistics Technologies

The air cargo industry has always evolved in response to change.

Whether driven by global trade, customer expectations, technology or regulation, successful organisations have historically been those that adapted faster than the market around them.

Today’s pace of change feels different.

Connectivity, visibility and operational knowledge are already shaping the future of air cargo. The question is how effectively organisations can use these capabilities.

I believe Artificial Intelligence will become the enabler that brings them together. As Generative AI and Agentic AI continue to evolve, they have the potential to make connected systems more valuable, operational data more accessible and decades of industry knowledge available exactly when it’s needed.

Connectivity Will Become A Competitive Advantage

For years, cargo operations have relied on a complex network of systems, organisations and manual processes.

Airlines, ground handlers, airports, customs authorities and logistics providers all play a role in moving cargo from origin to destination, yet information often remains fragmented across multiple environments.

Over the next few years, the organisations that perform best will be those that can connect people, processes and data most effectively. This will mean an ecosystem of connected technologies exchanging information seamlessly and enabling faster, more informed decisions across the industry.

Real-Time Visibility Will Become An Expectation

Customers increasingly expect accurate information, immediate updates and greater transparency throughout the supply chain, which is already changing how cargo operations are managed.

The industry has spent years digitalising processes, we next need to ensure that operational information accurately reflects what is happening on the ground in real time or better, ahead of it. When data lags behind reality, decisions become slower, resources are used less efficiently and customer confidence can be affected.

As cargo networks become more interconnected, the value of advance and real-time visibility will continue to grow.

Operational Knowledge Must Be Embedded Into Technology

Many cargo operations have traditionally relied on highly experienced teams with deep operational knowledge developed over many years.

But as workforce dynamics change, organisations need to identify how to maintain consistency, quality and operational excellence when experience levels vary significantly across the workforce.

I believe technology and effective training will increasingly play a role in capturing, standardising and guiding operational best practice, helping organisations scale knowledge as effectively as they scale infrastructure.

AI Will Move From Experimentation To Everyday Operations

Artificial Intelligence is already generating significant interest across the cargo industry, but I believe its greatest impact will come from making operational expertise more accessible across the organisation.

Over the next decade, AI will increasingly become part of day-to-day cargo operations, helping users access information more quickly, identify exceptions sooner and make better-informed decisions. Rather than searching documentation, navigating multiple systems or waiting for specialist support, operational teams will increasingly be able to interact with technology in more natural ways, finding answers, resolving issues and making decisions more quickly.

The organisations that gain the greatest value from AI will be those that combine it with high-quality operational data, connected systems and decades of industry expertise. AI is not a standalone solution; it becomes most powerful when embedded within the operational ecosystem, helping people work faster, more consistently and with greater confidence.

Resilience Will Matter More Than Efficiency Alone

For many years, the industry focused heavily on efficiency, while this remains important, recent disruptions around the world have highlighted the value of resilience.

The ability to respond quickly to changing demand, operational disruption or new customer requirements is becoming a critical capability. The companies that thrive will be those that can embrace change without creating additional complexity for their customers.

The Future Is Already Taking Shape

The future of air cargo will not be defined by AI alone. It will be shaped by how effectively the industry combines AI with connected technology, operational expertise and resilient processes. Organisations that successfully bring these elements together will be best placed to adapt, innovate and compete in the decade ahead.

By David Jarvis, LMS & Training Manager, Hermes Logistics Technologies

Training has always played an important role in successful cargo operations. As systems, processes and operational requirements continue to evolve, organisations need training solutions that can evolve alongside them.

That thinking was one of the driving forces behind the development of the Hermes Learning Management System (LMS).

Building the foundation

The Hermes LMS journey began in 2022, when we identified an opportunity to modernise and enhance how training was delivered to customers globally.

The objective was to create a scalable, accessible and engaging learning environment capable of supporting users across different locations, operational roles and levels of experience.

Following a period of planning and development, we partnered with leading LMS provider Absorb in January 2023. Over the following months, the platform was configured, developed and tailored to the specific requirements of air cargo operations before launching in September 2023.

Growing with customer needs

Since launch, the LMS has continued to grow in both capability and adoption.

Customers around the world now use the platform to provide structured training, helping users develop confidence and competence when working with Hermes solutions. The platform’s multilingual capabilities support international teams, while ongoing content development ensures training materials continue to evolve alongside customer requirements and product enhancements.

In 2024, the Hermes LMS was recognised with the Air Cargo News Digital Innovation Award, reflecting its growing contribution to digital learning within the air cargo industry.

Hermes also introduced bespoke content development services, enabling customers to create training materials tailored to their own operational procedures, local processes and business requirements.

Supporting continuous learning

While the LMS plays an important role in onboarding new employees, its value extends far beyond initial training.

As cargo operations evolve, employees often need to learn new functionality, adapt to changing processes, refresh existing knowledge or develop a broader understanding of operational activities.

The Hermes LMS provides a centralised platform for ongoing learning and development, allowing organisations to support employees throughout their careers rather than only during their first weeks in a role.

From refresher training and process updates to role development and knowledge sharing, the platform helps create a culture of continuous learning that supports both individual growth and operational excellence.

Looking ahead

The LMS continues to evolve in response to customer needs and industry developments.

Future enhancements will focus on expanding content and providing even greater opportunities for customers to tailor training to their own operational environments.

As digital transformation continues across the cargo industry, the role of learning will become increasingly important. The Hermes LMS is designed to support that journey, helping organisations develop knowledgeable, confident and capable teams that can adapt and grow alongside their operations.

By Andrew Knott, Chief Technology Officer, Hermes Logistics Technologies

What actually works in practice

In Part 1, I explored why cargo still isn’t properly digital. The root cause isn’t a lack of technology, but a lack of alignment. As soon as one participant drops back to manual or document-based processes, the entire chain slows down.

So what actually works?

Large transformation programmes often look good on paper, but cargo operations are always live. “Big bang” rewrites carry risk and are difficult to execute without disruption.

What tends to work better is targeted, incremental change. Identifying a few clearly inefficient points, usually where paper, re‑keying or unstructured communication still exists, and fixing those first. Digitising a form, introducing structured messages or removing manual reconciliation often delivers immediate value and builds momentum.

SMEs aren’t as far behind as they think

There’s a common assumption that meaningful digitalisation requires large budgets or bespoke development. That hasn’t been true for some time.

Smaller operators often move faster because decisions are closer to the operation. Choosing platforms that are cloud‑based, integration‑friendly and designed to connect into wider ecosystems allows organisations to improve without rebuilding everything from scratch.live data flow.

Where we fit into this

At Hermes Logistics Technologies, we focus on ensuring that our:

• Data is structured, usable and event‑driven
• Platforms integrate cleanly via standard interfaces
• New capabilities can be introduced without disrupting live operations.

The ability to evolve gradually is critical. Digitalisation can only move forward if it supports operations, not if it puts them at risk.

By Andrew Knott, Chief Technology Officer, Hermes Logistics Technologies

The problem isn’t technology

If you’ve been in cargo for a while, you’ll know we’ve been talking about the same goals for years: 

• Real-time visibility
• Paperless trade
• End-to-end digital processes.

It feels like we should have solved these by now. The technology clearly exists: Cloud platforms, APIs, structured data models and real-time messaging are all well established, and most organisations have invested heavily in systems. 

Yet day-to-day operations are still messy. Delays happen, information goes missing, data gets re‑keyed and teams are left trying to work out which version of the truth is the right one. 

It only takes one piece of paper to break everything

Cargo is only as digital as the least digital party in the chain.

Airlines, ground handlers, forwarders, agents, truckers and regulators all operate at different levels of digital maturity. As soon as one of them falls back to paper or unstructured documents, even temporarily, someone else has to manually turn that back into data.

At that point, “real-time visibility” becomes delayed visibility, driven by human intervention rather than live data flow.

We’re not missing a system, we’re missing alignment

Much of the conversation still frames this as a technology problem, but the real issue is alignment.

We don’t need more systems; we need better agreement on how data is shared, updated and trusted across organisational boundaries. This is why initiatives such as IATA’s ONE Record are important, they focus on consistent data models and interoperable data exchange, rather than moving documents between siloed platforms.

Why things fall apart at handover points

The problem becomes most visible at handover points between air, road and sea where responsibility changes.

At each handover you typically see:

• A different platform or service taking over
• A new reference or identifier being introduced
• Information shared as attachments instead of structured data or events.

The result is fragmented data, duplicated effort and multiple versions of the truth.

Forcing everything into a single system isn’t realistic, but agreeing on a small set of shared principles is. In practice, that usually means:

• Defining common operational events
• Maintaining a stable digital identity for a shipment
• Ensuring platforms can exchange data reliably via APIs and event-driven interfaces.

None of this is complex in principle, it simply requires coordination and commitment across the ecosystem. 

Mike Smith, Product Director at HLT, describes the earliest shift very simply:

“In the 90s, 90% of airway bills were paper and the biggest issue was always the time lag, what happened in the warehouse and what the system knew were never the same thing.”

Digitalisation has changed three major aspects of ground handling operations:

1. Real-time visibility – Updates happened instantly, not hours later
2. Awareness of failures – Supervisors could see issues early instead of waiting for customer complaints.
3. Shared data – Information stopped living in separate places, systems or individuals’ heads.

However as Lance Duppa-Whyte, HLT Product Director, points out, the workforce has changed alongside the technology. In the past, cargo operations relied on long-term teams with deep operational knowledge. Today, turnover is higher and many roles are filled by temporary or agency staff, with less time to build experience. This fundamentally shifted expectations of what systems need to provide.

“The system has to offer the knowledge that used to come from years of experience,” Lance explains

“Hermes was designed with this reality in mind, not simply to digitise tasks, but to guide users through complex work reliably and consistently, even under pressure.

Why Hermes works the way it does

Hermes’ design philosophy has remained consistent from the beginning: Give users visibility, prevent problems before they escalate and bring the entire operation into one environment.

Mike remembers early system demonstrations clearly: “You’d show a manager a single screen and say: If it’s not highlighted here, it’s running fine. Anything that appears needs attention. They’d immediately pull out their laptop and check the live operation.”

Hermes was built to be:

• A single operational environment – Before Hermes, ground handlers used separate systems for operations, accounting and airline updates. Consolidation brought consistency and speed.
• Functionally rich – Hermes was never designed as a simplified “tick-box” system. It handles complex scenarios, edge cases and operational realities that lighter systems often overlook.
• Shaped by real experience – Much of the system logic comes directly from people who worked on the floor, not abstract design assumptions.

As Lance puts it:

“Hermes is a smart system. It supports almost every scenario you might see in a warehouse. That’s always been the core strength.”

Digitalisation in air cargo is often described through technology, integrations and automation. But behind every meaningful transformation are the people who understand what the industry looks like in real life, on a busy warehouse floor, at the reception desk dealing with customers or managing the pressure of irregular operations.

They know how problems escalate, how delays are created and how a single missing update can affect an entire flight.

At Hermes Logistics Technologies, two of those people are our Product Directors, Mike Smith and Lance Duppa-Whyte. With more than four decades of combined experience across ground handling, airline operations and frontline cargo processes, they’ve witnessed the industry shift from paper to real-time data and helped shape the systems that now power it.

In a recent conversation, they shared how the business has evolved, what digitalisation actually changed and why real operational experience still matters when designing cargo management systems.

From the warehouse floor to designing Hermes

Mike entered the industry at 18, starting at Pan Am as a transshipment driver, moving freight between airlines long before the modern ground handling model existed.

He later joined Lufthansa at Heathrow, progressing from warehouse operations into office roles, senior agent positions, supervisor and duty manager responsibilities. Dangerous goods became one of his areas of expertise, giving him a deep understanding of processes that modern systems now aim to digitalise.

Lance joined Lufthansa later through an agency programme, starting as an import clerk before becoming a trainer within two months. He worked across reception, customer service, quality control and SLA management and played a central role in designing early process-mapping tools.

Those tools would later influence the first iterations of Hermes.

Both men were involved in capturing operational knowledge and translating it into digital workflows when they were part of a team that designed the first unified system in the early 2000s.

“That’s how Hermes was formed,” Lance recalls. “By mapping real issues and bringing together expertise that had never existed in one place before. We ensure that the our products and services guide busy users, prevent errors and make complex workflows manageable.”

In the next article, Mike and Lance explain how digitalisation fundamentally reshaped ground handling operations and why today’s systems must do more than simply replace paper.

The air cargo industry is under constant pressure. Volumes continue to rise, service level agreements are tightening and customers increasingly expect real-time visibility across complex global supply chains. For airlines and ground handlers, this creates a clear requirement: Cargo operations must be digital, connected and scalable, without disrupting live operations.

Hermes Logistics Technologies has evolved its proven cargo management technology into hermesONE, a next-generation ecosystem that builds on the strength of hermes5 while extending it into a broader digital platform designed to support the realities of modern cargo handling while creating a stable foundation for future growth.

hermesONE is not a single system or a one-off upgrade. It is a continuously evolving digital cargo platform, which brings together core operations, mobile execution, data, AI, automation and learning within one coherent environment.

A modular SaaS ecosystem built to evolve and grow

At the heart of hermesONE is hermes5 (h5), HLT’s function-rich, cloud-hosted Cargo Management System. Surrounding this core is a growing suite of modular applications designed to extend visibility, efficiency and operational control.

Together, these components form a unified SaaS ecosystem that customers can adopt progressively, scaling capabilities at their own pace, without the risk and disruption traditionally associated with large system replacements and without requiring a rip-and-replace of existing Hermes deployments

This approach reflects how cargo operations actually modernise in practice: By stabilising first, then evolving continuously.

A SaaS managed service, which reduces risk and accelerates digitalisation

hermesONE is delivered as a SaaS managed service, providing enterprise-grade cargo technology with the benefits of a fully managed application and without major upfront investment or infrastructure overhead.

This approach helps cargo operations of all sizes to:

• Reduce infrastructure and maintenance costs
• Minimise implementation and operational risk
• Stay current with continuous software enhancements
• Extend digital capabilities module by module.

Operational teams can focus on running safe, efficient and profitable cargo operations, while platform updates, enhancements, innovation and support are handled continuously in the background.

The operational core: hermes5 (h5)

hermes5 is the operational engine of hermesONE. Built and refined over more than two decades of live cargo deployments, h5 provides comprehensive control across import, export and transit processes.

Key capabilities include:

• End-to-end process steering across the warehouse, supporting more predictable cargo flows and fewer handover gaps
• Real-time mobile warehouse execution, reducing delays and re-handling at the point of work
• Automated messaging and accounting, reducing manual intervention, errors and revenue leakage
• IATA-aligned dangerous goods compliance, supporting safe handling and audit-ready regulatory adherence
• Complete service management and service recovery modules,
• Seamless integration with supply chain partners, improving milestone visibility and SLA performance
• Full operational and financial data visibility, enabling faster exception handling and controlled recovery when disruptions occur
• Revenue loss prevention through powerful audit capabilities, identifying discrepancies and missed charges early.

Hosted in the cloud, h5 delivers enterprise performance while enabling the wider hermesONE ecosystem to evolve without disruption.

hermesONE Mobile: Real-time control on the warehouse floor

hermesONE Mobile is HLT’s newest fully integrated mobile application, delivering the full hermesONE platform in a mobile-first experience.

Rather than relying on fragmented handheld tools, hermesONE Mobile enables operational teams to:

• Access live shipment and warehouse status
• Execute cargo handling workflows in real time
• Capture photos and documentation at first handling
• Manage exceptions and delays as they occur
• Communicate instantly across teams
• Access BI, Track & Trace and AI-powered support.

This brings real-time control directly to the warehouse floor, at doors, on ramps and across landside operations, ensuring decisions are made where the work happens, not after issues have already escalated.

Build your digital cargo stack with hermesONE modules

hermesONE includes a growing portfolio of applications that can be activated as required, allowing each operation to configure a technology stack that fits its specific needs.

BI & Data Lake

The BI & Data Lake module provides configurable dashboards and real-time data modelling across operational and financial datasets.

Users can access insights covering:

• Cargo volumes and throughput
• Cargo iQ milestones and SLA performance
• Truck and door processing
• Warehouse utilisation
• Finance and service delivery.

This transforms operational data into a strategic asset, supporting faster and more confident decision-making.

dnata have used the Hermes platform to unify data from multiple systems operating across their global network. Custom APIs were built to feed a central data lake, providing a single, consistent view of operational and financial performance across locations. This eliminated data silos, improved reporting consistency and enabled network-wide visibility and comparison.

Track & Trace

Designed for both handlers and agents, Track & Trace improves communication and reduces inefficiencies by providing instant shipment availability and status information. The result is fewer wasted journeys, reduced delays and lower CO₂ emissions.

Companion Photo Capture

A lightweight Android application enables warehouse teams to capture photos during cargo handling. Images related to damage or documentation requests are automatically linked to the AWB and shared with stakeholders in real time through hermesONE.

Landside Management (in partnership with Nallian)

Through integration with Nallian, hermesONE extends visibility beyond the warehouse to cover truck movements and landside processes. This improves throughput, coordination and customer experience across the full cargo journey.

Open integration through Hermes APIs

hermesONE is designed for open connectivity. Through a comprehensive API framework, the platform integrates with leading cargo technology providers including, Lodige (TMS, ASRS and ETV systems), Nallian (Community and Landside Management systems), SpeedCargo (CargoEye), Logistra AS (Cargonizer) and others. These integrations enable seamless data exchange, support automation initiatives and create the conditions for AI-driven optimisation across cargo operations.

Hermes AI Support Agent: Expertise when it’s needed

hermesONE includes an AI-powered Support Agent, trained on the Hermes platform and its operational logic, giving users a practical, in context Hermes expert at their fingertips.

Accessible via an in-platform chat, users can quickly:

• Ask how to complete specific tasks
• Interpret system messages and alerts
• Get guidance on operational exceptions
• Resolve issues without leaving the platform

This reduces reliance on manuals or support desks, shortens issue resolution on the warehouse floor and boosts confidence and consistency across teams.

Learning Management System (LMS)

The Hermes Learning Management System supports continuous professional development for hermesONE users. Role-based training content helps teams build system knowledge, onboard efficiently and stay aligned with new features as the platform evolves.

A connected future for air cargo operations

Hermes is committed to building a paperless ecosystem where systems communicate openly, processes flow seamlessly and data becomes a true operational advantage.

hermesONE is more than a software platform. It creates the conditions for stable operations today and flexible growth tomorrow, so cargo organisations can modernise progressively, before operational pressure forces reactive change.

Scalable. Mobile-first. AI-powered. Cloud-native.

And built by cargo experts, for cargo experts.