Air Astana Automates Cargo Operations With IBS’ I-Cargo

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Bangalore, 5 November 2008 (PressReleasePoint). Core cargo operations of the airline now handled by IBS’ next generation solution

Bangalore, 5 November 2008: Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan, has successfully gone live with IBS’ iCargoNet, the ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) based offering of IBS’ next generation cargo management system iCargo. Hosted out of IBS’ state-of-the-art data centre in Trivandrum, iCargoNet has provided Air Astana with automation of all its cargo business processes globally.
As the national carrier of the biggest CIS (Commonwealth of Independent states) country after Russia, Air Astana plays an important role in connecting the country’s growing economy to international markets. iCargoNet will now help the airline ensure high quality and reliable cargo movement by providing an integrated, enterprise-wide automation solution for managing the cargo business functions as well as the cargo revenue accounting functions. iCargoNet, in effect enables the airline to use all the functionalities of a proven integrated next generation cargo management system at a much lower total cost of ownership.
Commenting on the successful introduction of iCargoNet Gerry Mitchell, IT Director, Air Astana, said, “Air Astana selected iCargoNet after a thorough evaluation of the available cargo management systems on the market. IBS worked hard to understand our business requirements, to make sure iCargoNet met our functional and commercial needs. I am delighted to say that IBS, once again rose to the challenge, demonstrating professionalism and commitment to us as a customer, by delivering our iCargoNet implementation on time and within budget. IBS have proven themselves to be a worthy and trusted vendor, and Air Astana have committed to them as a long-term strategic and value-added business partner.”
Reflecting on the go-live at Air Astana Akshay Shrivastava, Senior Vice President and Global Head of IBS’ Cargo Line of Business, said – “We are very pleased with the smooth cut over of iCargoNet at Air Astana. It further strengthens our track record of successful on-time implementations of our solutions. We are confident that iCargoNet will be a big enabler for Air Astana in staying ahead in an increasingly competitive and dynamic industry by making their cargo business processes efficient and cost effective.”
“CIS countries and Russia play a key role in our business plans. With this success at Air Astana we believe many more similar opportunities will become a reality for us in that region.” - he further added.
iCargoNet provides Air Astana with the scalability to support new initiatives for efficient cargo services and offers them the flexibility to adapt to rapidly evolving business needs. The system enables the airline to optimize the inventory of its flights and monitor capacity utilization as well as track the revenue generated by each flight. iCargoNet facilitates transaction-based pricing, enabling the airlines cargo operations to remain cost-effective with lower per unit IT cost.
Chairman & CEO, IBS Software, V K Mathews said, “Air Astana’s selection of iCargoNet as the solution to operate its core cargo operations underlines the value proposition offered by IBS’ Cargo Management System. With the industry facing difficult times, it is extremely critical for airlines to optimize operations cost and improve efficiency. We believe this successful implementation of our business transforming solution, iCargo, will help Air Astana strengthen its status as Central Asia's leading international carrier.”