Cargo iQ and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) have developed a new framework to measure door-to-door air cargo performance, extending established industry standards to include shippers and cargo owners more directly in service quality assessment.
The initiative aims to improve supply chain visibility, clarify responsibilities across transport stages and establish a more consistent approach to measuring performance from the shipper’s premises to the final destination.
The framework defines door-to-door business scenarios, setting out service scopes, responsibilities and key milestones for transferring cargo, documentation and data between supply chain partners. It is designed to support shipment planning, exception management and performance measurement across the air cargo logistics chain.
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Marie Seco-Köppen, executive director of Cargo iQ, said closer involvement of shippers was necessary to ensure that performance standards reflected the expectations of a broader group of industry stakeholders.
She said aligning expectations and agreeing on common principles would help the organisation develop standards that deliver greater value to customers and supply chain participants.
Shippers integrated into performance standards
The framework was developed during the latest in a series of joint workshops organised by Cargo iQ and ESC since September 2025. The collaboration expands Cargo iQ’s established performance management approach, which has traditionally brought together airlines, freight forwarders and ground handlers, to include cargo owners more directly.
By defining responsibilities and agreed milestones across door-to-door movements, the initiative seeks to give shippers and logistics providers a clearer basis for evaluating service performance. Standardised measurements could help stakeholders identify delays, pinpoint operational weaknesses and take corrective action.
Godfried Smit, secretary general of the European Shippers’ Council, described the workshop as an important step towards strengthening cooperation across the air cargo ecosystem.
He emphasised that efficient, cost-effective freight movement depends on visibility and effective collaboration among carriers, forwarders, ground handlers and shippers.
From visibility to operational improvement
Cargo iQ and ESC are positioning the framework as a practical tool for improving decision-making rather than simply tracking shipments. The objective is to help businesses use performance data to identify problems, improve responses to disruptions and make transport processes more reliable.
In an increasingly dynamic airfreight market, consistent information and clearly defined responsibilities can help reduce uncertainty and improve coordination between organisations handling the same shipment.
The framework is expected to provide a common reference for assessing service performance while allowing stakeholders to address the different operational requirements of individual commodities.
Wider industry review planned
The next stage will involve presenting the framework to a wider audience for review in the coming months. Following this process, the organisations intend to incorporate the agreed approach into Cargo iQ’s Master Operating Plan, which underpins its industry performance standards and processes.
Cargo iQ and ESC also plan to continue developing the framework to accommodate different commodity requirements and improve the shipper experience. Future work will include consideration of initiatives such as IATA’s ONE Record data-sharing standard and relevant cargo care protocols.
The initiative marks a further step towards a more integrated approach to air cargo performance management, with shippers brought closer to the process of defining service expectations and measuring delivery against them.
