Mercator provides cargo & logistics information services solution to SriLankan Airlines

SriLankan's Chief Executive Peter Hill demonstrated the new system at an inaugural ceremony in the Cargo Village at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport by printing a manifest for a SriLankan flight and conducting a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony.

With him were Ram Menen, Emirates' Director Cargo; Naveen Gunawardene, Senior Manager SriLankan Cargo; SriLankan and Emirates senior managers; and the Mercator/SITA implementation team.

Mr Hill said: "SriLankan SkyChain will upgrade our cargo service and benefit both our airline and our customers.

"SriLankan Cargo becomes more efficient and able to make greater use of cargo capacity, and we will be totally transparent to customers who will see their cargo progress from origin to destination. We also build confidence in our product and increase brand loyalty."

Mr Gunawardene said: "SriLankan SkyChain takes us into the 21st century and makes our product and service extremely competitive. In time to come we will reap further benefits -- just like our partner Emirates."

SriLankan SkyChain takes care of the entire supply chain from reservations to delivery, offering sophisticated capacity management, pricing and net rating, cargo handling, revenue planning and management information. Emirates SkyCargo has used SkyChain since it was successfully developed and implemented by Mercator, working with strategic partner SITA Logistics Solutions, and attributes its success to this modern IT tool.

Ram Menen, Emirates' Director Cargo, who conceived SkyChain, said: "The synergies between Emirates and SriLankan can be harnessed better by using each other's services, so enhancing our distribution network. This will offer better capacity management and optimise revenue.

"SkyChain is one of the world's most advanced airline systems and was developed with customers in mind. It will help SriLankan focus on customer's requirements more closely, and put the airline in a better position to deliver service excellence -- signalling its entry into the arena as a serious logistics provider," he said.

SriLankan Cargo is extending the new system to customers worldwide via the internet, using the interactive solution created by Mercator, www.SriLankanSkyChain.com. This allows them to book, track and trace cargo, communicate online, refer to flight schedules, check space availability, and create and print air waybills.

It means that everyone involved in manufacturing and distribution -- manufacturers, agents, buyers, business houses, customs brokers etc -- can share information as consignments move through the supply chain.

Akshay Shrivastava, Mercator's Business Systems Manager, who managed the integration and SriLankan's transition to SkyChain, said: "In SriLankan Cargo we have a very happy and proud customer who has supported us fully.

"This was a wonderful team effort, with people from SriLankan, Emirates, SITA and Mercator all contributing, allowing us to meet our very ambitious target of completing this challenging project in under eight months."

Hugh Pride, Director Mercator, said: "SkyChain allows SriLankan to exploit information technology to meet today's extraordinary business challenges. Its flexibility and adaptability will help it take its business forward without being constrained by systems and technology.

"SriLankan will enjoy better customer service, efficiency and service quality, reduced costs and a wider reach among potential customers and partners thanks to the Internet," Mr Pride said.