With less than a month to go before the General Data Protection Regulation sweeps in, you would think that almost all businesses would be on the home stretch with GDPR compliance by now. Surprisingly, results just in from a survey by KPMG Global Legal Service show that out of 448 institutions surveyed more than half (54%) reported that they are not in compliance.

The main stumbling block appears to be third-party vendors. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of businesses can’t confirm whether their down-the-line vendors are adhering to the regulations.

For those in the air cargo industry, this new EU regulation poses a unique set of challenges owing to the huge volume of documents that you handle in your day-to-day operations.

Whether these are flight manifests, proof of delivery documents, or airway bills, you already know about the sprawl of this data resulting from complex operational and legacy issues. What you also need to know is that any document, paper or digital, that contains information which can identify an individual, name, photo, email, bank details or even an IP address, will all be considered as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and therefore within scope of the GDPR.

I'm delighted to say that Transputec be exhibiting at the 9th annual Air Cargo Handling conference in Budapest from 19 - 21 September. The annual event is this year being held at The Corinthia hotel, convening hundreds of leaders from the air cargo and affiliated sectors. The agenda will explore trends and issues affecting the industry, including include a working group on the impact and challenges of digitalisation and technology.

I’m delighted to announce that Transputec’s pioneering freight and logistics document management service, SHIELDIntelefile, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the global Software-as-a-Service Awards 2017 as the Best SaaS Product for Shipping, Inventory or Vehicle Logistics.

I am delighted to announce that SHIELDIntelefile, the cloud-hosted freight and logistics document management service, has been shortlisted for Most Innovative Cloud Service or Product of the Year in the inaugural Computing Cloud Excellence Awards 2017.

Developed by Transputec for one of its clients, Swissport, SHIELDIntelefile was so successful that they took its development up a level, adding to its user experience and incorporating a number of features unique in the field of logistics, before launching it onto the open market.

This latest award nomination confirms Transputec’s long-established reputation as a pioneering innovator in the field of cloud services, alongside a nomination for another Transputec developed product, Crises Control for Cloud DR and Continuity Product of the Year.

The airfreight industry is already one of the most heavily regulated sectors and will become even more so once the GDPR is in effect next May.

Freight and logistics operations generate and manage large volumes of documentation including airway bills, invoices, proof of delivery documents, release notes, manifests and so on. The GDPR applies to personally identifiable data relating to EU citizens, including names, ID numbers, location data, contact data and online identity. This includes personal identification documents belonging to consignees or couriers that, in the case of airfreight operators and airlines, are spread across multiple databases. The regulation’s definition makes it clear that even information such as online identifiers, which include an IP address or a Twitter handle, can be personal data.

Shipping cargo by air may be the fastest way of transporting goods, yet airlines and freight carriers are lagging behind when it comes to using new technology. The industry's use of outdated legacy systems and apparent lack of appetite for change has led a former CEO of IAG Cargo to describe the sector's inefficiencies as 'bordering on the criminal'.

Although the industry is showing signs of a positive step change, progress on initiatives like IATA's electronic airway bill - e-AWB - is sluggish. This paperless document was first floated by the IATA Board back in 2004 and even now, E-AWB penetration is just touching the 50pc mark.

There are many benefits of the e-AWB. A shipment can generate up to 30 paper documents and processes such as track and trace rely on human intervention. According to IATA, every year, more than 7,800 tons of paper documents are processed - that's the equivalent of filling 80 Boeing 747 freighters with paper.