You’ve digitized your booking flow. Great. Now what?
If you think “connect to X carriers” is the finish line for digital transformation, you’re missing the bigger prize: end-to-end agility that actually scales. In 2025, the real competitive advantage isn’t speed alone – it’s systemic digital agility. That means quote-to-book workflows, payments, visibility, and dynamic pricing stitched together into a single, cohesive experience.
At Air Cargo Europe 2025, WebCargo’s message is loud and clear: Booking is not the destination. It’s the on-ramp.
The Overhyped Hook: “Booking Platform Access”
People are neglecting to ask how the entire workflow from quote request through to booking can be facilitated in the most efficient way possible.
– Wayne Tyndall, VP Commercial, WebCargo
Digital cargo booking isn’t new. Over half of the top 20 forwarders now offer some form of instant online quote – a massive jump from zero in 2017. But many still treat it as the digital endpoint.
The real story? Most of these quotes are gated. 65% of forwarders now require account creation just to access pricing – a sharp rise from 20% in 2021. It’s not because they don’t want to be digital. It’s because trust still matters. Wayne adds:
You can digitize a booking, but you can’t digitize trust. Especially when there’s a vessel stuck in the Red Sea.
That’s why, at Air Cargo Europe 2025, we’re looking forward to having some refreshingly different conversations – the kind that go beyond the basics:
“If I subscribed to your service, what would my daily work look like?” – Antonia Ambrozy, Commercial Director – SMB Forwarders, WebCargo
“What else can you offer us beyond digital booking?” – Wayne Tyndall, SVP Commercial – Airlines & Forwarders, WebCargo
“How can real-time pricing help me win more business?” – Mark Kreft, Enterprise Senior Sales Manager at WebCargo
It’s not about what’s online. It’s about what’s connected.
So, if those are the kinds of questions you’re ready to explore, we’ll be right there with answers – and demos.
The Real Opportunity: Full Workflow Integration
Real-time pricing isn’t about speed. It’s about scale and margin protection.
– Mark Kreft, Enterprise Senior Sales Manager, WebCargo
A real digital workflow starts well before the booking – and extends far beyond it. Top forwarders are no longer cobbling together 20+ tools. They’re embracing full-stack integrations that handle:
- Quote digitization (say goodbye to email tennis)
- Pricing agility (dynamic rates, lane-level insights)
- Operational visibility (SKU-level tracking)
- Commercial feedback loops (RFQ win/loss intelligence)
Crane Worldwide saw these benefits firsthand when it connected WebCargo with its e2open TMS. No more retyping. No more asking, “did ops get the rate sheet?” Megan Kelley, Crane’s VP of Enterprise Apps spells it out:
Instead of chasing data, our team can focus on clients.
Forwarders using platform integrations report 20x faster booking speeds and reclaim one hour per user per day – that’s a game-changer for bottom lines and team morale alike.
Proactive by Design: The New Digital Forwarder
Tech-savvy forwarders are shifting from reactive to proactive customer service.
– Antonia Ambrozy, Commercial Director – SMB Forwarders, WebCargo
Time saved from quoting and data entry = time reinvested in actual customer service.
With tools like WebCargo, forwarders can:
- Automate quote replies to inbound emails
- Trigger “Book Now” CTAs on the fly
- Track digital conversion data (when do customers bounce?)
- Respond in real time to spot market volatility
This shift from reactive to proactive isn’t just theory – it’s happening on the ground, and fast.
At Air Cargo Europe, we’re already seeing how digital quoting is turning from a “nice-to-have” into a competitive advantage, especially for small and mid-sized forwarders. Players like Shipafreight are proving that you don’t need a dev team or a seven-figure IT budget to punch above your weight. Meanwhile, digital leaders like Kuehne+Nagel are building quoting experiences so seamless, they’re setting the bar for everyone else.
Here’s the kicker: only 38% of LSPs today make instant quotes available to the public. The rest? Gated behind account setup, document vetting, or a friendly phone call. That leaves a huge gap – and an even bigger opportunity.
SMB forwarders are stepping in. With plug-and-play quoting tools and platforms like WebCargo, they can go live in weeks – not quarters – and start winning business from shippers who just want a quote before lunch, not a call after dinner. As Mark Chadwick from the Global Shippers Association puts it:
Technology should make the shipper-LSP relationship smoother, not colder. It can’t waive a surcharge or get your cargo on an overbooked plane – but it can make sure the paperwork is correct when it does.
That’s the advantage: automate the 80%, humanize the 20%. And for agile forwarders, that’s a winning formula.
Airlines at the Helm: Dynamic Pricing & Interlining
Selling online means replicating what your team does offline – fast and at scale.
– Julien Triay, Commercial Vice President – Airlines & Payments, WebCargo
Digitization for airlines isn’t just about uploading static rates. It’s about building commercial agility.
With tools like SkyRate and Airline Dashboard, airlines using WebCargo can now:
- Adjust prices dynamically, not weekly
- See booking trends in real time
- Track quote-to-book conversion rates
- Benchmark against market indices like the Freightos Air Index
- Interline routes instantly – no email threads, no delays
That’s why airlines like Qatar Airways Cargo and United Cargo are transforming how they sell freight.
It expands the buying carrier’s network and fills the selling carrier’s capacity – generating revenue that otherwise wouldn’t exist,
said Faisal Karamat, VP Customer Experience, Qatar Airways Cargo.
Customers have made it clear… they are seeking self-service capabilities, allowing them to book and track freight whenever and wherever. So offering online capabilities becomes the norm,
added Eric Weseman, Cargo Alliances Manager, United Cargo.
Future-Proofing = Platform Thinking
Digital transformation in freight used to mean buying more tools. Now, it’s about building smarter systems – systems that talk to each other, adapt in real time, and deliver actual business results.
Forwarders and airlines that are thriving in 2025 have stopped stitching together disconnected tools. Instead, they’re taking a platform-first approach by:
- Using modular APIs rather than building €243,000-per-airline integrations from scratch – saving upwards of €2.4 million over five years.
- Centralizing quoting, booking, payments, and analytics in a single interface.
- Applying AI not just to quoting, but to demand forecasting, anomaly detection, and customer behavior insights.
It’s not just about speed. It’s about decisions – faster ones, smarter ones, and more profitable ones.
At FreighTech 2024, digital leaders from Lenovo and Electrolux made their wishlists crystal clear: Less buzz, more visibility. Systems that talk to each other. And one platform to manage it all.
That’s why WebCargo’s stack is designed to cut through complexity and bring everything together. It’s not another silo – it’s a cohesive, connected ecosystem that forwarders and airlines can build around. Because when you have a single view of your data, your operations, and your customer interactions, you’re not just working faster – you’re working smarter.
The logistics players leading the charge aren’t the ones with the most software. They’re the ones with the right architecture – flexible, scalable, and built for what’s next.
Final Word: Digitize Smarter, Not Just Faster
Digital booking is just one mile marker on the journey. The real ROI? It lives in the flow – the connected systems, the smarter pricing, the visibility your ops team needs, and the experience your customers actually want. Megan sums it up:
Freight isn’t going to stop evolving. We’re just making sure we’re one step ahead.
So, if you’re heading to Air Cargo Europe with questions like:
- How can I make quoting smarter, not just faster?
- How can I use booking data to win more RFQs?
- What would my workday look like with WebCargo?
…then you’re asking the right questions.
And we’re ready with answers.
As Wayne put it best during our Air Cargo Europe prep:
I wish more forwarders and airlines would ask us what else we can do for them beyond facilitating a digital booking.
Because in 2025, it’s not just about going digital. It’s about going deeper.
