• Manual, fragmented management of Road Feeder Services traffic is limiting visibility, capacity planning, and performance at air cargo hubs, prompting Nallian to pilot automated landside optimisation and slot booking for long-haul RFS operations.
• The initiative focuses on data standardisation and API-based booking to replace emails and manual reconciliation, improving advance shipment visibility, dock allocation, and coordination between airlines, ground handlers, and trucking companies.
• Expected benefits include reduced congestion and idle time, lower costs and emissions, more stable workforce planning, and transparent, KPI-driven performance management, aligning long-haul RFS flows with the predictability of local deliveries.

Road Feeder Services (RFS) trucks use the same dock doors, personnel, and warehouse space as local deliveries, yet they are often managed through manual scheduling, email notifications, or phone calls. This approach reduces visibility of capacity, contributes to congestion, delays handovers, and generates inconsistent performance in export and import flows. As a result, ground handlers often operate with incomplete information on expected cargo arrivals, while trucking companies face variable queue times and limited transparency on processing speed.

With that in mind, Nallian recently conducted a pilot to extend the benefits of landside optimisation and slot booking to RFS traffic. 

Explaining the situation, Sara Van Gelder, Director of Products at Nallian, said: “Ground handlers have optimised landside flows for local forwarders, but long-distance RFS traffic is still handled through manual and ad hoc processes. You cannot optimise capacity when a significant portion of the traffic remains invisible to the system.”

The need for standardisation is growing as RFS operators serve multiple hubs across Europe. “Operators working across Frankfurt, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Liège do not want to follow four different procedures. But handlers still need site-specific flexibility to reflect local staffing, dock layouts, and airline requirements,” Van Gelder said.

Data standardisation and API booking 

The primary challenge is the low level of structured data available before an RFS truck arrives. Handlers report that, on average, only 50 to 60 percent of expected RFS cargo is visible in their cargo management systems in advance. Remaining information is frequently communicated through emailed PDF or Excel attachments, which front-desk staff must manually cross-check. This increases reconciliation workloads, dwell times, and can disrupt dock allocation efficiency.

Van Gelder said these gaps hinder automation at busy hubs. “If you do not know which cargo a truck will pick up or drop off, you cannot prepare the correct shipments at the correct dock door in advance. Today, staff at the front desk often manually reconcile PDF documents, cargo system data, and slot bookings. The pilot aims to automate that matching.”

The project will test whether standardised application programming interface (API) links between transport management systems and landside management platforms can reduce reliance on manual data exchange. Large RFS operators have indicated that manual web-based booking is not feasible at scale. Volumes and route complexity mean that booking, cancellation, and delay notifications must be automated, drawing on structured trip lists and real-time estimated time of arrival (ETA) data.

The pilot also examines whether airlines can consistently provide FFM and FBL data to enhance advance shipment visibility. Van Gelder said: “Without data visibility, slot booking does not work. The pilot is testing whether airlines, handlers, and trucking companies are ready to share the necessary data in a structured form.”

Operational, environmental, and workforce implications

Several operational benefits from more consistent landside coordination. Reduced idle time, better warehouse utilisation, and lower congestion at airport perimeters are among the projected outcomes. European research suggests that trucks idling on airport premises can cost between €65 and €85 per hour when labour, fuel, and equipment costs are factored in.

Improved scheduling could also support airlines and ground handlers in managing time-critical export connections. Delays on inbound RFS flows often create short-notice peaks in warehouse workload and uneven staffing requirements. Planned handovers can reduce the need for reactive personnel adjustments, increasing operational stability.

The initiative is also intended to improve conditions for landside staff. Front-desk personnel frequently manage late or incomplete data, creating stress and operational bottlenecks, particularly during peak periods. Digital coordination allows staff to concentrate on exception handling rather than routine triage. Van Gelder explained: “Staff can focus on managing exceptions and customer interactions, while the system handles standard matching and planning.”

Airport warehouse layouts and labour configurations further influence how slot booking is applied. Some hubs have numerous dock doors but limited personnel capacity, while others restrict truck access unless shipments are customs cleared and security approved in advance. The pilot is therefore being tested across multiple operational environments to capture these variations.

Van Gelder emphasised that the system complements human decision-making rather than replacing it. “The objective is to digitise the routine elements and free operational staff to concentrate on situations that require judgement. Human override remains available for exceptions and unplanned arrivals.”

Shared visibility of operational data is also expected to improve cross-stakeholder communication. Because contractual relationships are often indirect, issues such as delays or missed slots have traditionally required manual negotiation and subjective interpretation. Digitised and standardised records enable objective discussions based on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as dwell time, punctuality, and slot adherence.

The pilot includes aggregated reporting for each participating stakeholder, providing data on slot compliance, cancellation rates, and handover performance. Participants say this approach supports more transparent performance management and helps identify areas for efficiency improvement across the supply chain.

By integrating automated slot booking, structured data, and exception management, the pilot aims to demonstrate that long-haul RFS operations can be planned with the same predictability and efficiency as local forwarder flows, while also reducing environmental impact and operational stress for staff. Van Gelder concluded: “Our goal is to make long-haul operations as predictable and transparent as local deliveries, so every stakeholder knows what to expect and can plan accordingly.”

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