Quite a remarkable variety! Truckers on their way to Brussels Airport can choose between 9 different languages to receive digital notifications about the traffic flows, including updates on their
vehicle’s estimated time of arrival at a ground handler’s warehouse. The app is a traffic manager enabling truck drivers to fine-tune pick-ups or deliveries of shipments while their vehicles are
en route to Brussels Airport.
“We have chosen this broad linguistic approach because many drivers come from countries where knowledge of English, German or French is not common standard,” explains Co-Entrepreneur Alex Driesen
of Nallian. This should minimize misunderstandings or comprehension problems with electronically transmitted messages.

Accurate ETA is precondition to avoiding waiting time
“Truckmeister” fills a digital gap in Nallian’s Landside Management Suite, allowing truckers and ground handling agents to directly exchange information and data. “We have built it on top of
already existing applications to optimize the flow of goods on and around airports,” illustrates Manager Driesen.
Gerd Nees, Business Unit Manager for Tolling and Logistics at Belgian traffic management company Be-Mobile, adds: “The success of operating a slot booking platform depends highly on getting
an accurate estimated time of arrival (ETA) from trucks driving towards Brussels Airport. Having the most up-to-date traffic information allows us to notify Brussels Airport of early and late
arrivals so they can communicate and take appropriate actions accordingly.”

Widening BRUcloud’s scope
The app developed by Nallian is an addition to the IT provider’s Slot Booking app which is part of BRUcloud, a data sharing platform allowing different stakeholders to work more “integratedly”
and act as a network.
Steven Polmans, Director Cargo & Logistics at Brussels Airport, comments: “Since 2018, we have been successfully using Nallian’s Slot Booking app and we have seen the huge benefits it is
bringing the local community, especially forwarders and handlers operating at our cargo zone, such as the elimination of 90% of waiting time. We are delighted we can now also extend those
benefits.”
Mr. Polmans went on to say: “The Road Feeder Management app is yet another reinforcement of BRUcloud, our community’s Cargo Cloud, and yet another step towards more integrated, collaborative
work.”

Similar apps exist already
The first “Truckmeister” users will be ground handlers WFS and Aviapartner together with trucking companies Jan de Rijk Logistics, H. Essers, and Ninatrans. 
The app is a further building block in an effort to digitalize supply chains from beginning to end.
Digitally-managed road transportation services continue to be a key topic for shippers, forwarding agents, airport and ground handling agents in an effort to optimize the flow of goods and
overcome hurdles set by increasing traffic volumes on European roads, a multitude of construction sites, and other traffic obstructions causing jams and delays. This all results in unpredictable
truck running times, making timely pick-ups and deliveries of goods at airports a game of chance.
Similarly in North America. There, providers such as 3Gtms, Descartes, Oracle, TMC, and others are offering software to optimize transport management systems (TMS).

LGG and LHR might follow suit
In the case of Nallian, the company stresses that the digitization of the “Truckmeister” process will be further expanded with capabilities such as the uploading of documents, for example,
Electronic-Customer-Relationship-Management (e-CRM), thus linking e-commerce, e-business, and internet technologies.
Next users following the Brussels project might be Liege and Heathrow; both currently use apps developed by Belgian provider Nallian to smartly steer traffic flows both on the airport and outside
their fences. 
Jean Verheyen, CEO of Nallian, explains: “With our suite of Landside Management apps we strive to empower cargo communities to digitize and hence streamline their A to Z freight management
process. We are excited to extend its benefits to more actors in the network and to empower Brussels Airport’s cargo community to once again lift the bar for collaborative cargo
operations.”  

Heiner Siegmund

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