Alliance Ground International Invests in Technology and New Facilities to Ease Chicago O’Hare Cargo Congestion

Alliance Ground International (AGI) has reversed stifling cargo congestion at Chicago O’Hare with major investment in technology and a new 253,000 sq. ft off-airport import center.

The development of the AGI Operations Control Centre (OCC), required huge investment and has started to deliver significant efficiencies through the communication of live data to all parts of the ground handling supply chain.

“AGI is the largest ground handler in Chicago, and the digitization of our handling processes has made us the most capable,” said Warren Jones, vice president of business development, AGI.

“It has enabled us to foster a culture change in communication that will benefit freight forwarders and our airline partners alike.

“The combination of the OCC’s Flight Tracker Radar System, integrated Cargo Sprint software, capacity optimization heat mapping, and the upcoming AGI online ‘real people’ chat center has meant that AGI can directly communicate with forwarders, airlines, and other service providers to deliver a new level of stakeholder communication.”

To address the lack of space within the airport, AGI has also invested in an off-airport import handling warehouse where it has introduced a state-of-the-art racking system and cargo mobility system.

“Our cargo mobility system monitors where cargo is situated within the import center, enabling forwarders, through the AGI website, to check on the progress of their freight,” said Jones.

AGI has also benefitted from the advantages of K9 Cargo Screening, in compliance with Transport Security Administration (TSA) regulations that came into effect July 1, 2021.

“The introduction of canine screening has boosted efficiencies, both in terms of accuracy and speed, by up to 85% and this has been particularly vital through the pandemic,” said Jones.

Following a recent visit to the facility, Brandon Fried, executive director, US Airforwarders Association (AfA) said, “AfA worked very hard with the TSA to get the third-party privatized canine program underway.”

“It is fantastic to see it work in practice and know that it will significantly help with regard to the reduction of cargo congestion currently hampering the efforts of our membership today.”