Syntegra's B2B Air Cargo System Builds on Components

Software Magazine, August, 2000 by Elizabeth U. Harding

Syntegra, the U.K. global consulting and systems integration arm of British Telecommunications Plc, is currently building a new-generation business-to-business air cargo system under its CargoChorus brand. Touching all aspects and communities involved with handling ground air cargo, the new system will manage performance, operational processes, and information flow throughout all air cargo ground handling operations.

For its development environment, Syntegra chose Uniface from Compuware Corp., Farmington Hills, Mich. According to James Fernandez, Syntegra manager of business development, Uniface's component-based development environment tends to match business processes and is easily adaptable.

"We were looking for a tool that was platform independent so that we could run on a variety of operating systems and databases," says Fernandez. "We were really looking for effective reuse."

Linking Organizations

Syntegra has been operating in the air cargo logistics market for more than 25 years. With the new generation of air cargo systems, Fernandez says, the company is expanding to facilitate air logistics chains that will work similarly to the chains FedEx and UPS have created.

Targeting the B2B e-commerce market, Syntegra plans to launch a series of integrated CargoChorus systems that link organizations such as airline carriers, freight forwarders, ground handlers, and custom authorities.

"On one hand, we're trying to link different organizations and, on the other, we're providing applications to specific enterprises," says Fernandez.

The first application of the CargoChorus series to be launched is Terminal Management, which is in its final stages of testing.