Qantas Freight delays after cloud-based system cutover

Qantas Freight’s operations have been backlogged for over 10 days now after a cutover to a new cloud-based system “did not go as planned”.

The problems, first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, have made it difficult to arrange freight collections, while also causing delays for freight processing and movement.

In its most recently published update, Qantas Freight said it had brought in additional staff to its terminals to aid processing and collection.

“We apologise for the ongoing issues relating to visibility of freight online and via notifications which we know is critical,” the company said.

A status update provided to the Freight & Trade Alliance attributes the issues to a September 24 cutover “to a new, fully integrated cloud-based system”.

The cutover occurred “after many months of testing and validation, and following successful releases of the new technology in all regional Australian ports and key offshore terminals. “

“Unfortunately, our national cut-over did not go as planned which has resulted in delays to processing freight,” the notification states.

“Whilst we immediately implemented a comprehensive plan to rectify the issues, our recovery has been hampered by system integration complications which required reverting several functions to manual processes. 

“This has created significant backlogs across the key terminals of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.”

Freight forwarding agent and customs broker Henning Harders Australia carried the same notification and described the impacts in a recent newsletter.

“Industry members are reporting instances of cargo not being released that arrived on flights as far back as September 22 and 23, spoilt perishable shipments and widespread IT issues impacting cargo identification,” it said.

“At this stage, Melbourne Terminal appears to be faring worse than Sydney but our air freight team is working closely with our air cargo partners to keep the flow of air freight moving in and out as quickly as possible.”

In its latest update, dated October 3, Qantas Freight said domestic freight check-in continued to be delayed “with some steps continuing to be manual”, and that “some notifications” for freight pick-ups were also still being delayed as well.

International shipments faced issues because of “linking issues with Australian Customs”.

“Our major international terminals in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney are experiencing extended processing delays,” Qantas Freight said.

“Priority is being given to urgent freight and we’re extending our hours of operation in selected ports to expedite clearance wherever possible.”

The problems are also affecting cargo shipments booked on other carriers as well, as some of this is managed by Qantas Freight.

The cloud-based system was promoted to customers as “a new-look platform with better functionality”. 

“Our new platform unlocks more online services, expands functionality and streamlines processes to make your interactions with us faster and more seamless,” Qantas Freight said in an announcement on its website.