As with so many other sectors, it seems that the future of freight forwarding is online.
The internet has long been hailed for the convenience it offers.
It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that the UK air freight industry has decided to explore the potential it offers by introducing new electronic processes.
E-freight, as it is being called, is all about replacing traditional paper documents with electronic ones for the transportation of cargo.
The aim is to streamline and simplify air fright forwarding.
Using electronic processes will of course also offer considerable cost savings.
In the short term, the companies taking part in the trial will actually lose rather than save money.
This is because they will have to run electronic and paper processes in conjunction with one another.
However, in the longer term, using e-methods will cut down on the considerable amount of paperwork required for air freight transportation.
The other advantage of using electronic documenting methods is that there is less room for error.
It also helps cut down on the level of administration required.
In fact, it is expected that billions of pounds could be saved in terms of administration costs alone.
Of course e-ticketing is already widely used by passengers traveling around the world.
Most people now arrive at an airport with an 'e-ticket' that they have printed off their home or work computers.
As a result airlines do not have to send out paper tickets in advance of travel which costs them money and of course run the risk of getting lost in the post.
In fact over 90% of all passenger tickets issued in the UK are electronic (although this figure is much higher for some carriers) and they cost the airlines considerably less than paper tickets.
The average paper ticket costs an airline £5 whilst an e-ticket only costs it 50 pence!