According to industry experts, for numerous reasons around 10-15% of all GH services rendered are not listed on a final invoice. Needless to say, it may translate into significant losses for a service provider. However, specialized interactive business management systems now available to GH service providers may become the long-awaited solution for many industry players.
Based on the findings of the latest GH System Market research, the global ground handling segment (to be valued at around $347.5 billion in 2014) is expected to continue growing at a steady pace. But whilst the forecasted expansion spell great opportunities for many industry players worldwide, it does come with a set of new challenges for GH service providers. The growing volume of orders requires to process an increasing amount of data, monitor the information about factual and planned flights, manage a larger number of GH personnel, invest into more sophisticated client management systems, handle a wider array of complex aircraft ground handling procedures, etc.
At the same time, the increasing number of served flights and airlines does not mean that clients are ready to compromise on any of the varied standards and requirements they place on the shoulders of their GH providers. For example, most low-cost carriers insist on having their planes back in the air in 30-40 minutes from landing, whilst some even seek to further reduce their operating costs by cutting that time to as few as 20-30 minutes.
“And it is not only LCCs that are interested in fast turnaround. With more and more legacy carriers opting for certain low cost business model features, ground handlers are 
subjected to a growing pressure to serve their aircraft in an increasingly narrow window of time as well. Moreover, when it comes to extreme conditions such as the summer season peak hours or severe weather in winter, the ability to manage the entire ground handling chain plays a vital role in servicing an aircraft on time,” shares Darius Aleknavicius, the CEO of Baltic Ground Services.
Surprisingly, despite the major role that modern technologies have played in almost every segment of the aviation industry for quite a while now, the ground handling market is still to make the most of digital management solutions. However, pressured by the aforementioned growth and an increasing need to manage an immense volume of services, the GH segment should try and catch up ASAP. According to D. Aleknavicius, an interactive business planning system is an exceptionally effective tool in safeguarding against many unforeseen circumstances.
“By implementing interactive programmes GH providers can save around 20-30% of management time. For instance, previously there was a need to generate fuel prices for each client on a monthly basis and send them out manually. Via the new business management programme module a specialist can enter the relevant fuel market price onto the system and the module will automatically generate accurate weekly/monthly numbers as well as send the information to clients based on the individual settings. In the meantime, the quality management module allows to monitor the certificate validity for each employee thus significantly facilitating the management of training and development within the company. Finally, the system is especially convenient and user friendly as it is web-based and does not require any additional installing,” comments the CEO of Baltic Ground Services.
