E-commerce fragmentation forces GSSAs into demand aggregation role

Cross-border e-commerce has dismantled the consolidated freight model that general sales and service agents (GSSAs, airline cargo sales intermediaries) built their business on, replacing a small base of large-volume customers with thousands of smaller shippers, marketplaces and intermediaries. Carlo de Haas, President and CEO of GSSA FlyUs, said the commercial logic of the sector has changed accordingly: value now sits in orchestration rather than account size.

His assessment frames a structural shift across air cargo's fastest-moving export corridors, principally China and Southeast Asia, where e-commerce volumes continue to expand but arrive as small, frequent and time-sensitive consignments rather than predictable consolidated loads.

What does this change for GSSAs?

The core change is aggregation. Where an agent once relied on a handful of large accounts, it must now convert dispersed demand signals into coherent airline capacity utilisation — the effective measure of how fully freighter and belly-hold space is sold.

"For GSSAs, the opportunity lies in acting as the bridge between that distributed demand and airline capacity. Rather than relying on a small number of large-volume customers, we are now working with a much broader mix of shippers, platforms, and intermediaries," de Haas said.

"We combine strong local market knowledge with the ability to aggregate this demand effectively. In key export markets across China and Southeast Asia, this means building close relationships with forwarders and e-commerce players, understanding how demand is evolving at a local level, and ensuring that volume is channelled efficiently into our airline partners' networks."

The operational consequence is higher transaction intensity with lower forecast reliability. Continuous inflows of small consignments that vary significantly by lane and market have replaced cyclical consolidation, and de Haas argues execution speed now determines competitiveness.

"e-commerce has fundamentally changed shipment profiles. We are no longer dealing with predictable, consolidated volumes, but with smaller, more frequent consignments that can vary significantly by lane and market. Operationally, this requires a much more agile approach," he stated.

"Our teams need to manage higher transaction volumes, respond quickly to fluctuations in demand, and maintain close coordination with both airlines and forwarders. Clear communication becomes even more important, particularly when capacity is tight or conditions shift. In markets like China and Southeast Asia, where export volumes are high and fast-moving, having strong, experienced local teams is critical."

Digital platforms as infrastructure, not replacement

FlyUs has invested in systems that integrate with airline platforms and give partners and customers real-time access to bookings, tracking and reporting. De Haas positions this as essential infrastructure for end-to-end visibility, compressing response times and improving situational awareness across volatile demand conditions — but not as a substitute for people.

"Visibility is a key expectation in e-commerce, and technology plays a central role in delivering that. At the same time, digital tools need to complement, not replace, the service element that GSSAs provide," he said.

"However, technology is only part of the solution. In a volatile environment, customers still rely on responsive, knowledgeable teams who can step in when challenges arise. Our approach is to use technology to enhance visibility and efficiency, while maintaining the strong relationships that underpin successful cargo operations."

The distinction matters because airfreight remains defined by disruption risk, capacity constraints and schedule variability. Systems can surface a problem; resolving it still depends on operational oversight and relationships with airlines and forwarders.

Structural, not cyclical

The shift de Haas describes is structural. E-commerce volume is still growing, but its fragmentation across platforms and intermediaries is permanent, embedding volatility into Asian export ecosystems and forcing agents to compete on elasticity — absorbing demand swings and reallocating capacity dynamically — rather than on static service contracts.

FlyUs, which also holds GSSA mandates for Riyadh Cargo in France, Spain and Portugal and for MASkargo in France, is applying that model across its network. The test for the agency model will be whether aggregation and local market knowledge can keep pace with platform-driven demand as e-commerce share of air cargo capacity continues to climb.