The silo mentality is a well-documented phenomenon in business. Individuals or departments withhold information from others in the organization for reasons ranging from internal power struggles to procedural inefficiency.

Equally well documented in this interconnected world are the deleterious effects this can have on the organization. A silo mentality means a business cannot make informed, data-driven decisions. Opportunities to expand the business or react quickly to a particular situation go begging.

One study reveals that three out of five companies believe the solution to reaching their strategic goals is collaborating more across departments, paired with faster decision making. And customer experience professionals and executives view silo mentality as the biggest obstacle to customer service.

Most airlines carry cargo in the bellyhold of their aircraft. A number have cargo-dedicated operations. UPS and FedEx, meanwhile, are established integrators with huge logistics networks. But the air cargo market is changing rapidly, making the need for cargo training more pertinent than ever.

Consider Amazon’s plans. The online retailer has announced a cargo hub in Northern Kentucky that will employ 2,000 people and be the eventual home to 40 Amazon Prime Air aircraft. Some 16 Amazon Prime Air aircraft are already in service.

The 900-acre Kentucky site will cost $1.49 billion and enable Amazon to keep up with surging customer demand. The company has also bought thousands of trucks and is also starting to act as an ocean freight operator to move goods between China and the United States.

Such developments necessitate a new understanding of the cargo market and the processes underlying the $18.6 billion worth of shipments that travel by air every day.

Maybe Cargo Business Intelligence and Competition Analysis will be the course for you. Cargo Airline Customer Service and Cargo Route Development Optimization might be equally applicable.

From introductory courses to a diploma, train now in cargo to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges brought about by the rise of online retail giants.

Tax breaks could provide additional funds for training programs. Training is not only a means of giving your organization the tools necessary to compete in a fiercely competitive marketplace but also could be a financially efficient move.

Tax regimes differ across the world, of course, and every company needs to fully understand its local situation.

A general principle is that training expenses will be tax deductible if they are incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade. Most training that allows an employee to do a better job is therefore considered a business expense and is thus not taxable.

There are, however, exceptions to be taken into account. In the United Kingdom, for example, if the training is not necessary but instead intended to allow the employee to carry out a new job then tax must be paid. In this instance, the training is considered “capital” in nature, because a new skill is said to have an enduring effect on the business. In future, updating those new skills would then be tax deductible.

Moreover, different rules apply for employees opting to pay for their own training. Clearly, it is a complex area. But training remains an essential component of organizational strategy. The fact that it can also provide tax breaks only strengthens its appeal.

Contact an IATA Training center to get more details.