There is a quiet divide emerging in air cargo. On one side sit the large, increasingly consolidated players, building scale through systems, networks and standardisation. On the other, a smaller group of operators are choosing a different path entirely, resisting uniformity in favour of precision, proximity and control. They are not trying to outgrow the market. They are trying to outthink it.
Gert-Jan Lantrok has spent more than two decades navigating both worlds. Since entering the industry in 1999, he has seen cycles of expansion, contraction and reinvention, but the underlying mechanics of success, in his view, have remained remarkably consistent. Technology has evolved, expectations have sharpened, but trust still sits at the centre of every transaction.
“I think the most important thing in my entire career has always been to make sure that your suppliers are happy, your customers are happy, and that they fully trust you,” he says. “That is key to where we are today.”
It is a philosophy that now defines Simple Cargo, the business he joined just over two years ago and formally stepped into as a shareholder in 2023. What began as a small, pandemic-era brokerage has rapidly transformed into a high-performing, boutique GSA and cargo specialist with a growing European footprint. The pace of that growth has been striking, but more notable is the discipline behind it. At a time when many operators are chasing scale, Simple Cargo has been careful about what it chooses not to become.
Lantrok’s earlier experience building and exiting Aviation Plus provides important context. Having scaled a business successfully before selling to a larger group, he gained first-hand insight into the pressures that come with growth, particularly in a consolidating GSA landscape. It was not simply about expansion, but about preserving identity within that expansion. Culture, service quality and decision-making speed can all erode quickly when growth is pursued without clarity.
“The customer is king,” he reflects, recalling lessons that have stayed with him since that period. “You keep the good parts of what you’ve been taught.”
That mindset also explains a brief departure from the GSA space. His time at Norwegian Cargo offered a different perspective, moving into a more operational, airline-led environment with global oversight. It was, by most standards, a significant role. Yet it also highlighted where his strengths and instincts truly sit.
“I’m a sales guy,” he says. “As a GSA, no day is the same. That’s the big difference.”
That realisation ultimately brought him back to the sector, but with sharper intent. When he arrived at Simple Cargo, the business was still operating at a relatively modest scale, with a small team and limited infrastructure. Within months, that changed dramatically. The company expanded at a pace that would typically test even the most established organisations, yet managed to retain a sense of control and cohesion.
“Within a month we went ten times as big as we were before,” Lantrok notes. “Within three months we were twenty times bigger.”
Rapid growth often introduces complexity faster than businesses can absorb it. Service consistency becomes difficult, internal alignment weakens and relationships begin to feel transactional. Simple Cargo has approached that challenge differently, placing clear boundaries around where and how it operates.
“We don’t work with every customer,” Lantrok explains. “It needs to be a fit.”
That selectivity is central to the company’s positioning. Rather than pursuing volume across every possible channel, it focuses on partnerships where it can add measurable value. The same principle applies across its supplier network. Long-standing relationships with airlines, handlers and trucking providers are maintained not because they are the cheapest option, but because they are the most reliable.
“I could save ten or twenty percent on trucking,” he says. “But I’d rather not, because my customers rely on my service.”
It is a deliberate trade-off, one that prioritises consistency over marginal gains. In an industry where delays, miscommunication and operational friction can quickly escalate, reliability becomes a defining differentiator.
That same principle extends into moments of disruption. During the pandemic, when global cargo flows were under unprecedented pressure, Simple Cargo found itself stepping into roles far beyond its traditional remit. In one instance, the team physically handled and relabelled hundreds of boxes each evening to support a customer struggling with warehouse capacity. It was not a strategic initiative or a contractual obligation, but a practical response to an immediate problem.
“We went there with the team and relabelled 600 boxes every day,” Lantrok recalls. “It helped the customer, and in the end it helped everyone involved.”
It is in these moments that the distinction between boutique and scaled operators becomes most visible. Where larger organisations rely on structure, smaller, more agile teams rely on ownership. Decisions are made quickly, responsibilities are shared and the line between commercial and operational roles becomes fluid.
Internally, that approach is reinforced through culture. Air cargo is, by nature, a 24/7 business. It demands responsiveness, resilience and a willingness to engage outside conventional working patterns. For Simple Cargo, culture is not an accessory to performance, it is a prerequisite.
“If you want to work at Simple, you need to be addicted to your job,” Lantrok says. “But we make sure you will be.”
The environment is deliberately built around that expectation. Informal, energetic and collaborative, it is designed to attract individuals who are comfortable operating at pace and taking responsibility. Leadership is not removed from the day-to-day; it is embedded within it. The result is a team that functions with a high degree of alignment, even as the business continues to grow.
Technology, meanwhile, is being deployed with equal intent. In a sector where digital transformation is often framed as a cost-cutting exercise, Simple Cargo has taken a more measured view. The objective is not to reduce headcount, but to remove friction from processes that do not require human judgement.
The partnership with Freight Spark illustrates that thinking. What began as a tool to streamline email and quoting workflows has evolved into a broader operational system, designed in collaboration with GSAs themselves. The impact on efficiency is significant, compressing tasks that once took hours into minutes.
“With this new system, bookings will go from eight hours a day to one hour,” Lantrok explains. “Post-flighting will go from eight hours to twenty minutes.”
Crucially, those gains are not being used to shrink the team, but to refocus it. By reducing time spent on repetitive tasks, the company is able to invest more energy into customer interaction, problem-solving and relationship management. In that sense, technology becomes an enabler rather than a replacement.
“We use the AI as our right hand,” he says. “It makes things simple so we can focus on our customers.”
This balance between digital capability and human engagement is likely to define the next phase of the GSA industry. As platforms become more sophisticated and processes more automated, the expectation from customers will shift towards speed and transparency. Yet the need for judgement, flexibility and accountability will remain.
Simple Cargo’s recent agreement with Jetack reflects a broader awareness of where those opportunities are emerging. By adding a time-critical, same-day delivery capability to its portfolio, the company is positioning itself within a segment where speed and precision are paramount. It is not a move towards diversification for its own sake, but a targeted response to evolving customer needs.
Geographically, the business operates within one of the most complex and dynamic trade corridors in the world. With a significant proportion of its cargo flowing into and out of China, it is exposed to geopolitical tension, regulatory shifts and fluctuating demand patterns. Rather than viewing that as a risk to be mitigated, Simple Cargo treats it as an area of specialisation.
“If you send us a quote request, within seconds you will have three options,” Lantrok says. “There is almost nothing that we do not know about that market.”
That depth of knowledge is built through repetition and focus. By consistently operating within specific corridors, the team develops a level of familiarity that allows for faster, more confident decision-making. In a volatile environment, that capability becomes a significant advantage.
Operational stability, however, is not achieved through expertise alone. It is underpinned by relationships that have been built and maintained over many years. Partnerships with providers such as Wallenborn are not transactional, they are strategic. They ensure that when pressure points emerge, there is a shared commitment to resolving them.
“If you know the right people, you can make things happen,” Lantrok notes.
Looking ahead, the GSA landscape is likely to continue evolving along two parallel tracks. Larger groups will expand their reach, driven by scale, systems and global contracts. At the same time, a smaller number of independent operators will continue to carve out space through specialisation and service intensity.
For Lantrok, the future is not about competing directly with scale, but about maintaining differentiation within it.
“I think companies like us will always have a place,” he says. “We just need to make sure we keep staying different.”
That difference is not defined by size, but by proximity. Knowing customers by name. Understanding their pressures. Being available when something goes wrong, not just when everything is running smoothly. It is a model that does not scale easily, but that is precisely its strength.
“The day comes that we have customers I don’t know the names of, that’s not good,” he adds.
It is a simple statement, but one that captures the essence of what Simple Cargo is building. In an industry that is becoming increasingly digital, increasingly automated and increasingly consolidated, the advantage may still belong to those who remain closest to the work itself.
And in air cargo, that often comes down to something remarkably straightforward. Who answers the phone, and what they do next.