Vertical: Warehouse
Application: Barcode scanning, mobile workforce connectivity, IoT sensors, cargo dimensioning, push-to-talk communications
Ecosystem: Ericsson, Zebra Technologies, Lufthansa Industry Solutions
Private Network: 5G, CBRS
Lufthansa Cargo, one of the world’s leading air freight carriers serving roughly 350 destinations across about 100 countries, depends on constant digital connectivity to keep its warehouse operations running. At its LAX facility – spanning more than 100,000 square feet of indoor warehouse and outdoor apron area – the company had long relied on Wi-Fi, but the network was creating more problems than it solved. After a year-long proof of concept, Lufthansa Cargo replaced its legacy wireless infrastructure with Ericsson Private 5G, deployed in partnership with its IT consulting subsidiary Lufthansa Industry Solutions. Process speeds improved by 70 to 80 percent and unplanned downtime was effectively eliminated.
The core problem was that Wi-Fi could not support a workforce in constant motion. Workers on foot and aboard forklifts use handheld Zebra barcode scanners throughout the facility to track cargo during storage, loading, and unloading. The existing network relied on 17 access points, and every time a device roamed between them, the connection would drop. Even a one-second disconnection triggered a manual reauthentication requiring workers to re-enter credentials. As Operations Manager Mario Schwarz put it, “What should be a 30-second task can easily become 3 to 5 minutes.” In an operation that handles nearly 300 metric tons of freight in just 120 minutes during aircraft turnarounds, those delays created cascading backlogs. VP Americas Stephanie Abeler noted that every minute without connectivity eroded customer trust and the service reputation Lufthansa Cargo had built. Workers fell back on handwritten paper documentation, further compounding inefficiency.
Lufthansa Industry Solutions conducted a comparative assessment of Wi-Fi, public cellular, and private cellular, finding that private cellular outperformed the alternatives on coverage consistency, reliability, and seamless mobility. Ericsson’s Adam Schipper observed that warehousing use cases have changed dramatically over the past decade – mobile scanning, live tracking, computer vision, and robotics all demand uninterrupted connectivity that Wi-Fi was never designed to provide. Private 5G also offered the flexibility to adapt to constantly changing warehouse layouts without reconfiguring access-point architectures.
The proof of concept ran for nearly a year on freely available CBRS spectrum. When Lufthansa Cargo moved to full deployment, it replaced all 17 Wi-Fi access points with just two Ericsson radios – providing continuous coverage across the entire facility through a single wide-area cellular cell that eliminated roaming altogether. There were no more dropped connections, handover delays, or manual reauthentication. Schwarz described the impact directly: “The most impressive thing was the reliability, because we never had any minute of unplanned outage during the POC and now in the operational phase. There never was any outage. And with the stable connectivity, we improved our process speed by between 70 and 80%, which is awesome.”
Workforce adoption proved equally significant. Under Wi-Fi, shop floor employees had grown skeptical of digital tools and often preferred paper because it was more dependable. That changed almost immediately with private 5G. As Schwarz explained, “Our shop floor workers are not technical people—they’re focused on doing their jobs efficiently. They’re not interested in technical specifications or how fancy the system is. What matters to them is simple: it works.” Paper logs became unnecessary within days of implementation.
Beyond the Zebra scanners, Lufthansa Cargo expanded its use of the network to support staff tablets, mobile stations for on-site U.S. Customs and Border Protection workers, push-to-talk devices, and IoT sensors. The company also connected a new dimensioner – an automated system using video cameras, sensors, and scales that measures cargo as forklifts drive through, then recommends optimal aircraft loading positions. SIM-based authentication and the network’s isolated architecture provide stronger security than enterprise Wi-Fi, while Ericsson’s cloud-based management platform enables remote monitoring and rapid adjustments.
Lufthansa Cargo is now evaluating a broader U.S. rollout, with potential deployments at JFK, Atlanta, and Chicago. The availability of CBRS spectrum makes these expansions more cost-effective than equivalent European deployments, where spectrum licenses must be purchased. The LAX site, in production for over a year, serves as a replicable template for future facilities. Planned use cases include autonomous guided vehicles, CCTV with augmented reality overlays, AI-powered anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance from continuous IoT data. For Lufthansa Cargo, the private 5G network at LAX has become the connectivity foundation on which the company is building its broader digital and sustainability strategy.
