CHAPTER 03

Transforming the Travel and Transport Industries through Modernisation


Modernisation typically combines cultural change and technical advancement. In the travel and transport sectors, the most painful aspect may well be technology, since many established players have large technology systems developed over decades.

At Stena Line, the company has worked with the same systems and data for many years – and not all of these things are in good shape, says Mattias Gereny, the company’s Manager of Digital Transformation. Working with huge numbers of systems across multiple countries makes data quality a huge issue, and without data quality management, the strategy falls apart.

For the past year, Stena has been implementing company-wide governance policies around customer and partner data and is now turning its attention to underlying infrastructure. “A lot of companies start with infrastructure, data lakes and BI solutions, but you end up having to redo a lot of it afterwards, if you’re not doing it in a controlled way and getting your data into good shape,” says Mattias Gereny.

The Customer Centric Technologies Transforming Travel

As travel and transport organisations adopt a more people-centric view of business, the demand for data services will grow exponentially. One of the most exciting ways this data is being utilised is through AI and ML programmes.

Stena Line has rolled out a program called Fuel Pilots that collects data from sensors tracking weather, tonnage and core ferry systems.

"The application provides recommendations for the captains to operate the ships, including the optimal route and speed, thereby saving a lot of fuel,” says Mattias Gereny, Digital Transformation Manager, Stena Line.

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Stena Line has rolled out a program called Fuel Pilots that collects data from sensors tracking weather, tonnage and core ferry systems. The application provides recommendations for the captains to operate the ships, including the optimal route and speed, thereby saving a lot of fuel.

Looking forward, the company is also working on a proof of concept for AI in marketing. “We would like to determine patterns between different customers, segments and categories, to get recommendations on what kind of offer to send to which customers,” he adds.

Marketing represents a rich opportunity for AI technology in driving customer bookings, ancillary purchases and partner cross-sales. Many airlines are using AI to guide marketing interactions. For example, if a Silver status customer visits the site but fails to book, AI could be used to retarget the customer with the type of content they usually engage with, for example a video ad or customised banner. Once a booking is made, the AI can also note that the customer previously booked a hotel through the airline and offer appropriate information.

Machine learning takes this a step further by improving a customer’s journey based on the experience of other, similar customers. Telematics also has potential to drive transformation. At The AA, the company launched a “Smart Breakdown” service that relies on automation and telematics to provide a better customer experience. “We have a little plug-in device that you can stick into the car and resolve all the telematics data from your car,” says Robert Ogilvie, Director of Data with The AA. “It will tell you a lot of the electronic faults, although obviously, it won’t tell you if your exhaust has fallen off!”

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At The AA, the company launched a “Smart Breakdown” service that relies on automation and telematics to provide a better customer experience. We have a little plug-in device that you can stick into the car and resolve all the telematics data from your car. It will tell you a lot of the electronic faults, although obviously, it won’t tell you if your exhaust has fallen off!

Robert Ogilvie | Director of Data at The AA

Over time the hope is that this technology could evolve to the point where a telematics device could perform checks on cars, and give customers visibility of their vehicle’s health, and any potential issues. “We’d like to get to the stage where the customer is able to see they are likely to break down, and we can give them the learnings to ensure they go and charge their battery, for example,” says Robert Ogilvie.

Modernising Data Ecosystems

Organisations looking to deliver this kind of insight need to reimagine their data platform to be a secure, flexible, scalable and future-ready to process the massive volumes of standardised, integrated data. According to a research and markets report, the market for data lakes is expected to grow at a rate of 27.4% over the period 2019-2024.

These centralised data repositories allow organisations to store vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, then use analytics and machine learning to deliver insights and guide better and faster decision making.

Data lakes have transformed the way CMA CGM uses data. “Years ago, our databases were how we accessed past data, and produced static reporting, but now our data lake is supporting a more dynamic strategy, and we can get into predictive analytics,” says Emilie Alba, Head of Finance Organisation & Information Systems, CMA with the transportation firm.

The vision of modern data platforms promises endless visibility, but organisations must not overlook the human element. "Often, these platforms can be so vast and contain so much information, that it is essential for skilled humans to have oversight and make judgements about what should be analysed and for what purpose. I can see huge amounts of pretty graphs, pretty pictures, lots and lots of data. But what is it telling me?” says Tim Standen, International Supply Chain Director at global logistics and transport company Kuehne + Nagel. “The complexity of what you’re doing is so great you can end up with data paralysis. I want to know how this helps me improve my service, my value or reduce my risk.”

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Often, these platforms can be so vast and contain so much information, that it is essential for skilled humans to have oversight and make judgements about what should be analysed and for what purpose. I can see huge amounts of pretty graphs, pretty pictures, lots and lots of data. But what is it telling me?

The advice from the IT leaders interviewed for this eBook with regard to modernising data platform is:

-Ensure platforms are well-structured, well-architected and well-maintained. You will also need to institutionalise robust enterprise data management methods, implemented from the start.

-To avoid an expensive ‘swamp’ where data is dumped but cannot be retrieved or remains unused, organisations must have a business case to design for scale.

-Have data governance centralised for compliance, federated for self-service. This means they ensure the quality of data and the appropriate use of that data.

Anand Rao, Consulting Director for Data & Intelligence highlights the need for really strong storytelling within your organisations: “This can really help to unleash the power of your data by having the right conversations on people skills, applied AI techniques, tools and technologies to bring the findings to life. Once you have got to the point of gaining valuable insights then it’s important to evangelise with enthusiasm what can be achieved for your organisation through better use of your data assets.”

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This can really help to unleash the power of your data by having the right conversations on people skills, applied AI techniques, tools and technologies to bring the findings to life. Once you have got to the point of gaining valuable insights then it’s important to evangelise with enthusiasm what can be achieved for your organisation through better use of your data assets.

Anand Rao | Consulting Director for Data & Intelligence at Mindtree

The Potential of Cloud in Delivering Customer-Centric Strategies

According to McKinsey, spending on cloud specific technology is expected to grow at six times the rate of general IT spending during 2020. This indicates that most organisations are moving at least some systems into cloud environments.

Cloud platforms and applications offer scalability and a faster pace of change in many cases. It’s certainly not just a cost-effective alternative to old-school hosting and network type activities. Many organisations have increased the pace of cloud transformation in light of the recent pandemic, with the need to support remote workers and collaboration in virtual environments.

Cloud can be invaluable in helping organisations drive innovation and better services, says Brian Hogg, Head of Strategic Technology, Post Office Ltd. “The ability to potentially release change and drive value more frequently, at a better managed cost and with scale on demand is hugely important,” he says. “What cloud is doing is making the ability to deliver change more efficient, but the innovation still has to come from within an organisation.”

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The ability to potentially release change and drive value more frequently, at a better managed cost and with scale on demand is hugely important. What cloud is doing is making the ability to deliver change more efficient, but the innovation still has to come from within an organisation.

Brian Hogg | Head of Strategic Technology, Post Office Ltd

At Network Rail, the company is taking a slow and steady approach to cloud, reviewing and putting tactical, non-critical systems into the cloud while monitoring total cost of ownership.

“Cloud does offer agility, but if you start looking at whole lifetime costs, it’s not so easy to decipher. We’re looking at whether it makes sense, from a business benefit and also cost perspective”, says Emon Khan, Head of Digital Business Platform with Network Rail.

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Cloud does offer agility, but if you start looking at whole lifetime costs, it’s not so easy to decipher. We’re looking at whether it makes sense, from a business benefit and also cost perspective.

Next: Chapter 04

People and Processes: Fostering a Customer-Centric Culture

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