hybris and Portaltech Reply to Build Specialised Omni-Channel Customer Engagement and Commerce Solution for Airline Industry

hybris and Portaltech Reply to Build Specialised Omni-Channel Customer Engagement and Commerce Solution for Airline Industry

‘Airline Accelerator’ reduces risk and cost associated with building large scale customer engagement and commerce strategies in the airline industry

HONG KONG – hybris software, an SAP company, announced it has partnered with Portaltech Reply, an e-commerce implementation and consulting specialist, part of Reply, to build a specialised omni-channel customer engagement and commerce solution for the airline industry. The hybris Airline Accelerator will support airlines to transition from existing proprietary or home-built e-commerce systems, to state-of-the-art, omni-channel customer engagement and commerce (CEC) solutions allowing them to build stronger, lasting relationships with their passengers.

Airlines today face a number of unique challenges when it comes to engaging and selling to customers across online and offline channels. Passengers are increasingly using the web and mobile devices to research, book and pay for trips; the number of third parties – global distribution systems (GDSs), travel management companies (TMCs), hotels, insurance companies – involved in the customer journey makes orchestrating the process challenging; and the need to provide different bundles of ancillary services adds another layer of complexity. While airlines recognise the need to embrace omni-channel customer engagement and commerce technologies, taking the first step can be a daunting process.

The hybris Airline Accelerator aims to simplify the adoption of these solutions by providing a set of pre-defined, pre-built data models, templates and processes specifically designed and optimised for the challenges of running an airline booking system. It will enable carriers everywhere to access the benefits of an omni-channel customer engagement and commerce solution – customised bundles and offers, personalised marketing, real-time data analytics, all available across web, mobile, contact centre – significantly reducing time to market, as well as time and cost of future functional and business enhancements.

Moritz Zimmerman, Senior Vice President Pre-Sales & Industry, hybris and SAP Customer Engagement and Commerce commented: “Although airlines everywhere are conscious of the need to overhaul their approach to e-commerce in response to shifting customer expectations, the perceived cost and complexity associated with transformational IT projects of this nature can often dissuade decision makers from embarking on them. The hybris Airline Accelerator is specifically designed to reduce these risks, giving airlines the confidence to take their customer engagement and commerce strategy to the next level.”

Nandakumar Balasubramanian, Partner at Portaltech Reply comments: “Portaltech Reply and hybris both understand that the airline industry faces challenges that are different to other market segments, and are developing the Airline Accelerator to address them head on. Together, we believe in the power of technology to realise the vision of a ‘connected airline’, and are excited to be part of innovating towards this goal.”