Global travel distribution companyAmadeus has managedto save 15% on its telecommunications costsbyautomating billingwith its network
providers.
The travel booking company part owned by airlines AirFrance,
Lufthansa and Iberia, has implemented a strategy to manage
telecommunications costs as part of a wider strategy to lower the
cost of running its global network, which connects to airlines,
travel agents and hotels to its global reservation system.
Speaking at the
Burton Group
Catalyst conference earlier today, Heinrich Hauser, technical
manager at Amadeus, said, "I do not recall any time
telecommunications companies have made a mistake which has been in
our favour."
To better deal with billing mistakes, Heinrich has replaced
billing based on Excel spreadsheets and the Microsoft Access
database with a fully automated process, which provides electronic
processing of Amadeus' telecommunications bills, covering all its
network data, voice and mobile phone costs. Through this system,
telecommunications bills from the network and telco provider are
sent electronically directly to the billing system.
The savings forms part of the company's wider plans to migrate
from legacy IBM networks to IP-based communications and network
connectivity.
Through this strategy the company is now planning to provide
kiosk-based services at airports to support
e-ticketing for airline passengers.