Introduction
In a highly competitive world, there is a need to be one step ahead of the competition. This is the time in the history of mankind when companies can be easily started using minimal resources such as a computer and an Internet connection. This is possible because in this Information Age there is an extensive array of knowledge made available at one’s fingertips. The Internet is levelling the playing field and someone with daring and imagination can establish a company that can topple business giants. Thus there is a need to open distribution channels for customers, facilitate productivity, and to always be in the lookout for strategies that can create a competitive advantage. In the 21st century it is imperative that companies should invest in communication technology in order to ensure success.
There is a need to develop that will ensure success. In this regard it must be pointed out that the transportation industry will greatly benefit from this approach. In an airline company or a car rental company there are numerous things that are constantly in motion and without a tool to manage such frenetic activity, the management team will be at a loss to effectively lead the company to greater heights. Means of transportation such as airplanes and cars are not the only things that move in this industry – the workers are mobile too. In a typical setting employees more in and out of company headquarters but in a global company employees are located in different parts of the world and separated by thousands of miles from the home office. It would be impossible for the CEO or the management team to efficiently track and monitor all of them.
This type of industry one can easily experience the logistical nightmare of keeping everything in sync and maintaining consistent quality service in every branch or location. In this regard the proponent of this paper will attempt to find out how two UK-based companies were able to solve problems associated with big organizations and the challenges inherent in them. In studying UK’s transportation industry there are two companies that stood out in terms of their relative importance to the national economy as well as their usage of certain communication technologies that help improved their respective overall performance and profitability. These are listed as follows:
- Avis Europe which is a car rental company;
- British Airways which is the national airline and flag carrier of the United Kingdom.
These two companies been in existence for many decades and had proven their resilience in the UK market. It will be shown later how corporate leadership endeavoured to introduce changes especially in the use of communication technology. The following pages will also describe how communication technology was used to improve customer service and at the same time enhance the overall performance of the aforementioned companies.
Avis Europe
When it comes to the impact of communication technology the UK based company Avis Europe is one of the best example on how this type of technology can improve the overall operation of the company when it comes to the rapid expansion of a business organization. In 1946 Warren Avis founded the Avis Airlines Rent a Car System at Willow Run Airport in Detroit USA. He was one of the first to anticipate the coming boom in tourism and thus the need to rent cars in various travel destinations. The company started small and it was the first car rental operation located in an airport (Avis Rent A Car, 2008). But this little outfit would soon become a global brand.
In 1973 the company was able to achieve market leadership in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, just eight years after Avis Europe was founded (Avis Rent A Car, 2008). In 1986 Avis Europe legally from its former owner, Avis, Inc. and in 1997 extended license to 27 territories in Asia (Avis Rent a Car, 2008). Today, Avis Europe is one of the biggest companies in the United Kingdom but it would have been impossible for Avis Europe to dominate in this continent as well as in other parts of the world without the aid of communication technology. In 1985 Avis Europe began using a sophisticated computer system aptly called the Wizard (Avis Rent a Car, 2008). This piece of technology enabled Avis Europe to become the undisputed leader in the car rental industry.
At a time when computers were not yet very popular in UK households, Avis Europe was one of the companies who took the chance in investing into a computer system that was designed to streamline their operations. It did not take long before corporate leadership as well as the customers came to realise that the Wizard was simply an amazing tool. The Wizard computer system was the first to use an extensive on-line, real-time reservation to track down, manage rental cars as well as the management information necessary to run a very complicated operation (Avis Rent A Car, 2008). One could only imagine what will happen if a customer made a reservation ahead of time and then when he comes up during the exact time that he said he would – he will be disappointed because there is no car waiting for him.
Over the years Avis Europe made improvements in the system and using current technology the said company was able to add a new feature called the Wizard Card. The Wizard Card is a card containing the customer’s personal identification number which is an identifier that is linked to the information provided in the application form. This simply means that whenever the customer is transacting with Avis Europe the personal identification number can be used to speed up the process of making a reservation and rental. Aside from getting a fast and efficient service the Wizard Card also allows Avis Europe to manage other essential information such as special guarantees, payment and billing details.
This will reduce waiting time and allow the customer to avoid long queues and limit the amount of paperwork. The customer will definitely save time as well as reduce stress. Instead of spending so much time and effort in processing the car rental agreement the customer will be free to focus on other things. This will also minimise mistakes as the Wizard computer system will be able to have access to consistent information. Moreover, the system ensures that headquarters will be able to have consistent information regarding the travel and car rental plans of the customer even if he or she had made multiple travel plans all over the world. This means that the Wizard computer system allows for seamless integration of Avis Europe’s operations all over the world.
Aside from the Wizard computer system Avis Europe has another weapon in its arsenal, so to speak. In the year 2000, Avis Europe announced a partnership with Symbol Technologies and Technological Solutions (TBS). Symbol Technologies, Inc. – now under Motorola –specialises in mobile data transaction systems that are innovative customer solutions based on wireless networking for data mobile computing (Motorola-Symbol Technologies, 2008). The innovative solution tailor made for Avis Europe is the Symbol PPT 2700 hand-held computer that is powered by a Microsoft Pocket PC operating system (Symbol Technologies, 2008). This device will enable Avis Europe to quickly and accurately assess damaged vehicles. This device is also being used to quickly process rental check-in.
According to TBS light damaged vehicles are becoming “…increasingly costly for car rental companies” (Symbol Technologies, 2008). This means that in the desire to quickly process rental check-in, there is a tendency to overlook minor scratches, bumps and dents. So instead of making the repair cost part of the rental agreement, the company will be unfairly forced to should all the expenses. On the other hand there is the dilemma of allowing the customer to breeze through the rental check-in phase without having to bother him or her with complex paper work etc.
This is where the Symbol PPT 2700 hand-held computer comes in handy. The following features will fully explain the value of the communication technology to Avis Europe (Symbol Technologies, 2008):
- Appraisals can be completed in two minutes;
- If there is new damage to the returned vehicle the hand held device will immediately calculate the cost of repair using industry standard times and part costs;
- The customer can then agree and then sign on the computer screen of the said device;
- Crucial customer information such as signatures are not lost as the information will be sent to the Wizard computer system which in turn updates the fleet record and calculates the final rental charge which by the way can be printed immediately and therefore provide the necessary paperwork needed by the customer.
The company was able to hit two birds with one stone. This hand-held device was a tremendous boost to employee morale and customer satisfaction. The task of the employee was simplified while at the same time creating a system where information can be exchanged accurately giving the customers the peace of mind that they will not be short-changed at the end. Combining Symbol’s PPT 2700 and the Wizard computer system will give Avis Europe such a tremendous competitive advantage that it will surely be able to maintain its status as the number one car rental company in Europe, the Middle-East and Asia.
Aside from the Wizard computer system and the Symbol PPT 2700 hand held computer Avis Europe is also utilising the power of the Internet. The company’s website is easy to use and can allow customers the convenience to complete their travel plans without having to spend so much time calling and completing unnecessary paperwork. The Internet allows for secure transaction and therefore the customer can be assured that once transaction is completed they can worry about other things except their car rental needs.
British Airways
There is no need to elaborate regarding the importance of the British Airways to the economy of Britain. A highly industrialised nation like the UK will never be able to survive without a highly efficient airline able to provide air transportation service to its people and the various industries requiring air transport. According to one business partner, “British Airways operates one of the world’s most expensive international scheduled airline route networks, comprising some 147 destinations in 75 countries, carrying … more than 33 million passengers worldwide” (Communigate, par. 1). It is easy to be overwhelmed by the logistical requirements of such a large organization.
But the management team tasked to ensure that there is a smooth operation 24 hours a day and 365 days a year could not afford to be overwhelmed by such a monumental task of moving people and products in and out of Britain. Aside from the gigantic airplanes that are under the control of British Airways there are also employees and various support staff requiring direct supervision. There is a need for tools to make it easier to manage human and non-human resources alike.
In order to put British Airways human resource problem into context it must be pointed out that that there are 30,000 mobile employees at British Airways. According to one CommuniGate, “British Airways relies on a highly mobile staff with employees working in the cabin, on the tarmac, and in baggage and maintenance areas rather than behind a desk” (CommuniGate Systems, Inc.). The challenge therefore is to use communication technology to unify communications within the organization.
The solution was to use CommuniGate Pro a communications platform that will allow British Airways 30,000 frontline employees via e-mail that will in turn provide access to internal messages and time-critical updates (CommuniGate Systems, 2008). The system was put to the test in 2006 when the introduction of new security measures disrupted operations in London’s Heathrow Airport, “With services in to and out of the airport being delayed, there was an urgent need to keep all operational staff up to date on the situation” (CommuniGate, 2008). This will also create not only a unified workforce but a happy and contented group who need not grope in the dark for lack of critical information.
Aside from the CommuniGate Pro British Airways is also utilising the power of the world-wide-web. There is no need for customers to personally go to their offices and talk to personnel. Right at the convenience of their homes they can make reservation and complete their travel plans and pay for the tickets with just a few clicks of the computer mouse. British Airways’ website is highly interactive and so the customer can easily understand what must be done to complete the transaction and to be sure that all the necessary information will be processed by the airline.
Conclusion
In the transportation industry there are so many things that are moving in different direction. This includes man and machine, making it very difficult for the management team to monitor, track, study, and lead the company to greater heights. In gigantic organizations such as Avis Europe and British Airways there are so many things that needed to work in synchronous harmony that one slight mistake can initiate a chain reaction of events that could lead to a disaster. Surely no one would like that to happen and therefore there must be a way to operate such a complex enterprise so that managers, workers and customers alike can collectively sigh a breath of relief and exclaim that everything went well.
The main challenge in Avis Europe is to ensure a quick and accurate process when it comes to renting and rental check-in. This is also made more complicated by the fact that customers can be travelling to multiple destinations and needing the same service. The company had to find a way to streamline operations and at the same time unify communications between different branches of Avis Europe. This was made possible by the use of the Wizard computer system and the Wizard card. The customer only needs to fill out an application once and the same information will be available 24 hours a day seven days a week in every Avis Europe branch from Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
But it is the use of the Wizard computer system in conjunction with the Symbol PPT 2700 that made all the difference in terms of creating a more reliable and much faster service that would delight customers and employees alike. The customers will be assured of accurate calculations because the hand-held computer can easily send information back and forth from rental check-in to the company’s headquarters. Thus if there is new damage to the car the computer can make rapid assessment and even complete the paper work in a very short time. This will definitely save the customer a lot of trouble and ensure that he or she will come back for more of Avis Europe.
The British Airways on the other hand is a gigantic operation that has one problem. There is no way to send messages to its 30, 000 mobile workforce. It is understandable why British Airways took a long time to fix this problem. All these employees are not chained to a desk and they have to move about and therefore could not access messages that are not needed to make their jobs a lot easier.
But all of these were solved upon the implementation of the CommuniGate Pro, a system that allows for e-mails to be sent and accessed by the mobile workforce. This will lessen the frustration of employees who are not aware of what is going on in the whole organization. This time there is now a more unified workforce in British Airways and this can translate to a more effective and efficient company able to sustain their competitive advantage.
References
CommuniGate Systems. (2007). “British Airways empowers employees with corporate e-mail via CommuniGate Pro.” Web.
CommuniGate Systems. (2007). “British Airways Taps CommuniGate Systems to Unify Communications.” Web.
Motorola-Symbol Technologies. (2000). “Symbol Product Offerings.” 2008. Web.
Symbol Technoligies. (2008). “Symbol Technoliges TBS Team to Provide Customer Service Solution to Avis European Customers.” Web.
The following questions are directed at the management team in charge of Avis Europe and British Airways:
- What is the most challenging problem faced by the company in recent years?
- What is the most complicated aspect of the operations side of the enterprise?
- What specific communication tool/technology is being used by the company?
- What is the impact of the communication tool/technology that was mentioned in response to question number 3?