travel tech insights

This week I was on a software provider's website and read this description of an ERP product feature, “With FeatureABC, the accuracy, the reliability and the availability of information are improved so management can make better strategic decisions more quickly. Consolidation is beneficial in many processes in an agency.”

At first, I found myself thinking, “What are they talking about? What does this mashup of adjectives even mean?” Then I thought, “How many people in the travel industry even know what reports they need, much less what reasonable expectations should be for their reporting tools and database?”

A recurring theme in this blog is the central role travel technology plays in the business model of successful travel companies, particularly enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems designed for the travel industry. There’s a simple explanation for this – Travel ERP has the potential to deliver such a wide array of benefits that it fits into any number of travel topics: reducing operational costs with automation; making better decisions with more accurate reporting; or supporting sales with better travel partner integration, just to name a few.  

In a recent blog we discussed how travel companies can derive benefits from Big Data, analytics and advanced reports in four operational areas:  

Two earlier posts addressed topics closely related to the subject of this blog: one covered the reasons why travel software-as-a-service (Travel SaaS) is an attractive technology model for companies in the this industry; the second discussed how the travel industry is using process automation to eliminate unnecessary costs from back office operations. This blog ties those two subjects together by presenting compelling reasons why travel companies should take a close look at cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. 

With continuing consolidation, intense competition and a global economy seemingly unable to break free from lackluster growth, there is relentless pressure on travel companies to discover new ways of: differentiating from competitors; marketing with better results; developing even more innovative services; and strengthening customer loyalty. Since all these endeavors cost money, smart companies begin by identifying and eliminating needless expenses. One of the overlooked places to uncover monetary – and productivity - leaks are manual workflow activities that can be optimized with back office automation.