Explaining How SAP Creates Value for the Travel and Transportation Industry

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to explain how SAP creates value for the Travel and Transportation industry.

SAP Value Creation

A person wearing a light blue shirt stands with their arms crossed in front of a geometric background featuring blue and white shapes

As a global leader in enterprise software, SAP provides immense value for customers in the travel and transportation industry. By leveraging their suite of integrated solutions, customers can enhance efficiency and profitability across an extensive range of operations – from airside and cargo activities to terminal services, capital investment, and facility management.

SAP's offerings aim to optimize businesses processes, enable accurate service billing, streamline financial reporting, and facilitate transformation through flexible billing processes. For hospitality businesses, SAP Solutions assist in attracting guests, managing bookings, improving on-site experiences, support efficiency, and driving post-stay engagements. From airports to hotels, SAP's advanced technology drives efficient operations and delivers exceptional customer experiences, transforming the travel and transportation industry.

In this unit, you will learn more about these solutions as well as some customer testimonials on how SAP helped them run better.

Important Questions

The SAP logo over a busy port

The airports industry is facing change in every dimension. Do any of the following questions sound familiar to you?

  • "How can I leverage my workforce as efficiently as possible to improve the travel experience?"
  • "How do I accommodate the increasing numbers of air travelers while improving operational efficiency?"
  • "How do I transform into a green airport?"
  • "How do I accommodate the increasing numbers of air travelers while improving operational efficiency?"
  • "How can I use AI technologies to streamline operations and improve efficiency?"
  • "How can I better predict potential disruptions?"

SAP Solutions in the Airport Industry are here to help you with these questions you may have. Let’s look at some existing SAP customers in the airport industry.

SAP Customers in the Airport Industry

Brussels Airport

The Brussels Airport logo

Brussels Airport Company is building the airport of tomorrow in the "heart of Europe." At the core of its own operations is an integrated IT landscape based on standardization and best practices. That landscape is fueled by SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and the SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, and SAP Concur solutions.

To learn more, please visit the following link.

Changi Airport Group

The Changi Airport Group logo

Singapore Changi Airport is known and loved as one of the world’s greatest airports. To deliver an omnichannel shopping experience worthy of its namesake, Changi Airport Group – the company responsible for managing this world-class airport – turned to the SAP Commerce Cloud solution. With the help of SAP solutions, Changi Airport Group offers three times more SKUs to customers, acquired 70,000 customers shortly after launching the new e-commerce platform and five times more merchants available to shoppers.

To learn more, please visit the following link

Munich Airport NJ

The Munich Airport logo

Munich Airport NJ is the operator of New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal A, managing all aspects of the flight passenger’s experience from curb to gate. However, the company had struggled with balancing books efficiently, so it sought an ERP solution to streamline operations and provide the tools necessary to establish a proficient finance department. Now, Munich Airport NJ can manage every aspect of the business more proficiently than ever before. The enterprise is soaring to new heights, looking to the future with growth and expansion in mind.

To learn more, please visit the following link.

Portway

The Portway logo

Ground handling services provider, Portway, is achieving its strategic priorities of operational and process efficiency with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. With simplified, unified and automated processes, Portway has gained the adaptability and flexibility to succeed in the dynamic air transport industry.

To learn more, please visit the following link.

SAP Value Creation in the Airport Industry

The image shows an airport terminal with vacant seating, visible signage for various gates, a silver suitcase, and a plane taking off in the background.

As we delve deeper into our exploration of the travel and transportation industry, we will now focus on how SAP solutions can specifically enhance efficiency and profitability in key operational areas. This section will guide you through practical applications in airside and cargo operations, terminal services, capital investment, and facility management, offering strategic insights to elevate your organization's performance.

Airside and Cargo Operations

  • Enable accurate and fast service billing and settlement and revenue reporting.
  • Optimize your billing and revenue reporting with integrated financial data.
  • Enable business model transformation through a flexible billing process for outcome-based services.

Terminal Services

  • Manage contract and lease agreements efficiently through real-time insights and financial postings​.
  • Simplify compliance with new lease accounting standards, International Financing Reporting Standard 16 (IFRS16) and Accounting Standards Codification 842 (ASC 842).
  • Optimize your billing and revenue reporting with integrated financial data.

Capital Investment

  • Plan, execute, and monitor projects in real time to minimize deviations in schedule, cost, and scope​.
  • Align portfolios with strategy while analyzing risk and performance in real time with SAP S/4HANA.
  • Describe project scope and set up project structure for execution​.
  • Manage and control project financials effectively and deliver projects within budget.

Facility Management

  • Disclose sustainability performance with confidence to internal and external stakeholders​.
  • Provides digital representation of a building and is the platform that supports other real estate processes.
  • Create, update, delete, and archive asset master, transactional, time series, and events data and business rules for assets.

SAP Customers in the Hospitality Industry

The WebBeds logo

WebBeds is a one-stop marketplace for travel sellers and buyers from around the world. In recent years, organic growth and acquisition have made WebBeds one of the biggest providers in the bed-bank space. SAP solutions unify their market presence, enhancing interactions with stakeholders. Smooth process integration streamlines invoicing, payments, and communications. As they extend the implementation of SAP solutions globally, they anticipate realizing even greater efficiencies and value.

To learn more, please visit the following link.

The Wyndham Hotel and Resorts logo

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc is an American hospitality company based in Parsippany, New Jersey, United States. It describes itself as the largest hotel franchisor in the world, with 9,100 locations.

The challenges Wyndham Hotels and Resorts faced before SAP Solutions were that they needed to streamline and automate manual processes, modernize reward and recognition platforms, and increase the speed of rewards approvals to reward desired behaviors when they occur.

Upon implementing the new recognition program based on a points-based system, the HR team experienced much greater employee engagement with the program across teams, peers, and managers. Rewards were processed three times faster in North America within the first month the program was available.

To learn more, please visit the following link.

SAP Value Creation in the Hospitality Industry

Three individuals are engaged in a conversation at a modern reception desk, possibly discussing a check-in at a hotel or office lobby.

The following is how you can leverage SAP solutions to attract and acquire guests, manage bookings, enhance on-site experience, support operational efficiency and drive post-stay engagements. Let’s have a look at these key value drivers in more detail.

Attract and Acquire Guests

  • SAP solutions greatly facilitate the development of marketing campaigns in the hospitality industry, allowing for efficient creation and implementation of strategies that attract and retain customers.

  • SAP provides a robust platform for conducting rigorous leads and campaign analysis, enabling businesses in the hospitality industry to track their progress and make data-driven decisions.

  • With the help of SAP solutions, the hospitality industry can systematically develop and manage loyalty programs, thereby ensuring customer retention and driving revenue growth.

  • SAP aids in fostering agency collaboration for customer acquisition by providing a unified platform for communication, project management, and data sharing, which is crucial for acquiring and retaining customers in the hospitality industry.

Manage Conversations and Bookings

  • SAP solutions are pivotal in the hospitality industry for optimizing the booking processes, thus improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

  • SAP solutions play a critical role in pricing and sales management by ensuring cost-effectiveness and increasing hotel profitability.

  • Additionally, SAP solutions facilitate the cross-selling and up-selling of services during booking, providing a significant revenue boost and enhancing the guest experience.

Enhance On-Site Experience

  • SAP solutions are instrumental in providing guest-experience personalization by offering customers the privilege of customizing their experiences according to their preferences, enhancing overall customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry.

  • In relation to front-desk operations, SAP solutions streamline the check-in and check-out processes, making them efficient and quick, thereby enhancing the on-site experience for guests.

  • SAP solutions also foster the coordination of ancillary services such as in-room dining, spa, and travel bookings, which highly improves the guests' experience on-site.

  • Lastly, SAP solutions play a crucial role in improving the quality management across housekeeping by ensuring a high standard of cleanliness and timely housekeeping service, which significantly enhances the guests' experience while staying in any hospitality institution.

Support Operational Efficiency

  • SAP solutions provides advanced scheduling management features for staff and amenities, bolstering operational efficiency in the hospitality industry by ensuring optimal allocation of resources.

  • With SAP solutions, businesses in the hospitality industry can effectively manage supply chains across all inventory types, thereby reducing waste, minimizing holding costs, and ensuring the right goods are available when needed.

  • SAP solutions cater to the hospitality industry's need to manage complex and fragmented financials, offering streamlined processes and real-time reporting that aid in informed decision making, financial transparency, and improved fiscal performance.

Drive Post-Stay Engagements

  • SAP solutions facilitate the compilation and analysis of post-stay feedback and online reviews, allowing hoteliers to improve guest satisfaction and enhance their online reputation in the hospitality industry.

  • By leveraging SAP solutions, businesses in the hospitality industry can effectively execute guest-retention campaigns, nurturing relationships with their guests and encouraging repeat bookings.

  • Additionally, facility repair management is better streamlined with SAP solutions, enabling hoteliers to promptly address any facility-related issues and provide an exceptional guest experience post-stay.

Lesson Summary

  • Optimizing Airport Operations: The airport industry faces challenges like improving travel experiences, accommodating increasing numbers of travelers, and transitioning to greener airports. SAP solutions like SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP Analytics Cloud aid in optimizing these operations through technology integration, improving efficiency and sustainability.

  • SAP Success Stories in the Airport Industry: Leading airports such as Brussels Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Munich Airport NJ, and Portway have leveraged SAP solutions to enhance operational efficiency, financial management, and customer experience. These tools allow airports to innovate across various aspects, from finance optimization to expanding e-commerce platforms.

  • Value Creation through SAP Solutions: SAP provides comprehensive solutions that support the airline industry in diverse operations, such as airside and cargo operations, terminal services, capital investment, and facility management. These tools aid in revenue optimization, real-time project management, and ensuring compliance, thus driving profitability and strategic growth.

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