booking for air cargo
If only air cargo carriers and their customers could take out cost and improve processes by offering a web-based solution for bookings and shipment management that their clients found useful. This would need to reflect their individual ways of working and systems, while offering the flexibility to work with those of future carriers joining the service.
Done.
Working closely with three carriers and their customers, Unisys used XML interfaces and a modular approach to deliver a system that was so flexible and easy to use that it quickly gained market acceptance.
Air cargo has struggled to enter the Internet-age.Web-based solutions for booking space and managing shipments have either failed due to unrealistic visions, or been slowed down by complex IT integration issues. A major problem is the wide range of different legacy systems in use by airlines and their freight forwarder customers. Booking procedures also vary from airline to airline. Personal relationships remain important, preventing new technology take-up.
Three airlines – Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and Air Canada – decided to break through that barrier. Putting aside their commercial rivalry, they agreed on an approach for a web-based booking and shipment management system. In May 2002, they asked Unisys to make that vision a reality.
Unisys offered in-depth experience in the realities of the cargo business combined with a will to help make it more successful. Its air cargo system was used by two of the carriers, and it also had valuable web development and integration expertise from other projects. But that was not the primary reason why it was chosen. “Unisys listened,” said Jim Friedel, president of Northwest Airlines Cargo. “They were prepared to spend time to understand what we were looking for. Too many of the other providers wanted to impose their solution on us rather than listen and really work with us.”
Cost and speed were also key factors. With a rival platform already up and running, the three carriers were keen to bring their solution to market very quickly. After September 11 2001, investments had also been slashed in the airline industry. Unisys could draw on its existing air cargo solutions and bring world-class expertise from other parts of its business to provide a quicker and very cost effective solution. The solution was able to go live just six months after Unisys was appointed.
The big challenge was to devise a system that could work with not just a wide range of legacy IT systems but also with the different procedures among airlines. These included not just divergent booking procedures but different attitudes to pricing. Recognizing that most shipments are sold at negotiated rates, the group quickly decided not to waste time developing a price quotation system and so avoided one of the pitfalls of failed dotcom solutions that had tried to move to auction models of selling capacity.
It was also important to create a solution that would be acceptable not just to the forwarder customers, but also other carriers. “Forwarders don’t want to go to a large number of carrier sites; they want one portal they can use to book across airlines,” said Mark Haeussler, director Cargo Strategic Planning and Business Development at United Airlines. That meant the site had to meet not just the needs of the three launch carriers. It also had to make joining easy for other carriers that would join after the portal went live.
How Did Unisys Do It?
Flexible technology, customer participation
The technology decisions in Cargo Portal Services (CPS) – the Unisys solution – were not unduly complex. For flexibility of interfaces, XML was the obvious choice. That was the best way to connect the portal with the diverse IT systems in the air cargo industry and allowed for future customization. Fortunately, Unisys found itself pushing at an open door in this respect. “There is now recognition among carriers that XML is the way forward, even if they are progressing at different speeds,” said Steve Schuppenhauer, Unisys technical architect. “We are taking advantage of that trend and driving it forward.”
An object-oriented approach was also adopted to re-use existing modules from other Unisys projects. Other key technologies were a Weblogic server and a multi-tier architecture using J2EE. This open approach was key as one of the three launch carriers, United Airlines Cargo, used an in-house developed cargo system that gave the development team an important test bed for their interface solutions.
Most important of all in the swift and successful development of the system however, was the way the airlines and Unisys worked together. The three carriers remained closely involved in the project, taking on project roles and holding weekly development meetings with Unisys. Forwarders, the users of the system and the key to its success or failure, were also involved at all stages. “A key factor for success is that early on we focused on a clear set of requirements,” said Friedel. “We hammered down our different wish lists to something achievable. That is a key reason why the project was able to succeed.”
Once Unisys was appointed, the process of refining requirements was worked on even more intensively. The original broad design had to be refined into detailed specifications, a three month process that required further setting aside of competitive issues and differences by the three carriers. The result, however, was that before a line of code was written, the exact functionality of the portal had been clearly defined. “This was the most challenging aspect of the project,” said Unisys project manager Dave Fischer. “But I have to hand it to the carriers. They really came together and we merged three perspectives into a common approach so the objectives were very clear.”
Involvement of forwarders also dated back to the early days of the project. A group of nine forwarders of varying sizes and scope had been consulted by the three carriers when drawing up their original plans. They continued to participate fully in the specification and development phases through a series of meetings and test sessions. This was important to minimize the amount of reworking needed during the test phase. Glitches were ironed out at an early stage and customer views were reflected in the final design.
Ideas from forwarders resulted in several enhancements to CPS. The most important was a function whereby multiple bookings could be loaded into the portal to reflect the way business often needs to be done. This was incorporated into the launch version.
Results Delivered
Intuitive to use, quickly adopted
The real importance of forwarder participation came when the system went live in January 2003. The biggest barrier CPS had to overcome in the industry at large was a resistance to new technology: front line staff in forwarder offices remain fond of traditional booking methods such as the phone and fax.
The solution was to undertake exhaustive testing of CPS’ functionality with an advisory group of ten forwarders throughout the development process. Too often the real users are ignored when systems are being built.We ensured that the portal was offering what booking staff needed and in the way that they needed it.
To save costs and to speed up adoption, it was also important to minimize the need to train forwarder staff. “If you put the system in front of them, they should be able to use it straightaway,” said Air Canada’s manager of Cargo Marketing, Sales Planning and Support, Gerald Simpson, who took charge of training for the portal. Early tests showed that Unisys had successfully delivered in this area. “After demonstration sessions in October and November 2002, we asked forwarders what training they needed,” recalls Simpson. “They said that they were comfortable, after one viewing, that they could tell the rest of their staff how it worked.”
The usability issue was an example of the impressive resources Unisys was able to bring to bear on this project, despite its relatively small budget. Advising the project throughout was Sam Racine, the Unisys usability expert who has a PhD in interface design. Racine’s focus on making sure the system really helped users to do their jobs quickly and simply, helped keep costs down by eliminating potential glitches at an early stage and reduced the amount of testing and reworking needed later.
Usability issues thrown up included the need to eliminate the use of the mouse in navigating the site, as this is not always present in real-life environments and as clients would be intensive users. Screens were also made as comprehensive as possible, with minimal need to click through multiple screens. Care was also taken to include comprehensive information under help buttons to make new and existing users self-sufficient.
The approach worked. “The feedback we got is that the system is easy to understand and simple to use. People are at ease with it,” said Simpson. Asked how he will know if the site is working, he adds: “When forwarders start ringing up other carriers and saying ‘get on this system too’.” For Friedel, CPS represents a case study in successful project management. “Success was all about the people on the project team and the way they took decisions.We avoided transformational technology.We did not try and rebuild institutions – just to substitute technology for what is currently done by phone.
Most of all, we kept the design simple for users.With a vision that simple and the team approach to the technical aspects, the odds of success were 100 percent.”
CPS is at www.cargoportalservices.com.
