Smaller, Faster, Cheaper
Nisell admits that the SAS system needs to be improved. "The new system must be much quicker than the one we have now" he says. "For example, on our charter flights people have to buy the food. The present system is not fast enough to handle this. So our new machines should be smaller and quicker." As always, the goal is smaller, faster, cheaper and better.
Unfortunately, it's the cheap part that is the problem. One way to cut costs is to develop your own system and stick with it. British Airways (BA), for example, has been running the same system for several years. The airline developed the Barplus solution in-house 15 years ago, and it is still the workhorse for inflight sales today. Barplus offers all the services necessary - product sales, exchange rate information, onboard promotions, crew commission, sales tracking data and credit card screening - but not the extras provided by the latest systems. While an in-house system has benefits in terms of response times for repairs and any tweaks necessary, anything truly new may be hard to find. Says BA inflight retail manager Debbie Parsley: "No new developments are planned on Barplus". Saving money is the real advantage. "The cost of our system was written off several years, ago, so only repairs affect the budget" adds Parsley. She worries that too many features on a point-of-sale system can work against sales. "Time onboard is very precious since crew have a limited time in which to sell duty-free. A more complex system might inhibit their ability to sell and may be off putting for the user."
Naturally, suppliers of inflight technology are keen to allay such fears. A short demonstration of Clue® Trader's SkyTrader application might impress even the most committed technophobe. The software combines an intuitive operating system with a portable hand-held device, which gives the crew member instant access to promotions, stock inventories, currency rates and credit card processing to name only a few of its services. The currency application is a particularly good example of how good technology can stream-line the selling process. The system can handle payments in several currencies and transaction methods simultaneously, saving valuable time for the sales person.
Air France concessionaire Aeroboutique inflight Retail also uses Clue® SkyTrader. Managing director Pierre Freyssinet explains the main benefits of the application: "The system saves considerable time for the crew, enabling them to focus on sales. It also provides better credit card control, and almost immediate availability of sales data, making quick reactions and fast changes possible.". Aeroboutique also acts as concessionaire for Virgin Atlantic Airways, which has been running the IDFS 5000 application for inflight sales since 1999. An efficient system can prove invaluable, confirms retail business manager at Virgin Atlantic Sam Rowe. "The main benefits are ease of use for the crew, and accountability and reporting for the airline" she says. In addition to its sales functions and flight information, Clue® SkyTrader can handle sales tax when necessary (for example on intra-EU flights), frequent flyer programmes, credit card black lists, refunds and bar sales. SkyTrader also generates various types of sales report, invaluable when analysing onboard retail performance. In addition to software, Clue® Trader also provides the necessary hardware - SkyDock and SkyPort - to integrate all the required functions. Clue® Trader business executive Victor Pinies explains: "SkyDock and SkyPort give airlines access to all the features a desktop computer can offer, but in the hands of crew members. SkyDock and SkyPort allow personal digital assistants (PDAs) smart integration with technology such as printers, barcode readers, smart card readers and magnetic card readers. Thanks to this flexibility, inflight systems can for the first time be combined in two devices - one that holds the corporate devices and another that holds the personal computer." Add to this the capability for instant communication with back office systems, via GWPS technology, further streamlining the inventory, accounting and reporting processes, and it's not hard to see why airlines such as Britannia Airways and Air 2000 are enthusiastic users of the system. Britannia head of inflight retail Sue Walker explains: "We use SkyTrader on Cassiopeia IPAQ [handheld] units. We also use Ground-Trader, so the system onboard, in bond, and back office, is integrated." Britannia has run this system since May 2003 and results so far are encouraging. Efficient integration between the back office and the inflight system allows the crew member to obtain timely information on things such as promotions when switching the device on at the start-up screen. The inflight computer automatically detects when a promotion is running and how to relate it to the passenger. Flowing in the opposite direction, the information that goes from the inflight computers to the back office is key to the analysis of income, sales, bar control, commission and credit card clearing.
Smoothing the process
Clue® Trader's Victor Pinies insists the latest technology can help job satisfaction as well as efficiency. "Some processes, whatever the inflight system being used, will save time for the crew. If you ask crew members about how fast a sale can be closed by swiping a credit card instead of using old manual devices, you can see how important it is not only in terms of saving time, but also in terms of allowing the crew more satisfaction in doing their job. Customised reports are another example. The most important benefit of using such systems is the smoothing of the entire sales process for each department involved." Pinies claims that half day's training is enough to familiarise the crew with the system, and one customer, Britannia, spends half a day each year training crew how to use its inflight system. SAS' Nisell points out that training time is at a premium with airlines under constant time pressure. "Unfortunately, we always have too little time for training our crew" he explains. "Normally, when a crew member starts they will have just two hours to train on the computer system. We haven't updated our training programme for two years, so we'll need to update this when we buy a new system. Previously, we just needed to help the crew know the basics, and they had to learn the rest onboard as they went along. We'd obviously like more time to train the crew in sales and announcements, but we just don't have the time. This would certainty help us generate more revenue from sales, but it would cost us time and money."
Like so many things, it's a trade-off between the expense of investment in training and the potential of increased sales revenue. A system that not only makes the task of selling easier and quicker but also minimises the time needed to train staff is a real asset. Nobody disputes the importance of efficient point-of-sale technology. Says Nisell: "If you don't have an onboard trader system it's impossible to sell because people need to pay in different currencies or by credit card. It takes far too long to do this manually. Without these systems we simply can't sell." Virgin Atlantic's Rowe gives an emphatic answer when asked whether these systems can improve sales. "Definitely, as the crew are able to process more sales in the time available and become far more accountable for cash end stock.". So is such technological development worth the investment? BA'S Parsley remains circumspect. "It's obviously a trade-off" she says. "Our system does the job, but added functionality could help improve efficiencies and profitability. Investment has been deferred over the past couple of years as BA has more pressing issues to address. However, we plan to replace Barplus in 2004." With the potential increase in sales offered by the latest systems, that investment should be worthwhile.
