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Unified cargo revenue accounting system across operating companies

Synopsis

The client was a result of the merger between two major players in the airline industry. Each partner had their systems and processes in place. After the merger, there was a need to build synergy in the business processes and IT landscape. Coforge achieved this transition seamlessly, with no major operational or IT related issues and within the project timelines set.​

About the Client ​

The client is an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with operational headquarters in London. They were formed in 2011 by a merger between two major players in the airline industry. They are the sixth-largest airline company in the world, flying to over 200 destinations and serving approximately 112 million passengers per year. Since the merger, the client has expanded to include other airline subsidiaries.​

Business Challenge

Revenue Accounting or Cargo Revenue Accounting (CAR) is an important cargo finance function for the client. It deals with cargo sales processing and control, sales audit, flown revenue and interline matching, multilateral proration and joint business agreements, billing, settlement, and cargo revenue accounting management. At the time of merger, the two major operating companies were using different tools and processes to perform this important business function.  

As part of the IT consolidation process, a business case was established to build synergy in the business processes and IT landscape. This allowed efficient management of Cargo Revenue Accounting. A process study was conducted in June 2017 to streamline the Cargo Revenue Accounting processes and implement a group-wide CRA solution across all operating companies.

The client wanted a group-wide CRA system implemented to:

  • consolidate IT systems being used separately in the two merging entities and thus affect cost savings
  • derive cost benefits of using RAPID system as SAAS (Software as a Service) on the Cloud
  • streamline the business process followed within the group 
  • use the multi-airline functionality in RAPID to expedite revenue sharing between group companies
  • upgrade the RAPID system from version 2.2 to version 4.0 for one of the merging partners and use its new features
  • reduce the time spent on resolving customer queries

Our Solution

Being the supplier of choice, Coforge was entrusted with the implementation of CRA. Coforge had to capture and document the requirements, design, build, test and implement all solutions. 

  • Workshops were conducted with the client’s business users to identify which  cargo systems were impacted
  • Functional specification and the prioritized requirements were documented and signed-off
  • A testing strategy was defined to test the changes on impacted systems
  • Functional Acceptance Testing was conducted by the business and coordinated by Coforge
  • Business processes were updated in the standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • New CRA system users were trained to use the software efficiently
  • Cargo stations were informed about system  changes and go-live dates
  • An ELS period was agreed upon amongst businesses, support teams, and the project team to ensure a smooth handover to the support team

Delivering More Value

In addition to IT changes, the implementation of CRA involved a lot of business process changes. Coforge not only managed to smoothly prepare the client’s IT applications to process and handle CRA data but also supported the client in defining and implementing business processes, while always ensuring that we adhered to the deadlines. Despite the complicated nature of change, there were no major operational, or IT issues reported  after the cutover of each phase and the business was operational at all times.

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