Current and Future Use of Internet Technologies of Qatar Airways - Case Study Example

Current and Future Use of Internet Technologies of Qatar Airways Executive Summary Qatar Airways, the world’s five star airlines cannot have the punch line without the use of technology. Under the leadership of Mr. Akbar Al Baker, the airlines have come of strength from four aircrafts to 72 aircrafts over the past decade. The airline has always maintained a high degree of professionalism as far as customer service is concerned to earn its present reputation of the best airlines. This goal has been achieved by providing its passengers with the best flying experience This report discusses the current use and the future use of internet technology to bolster its image as the top airlines in the global aviation sector. This report analyzes these aspects with authentic data and real time information to support the e-business environment of serving customers in a better and organized manner. Further the report analyzes whether the passengers of Qatar Airways have the necessary information at their finger tips to make their flying experience even better through the use of internet technology on air and off air. E-business Background Business has changed over the years but not the business value. Does it sound confusing? This implies that business theories remain the same at the core level but the execution of business to attract more customers and give them a good return on their investment has changed over time. A study of the companies in the service industry reveals that the answer to this question essentially lies in an e-environment which enables the company and the customers to have a direct one to one communication in all key areas of business delivery. Michael B. Spring (2001) from the department of Information Science and Telecommunications, University of Pittsburg formulated an e-business theory that discussed the current state of e-business, defined e-commerce, the underlying key concepts and categories of e-business. He defined e-business as the ‘transformation of the spectrum of business processes using technology’ which includes Enterprise Resource Planning Supply Chain Management Workflow and document management Process re-engineering and knowledge management Web based process and customer relationship management Qatar Airways has effectively used technology tools and applications to promote its business strategies. This includes implementation of enterprise resource planning through Oracle e-business suite. As Mr. Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways stated in itp.net (2002) that “Having immediate access to accurate information is imperative for Qatar Airways as we embark upon the most comprehensive growth initiative ever in the history of Qatar’s transportation sector. To become a world-class airline, we require a world-class IT infrastructure. Our relationship with Oracle will enable Qatar Airways to achieve a number of key business objectives. As the aviation industry becomes increasingly competitive, Qatar Airways will remain a leader through decisive actions such as our e-business project.” In the quest to be the top airlines company, Qatar Airways has worked constantly on the e-business delivery model that attracts more customers by giving them a world class service. They are putting theories into practice by implementing a robust supply chain management with its IBS software. The software has helped Qatar Airways to strengthen its travel and logistics department. The emphasis has been on the identification of the limitations of the e-technology to enable the management to proceed on a path where they have something to learn on a day-to-day basis. These shortcomings are identified by the quality management team and are discussed with the top decision makers of the company. This has helped the company to define the future technology which will take the e-business world into the next stage of managing the customers and delivering them nothing apart from the best that technology can give. The e-business background has changed the legacy type of conducting business to a more dynamic, upfront and demanding industry where information technology holds the key to success with data management, data archiving and data security on which the entire business data banks upon. For this an efficient and smooth system is required along with an efficient management team working on it 24x7 to make it a smooth experience to the global consumer. E-Marketing Analysis In today’s world it is imperative for any business to go for e-marketing which showcases their company and their products/services to the world by the click of a button. Websites have become the interface of the company to the world. The question is that how do companies e-market their services and what steps can Qatar airways take to accomplish this goal. Companies are putting in a lot of thought and planning to e-marketing. They are constantly building strategies to counter the market forces by their innovative marketing ideas which come from the conventional marketing values itself and put the process online for customers to access readily. For example Qatar Airways have already started their Q-miles program which keeps a track of their customer database and allocates them air miles as they fly across the globe. The more you fly, the greater the points which can be redeemed with free tickets and gifts. The companies are constantly sending updated information from their database system to customers via e-mail and SMS to their mobile phones. Aggressive e-marketing with launch of special offers and prices are constantly being offered to the clients across the globe. Through the use of internet technology they are advertising to all the top search engines. There are a couple of ways through which companies reach the e-customers. One is through the pay per click [PPC] marketing strategy in the search engines like Google, Yahoo, Ask, Kanoodle etc. Here the companies pay for each and every keyword the customer clicks. PPC (pay per click) shows up on the sponsored link section of the search engine result. The more a company pays for the keywords the higher its advertisement is shown in the search engine. The second method is through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With good search engine optimization companies are making their presence felt on the World Wide Web by coming to the top of the search engine result pages through keyword optimization without paying a single cent on it. Qatar Airways is also making its presence felt in the World Wide Web in the search engines. A Google search using the keywords ‘global airlines’ brings up Qatar Airways in the related search category, which makes its websites accessible to increased customers across the globe. With the advent of e-commerce, e-marketing has taken a different position in not only offering services and information but in helping transactions take place at the click of a button. Through e-commerce companies are able to sell their products to customers instantly over the internet. Customers are also happy to do a transaction without even having to leave the comfort of their home or office. There are other tools available to e-market a product and company services online. They are: 1. Sending mass mailers to customers. 2. Sending Newsletters. Care should be taken to send disclaimers wherein if a customer is not interested in receiving those mails/newsletters then he/she can just click to unsubscribe. 3. Cross linking the website with other popular websites. This will not only help in e-marketing but will be a good tool for Search Engine Optimization. 4. Advertising the company websites on popular website advertisement spaces. 5. Inquiries coming in from the inquiry / Contact Us section of the website. This tool is one of the widely used tool in e-marketing where the web marketing departments highlights the link through which the customers can instantly inquire about their product / service and get a prompt reply from the company’s marketing division. All these aspects are adding to the value of e-marketing as in any form of marketing the business wants its presence to be felt and reached across to the customers all across the globe. Web Design Analysis Web Design is one of the most important components to showcase your site to the World Wide Web. Websites are the interface of the company to the outside world hence the web designing needs to be done in such a manner that not only makes it look attractive but at the same time is extremely user friendly. Navigation plays a very important role in any web design where the user expects the least hassle to get the information which they want. A good web design will always make the user feel comfortable in navigating through the web pages giving the information the user wants. A proper web design should also keep in mind that the home page loading should be reasonably fast. If the company website index page takes too long to load then the users would shirk away from waiting and go to a competitor’s website. Qatar Airways web design team has done a good job by maintaining 1. A fast loading home page 2. User friendly navigation 3. Information at the finger tips of the user 4. Virtual tours showcasing the airlines flying experience. However all web designs should have a check done by using the W3C i.e World Wide Web Consortium. The World Wide Web Consortium is the international standard organization for the internet and any website should have a W3C check done. Qatar Airways can check this on http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=www.qatarairways.com . W3C will scan for errors and return the results. On checking it is found that www.qatarairways.com has an error and 3 warnings which need to be rectified by their web designing team. The next logical question which comes into mind is that what happens if the website has errors as shown by the W3C. The effects of these errors are reflected in the search engine optimization performance which needs an error free website design. There are many websites which has broken links in it. If a company website is having broken links then also it will affect the website performance and SEO performance. To check the broken link all web design teams should check their web pages in http://validator.w3.org/checklink Next the report shifts focus on references and pictures posted on websites by the web design team. It is very important to know the source and consent or approval of the individual or entity if they are referring to their information or pictures in the website. If the web design team is not doing that then the website owner stands a huge risk of being sued in court by a rival company or individual. For this it is always better to publish copyright pictures and content. However if someone wants to use pictures from the internet then they can get free websites over the internet from where they can select pictures and use them for their websites. Qatar airways have given all company owned pictures and videos and do not have any conflict in this department. Business to Business Analysis The term Business to Business [B2B] essentially means the trade relationships shared by businesses with each other i.e one business with another business. Business to business popularly called as B2B concentrates on the supply chain process before it actually transforms itself from the B2B sector to the Business to Consumer [B2C] sector. Initially people thought it to be a relationship which the wholesaler and the retailer hold but now it spans beyond them and includes product as well as service sector. This section of the report will analyze how this B2B sector enhances the productivity of the company and makes them offer better services to its end consumers. It is well known that in today’s business environment owners need to diversify their work to attain global success. B2B makes it possible by integrating the professional effort of people or companies in multi tier segments. Companies outsource or tie up their respective jobs and make it a pleasant experience to the end client. In the airlines industry there are a lot of segments which requires a supply chain management for delivering varied services to the consumers which can be outsourced to third parties. For example outside companies can cater to 1. Handling of freight and cargo 2. Ground handling services 3. Call center unit The principal company might or might not handle all these jobs. There are certain jobs which the company does not have expertise in and definitely needs to be outsourced. However there are areas where the company can handle a job but then it means that their concentration is shifting from their principal work to subsidiary work. Depending on the company strength and ability to successfully diversify in those jobs, the top management decides whether they are going to keep it to themselves or ask another business to deliver the requisite job. The positive part of a B2B relationship is that apart from the principal companies, outsourced companies deliver products and services to give a better output to the end client. It can be argued that ultimately what is required is a B2C approach because that is the one which sells. Here it can be emphasized that though B2C gives the company revenue, B2B serves as the catalyst which boosts the delivery of the product or service to the end client resulting in higher sales, higher revenue and growth in net profit. Sales and Customer Service Sales and customer service are two distinct terms that are interlinked with each other. Sales cannot sustain itself without the backing of good customer service. A good corporate will always like to sell as much as required - the sky is the limit. In order to reach the skies, the company must have an excellent customer service department which can match the sales with an equally competent service which will make the consumer feel like a person who is lavished with the best return investment can bring. Qatar Airways is known for their brilliant after sales service which requires them to give high-class comfort to their customers. Their customers are their guests who get all the comfort entitled to guests of a best five star rating hotel in the world. Once they have made their sale, their principal focus is on assisting their customers with all necessary information and help to make their journey a memorable one. A first class cabin passenger in Doha will be given a chauffeur driven BMW-7-series to the boarding of the flight. (Qatar Airways Website, 2009) Selling is an important segment of any business to generate revenue but customer service is something which makes the sales valid and opens the door to more customers. This is achieved by more referrals and goodwill in the market. A poor customer service will obviously make the recurring-sale void as no one would like to buy a product / service from such a company who has a poor customer service record. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, CEO Qatar Airways has quoted in his message in the official website (2009) “Our commitment is to provide travelers with the highest quality of service in the air and on the ground. Qatar Airways will grow these services as we continue along our path of expansion and quest to become known globally as the best airline in the world.” This emphasizes Qatar Airways constant endeavor to give the optimum customer service and make them a world class airline. From the sales point of view Qatar Airways is constantly devising plans and strategies for its customers to fly with them. They have a special offers section in their website which makes the customers or prospective customers choose the best offered rates for flying to different destinations. All these offers and packages boost up their sales. The existing customers of Qatar Airways accumulate Q-miles or air miles points which on accumulation will give them free tickets or can be redeemed for purchase of products in on-flight sales. All these have made their sales go up and are supported by efficient customer service to enhance consumer experience. Overall Conclusions and Recommendations The analysis discussed about the e-business background, e-marketing analysis, the web design analysis, business to business analysis and Sales and Customer Service. The report concludes that companies are constantly striving to make good use of the current technology in hand and devising plans and strategies to ensure future implementation of technology in the e-business world. The future usage will be determined by the identification of shortcomings it faces from the current e-business operations and the modifying the business model to adapt to the rapidly changing requirements of the industry. This will determine the next generation business and how e-business technology will be a force to reckon in order to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction. It is recommended that airlines business like Qatar Airways mobilizes all their resource to identify the logistic areas where they feel that internet technology can help them achieve their goal of being the best airlines in the world. For this purpose all factions of management starting from operational control, logistics, top management needs to come together and identify areas that need improvement to make them a global airline in the true sense. References: 1. itp.net. 2002. Qatar Airways commences Oracle ERP Project. http://www.itp.net/475347 2. Spring, Michael B. 2001. Department of Information Science and Telecommunications, University of Pittsburg - E-business Theory http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~spring/E-business/theory/html/00StateOfEB_files/frame.htm 3. Qatar Airways. 2009. http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/first-class.html 4. W3C. 2009. Validator Check. http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=www.qatarairways.com 5. ERPWire.com. 2008. ERP Fundamentals. http://www.erpwire.com/erp-articles/erp-outsourcing-service-providers.htm 6. Executive Guides. 2008. Enterprise resource planning. http://www.netessence.com.cy/downloads/erp.pdf 7. Kremzar, Michael. Wallace, Thomas. 2001. ERP: Making it happen: the implementer’s guide to success with enterprise resource planning. Third edition. Published by John Wiley and sons. Read More