Project Scope
The project was initiated by a leading cruise operator which manages a large fleet of cruise ferry ships traveling from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden, Latvia to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is one of the largest passenger and cargo shipping companies in the Baltic region.
The company requested GP Solutions to develop and support their own web portal for online booking of cruises. The requirement was to implement a fast and reliable booking engine that would include a bonus program and the option to choose a different route when users do their return trip.
Challenges
- The major goal of the project was to produce the most up-to-date and user-friendly B2C website front-end.
- The centerpiece of the customer’s business automation was inflexible and out-of-date. 3-rd party B2B reservation software was already used by the company, too many vital business processes were based on it. It was not possible to instantly change the old software and move to a new solution.
- One of the key goals of the whole project was to build a cross-platform solution, with major focus on supporting iOS and Android platforms.
- The customer required functionality for custom bonus campaigns in order to increase client base and revenues.
Solutions
- UI structure was changed to Single Page Application Overview. This type of user interface allows the user to go through all the booking procedures and choose additional travel products on the same web-page and immediately see the final purchase price.
- The web portal was optimized for viewing in numerous web-browsers (including Internet Explorer 8), as well as for use on touch-screen devices.
- GP team implemented custom mobile applications for Android and iOS containing all the basic booking functionalities.
- A custom bonus program was integrated in full compliance with the customer’s business plans.
Results
- Sales revenue of the customer increased by 1.4% up to 8 million euros.
- The B2C solution was enhanced with extended functionalities for booking extra travel services.
- The booking process became more flexible and transparent.
- E-commerce sales were boosted through implementing cross-selling and upselling techniques.
Technology:
Java, Objective-C, JavaScript (AngularJS, React.js).
Project Duration:
12 months
Scope:
756 man-days