Boosting rail ticket sales to better compete against low-cost travel providers
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- Europe
Product
- IBM zEnterprise EC12
- IBM DB2 for z/OS
- IBM DB2 Administration Tool for z/OS
- IBM DB2 Automation Tool for z/OS
- IBM DB2 Cloning Tool for z/OS
- IBM DB2 High Performance Unload
- IBM DB2 Utilities Suite for z/OS
- IBM InfoSphere Change Data Capture for z/OS
- IBM WebSphere Application Server for z/OS
- IBM WebSphere Application Server for Linux on System z
- IBM WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance
- IBM WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus for z/OS
- IBM WebSphere MQ for z/OS
- IBM z/OS
Tech Stack
- IBM zEnterprise EC12
- IBM DB2 for z/OS
- IBM WebSphere Application Server for z/OS
- IBM WebSphere Application Server for Linux on System z
- IBM WebSphere DataPower XC10 Appliance
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Customer Satisfaction
- Revenue Growth
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Middleware, SDKs & Libraries
- Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software
Applicable Industries
- Railway & Metro
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Public Transportation Management
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
- Transportation Simulation
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
The customer in this case study is a European railway operator that manages a very large railway system, which includes several high-speed routes. The operator was facing stiff competition from low-cost airlines and coach operators, and was looking for ways to boost ticket sales and compete more effectively. The operator recognized that the key to regaining ground from its rivals lay in offering customers more attractive prices and promotions, as well as an easier way to book and plan journeys. The operator wanted to better engage with its customers by launching more desirable travel options at attractive prices, and to ensure that its offerings are always up-to-date. The operator also wanted to ensure that its ticketing application could withstand increased demand and stay available even when tens of thousands of users were connected at once.
The Challenge
The European railway operator was facing stiff competition from low-cost airlines and coach operators. The company realized that its existing service offerings were out-of-touch with the way that its customers wanted to travel. More and more travellers were turning to the web and mobile channels to book tickets, find information and plan journeys. The operator recognized that the key to regaining ground from its rivals lay in offering customers more attractive prices and promotions, as well as an easier way to book and plan journeys. By developing service offerings that truly stand out and giving travelers greater flexibility, the company hoped to boost ticket sales and steal a march on its competitors. The company wanted to better engage with its customers by launching more desirable travel options at attractive prices, and to ensure that its offerings are always up-to-date.
The Solution
The operator enhanced its web and mobile experience by streamlining processing of customer queries, enabling real-time service updates for travelers, and creating flexible journey-planner solutions. The company has built a robust IT landscape to support top performance and round-the-clock availability for its ticketing application, which runs on IBM® WebSphere® Application Server for z/OS® on an IBM zEnterprise® EC12 mainframe server. At the core of the solution, the company stores its business-critical information, including ticket sales data, on IBM DB2® databases on the same zEC12 server. All transactions for ticket sales – from online and mobile to sales points at stations and travel agencies – are managed on the EC12 mainframe using IBM WebSphere Application Server for z/OS. Once the tickets have been booked and created within the z/OS environment, payment transactions are pushed to WebSphere Application Server on Linux for System z®, still on the same physical EC12 mainframe, which handles all the necessary security checks and brokers the transactions with external payment processor companies.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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