Travel & Transportation Industry

Applying business insight and technological expertise to solve your industry's issues

 

SNOW: Supply-chain Network Optimization Workbench    
SNOW: Supply-chain Network Optimization Workbench
The IBM Supply-chain Network Optimization Workbench (SNOW) helps companies streamline operations.
   


Case studies

A global marine transport company

Through innovative supply logistics optimization, a major global marine transport company prepares to weather shifting market demand and come out on top.

A large third-party logistics company

The IBM Supply-chain Network Optimization Workbench (SNOW) helps a third-party logistics company streamline its networks.

BostonCoach

BostonCoach needed to increase fleet utilization, reduce service refusals, increase same-day business, rapidly vary capacity up or down to meet demand and quickly bring in affiliates when necessary. IBM developed a dispatch optimization system to optimize drivers’ schedules and enable the client to respond to changing conditions. The new system resulted in improved fleet utilization and allowed the company to maintain its 99% on time pickup record.

El-Al Israel Airlines

An international airline wanted a more efficient way to build schedules that would reduce the variable cost of flight crews and crew utilization as much as possible. IBM developed an optimizer that uses advanced mathematical models and algorithms, paired with parallel processing, to consider billions of possible combinations and find the optimal solution to meet all criteria.


Tough problems solved

IBM Customer Equity & Lifetime Management (CELM)

Large companies may not be able to recognize every customer by sight, but the IBM Customer Equity & Lifetime Management solution (CELM) can help them identify their most valuable customers and cater to their long-term needs. This new on demand solution can help reduce marketing costs, increase sales revenues, sharpen accuracy rates for predicting customer value, and improve customer experience and satisfaction.

Improving Operational Efficiency

To survive in the current competitive environment, companies must improve the efficiency of their operations and reduce costs.

Many Eyes

IBM’s Many Eyes visualization technology is allowing users to visualize the information contained in complex datasets for improved business planning.

SPARCLE

IBM's SPARCLE policy management tool is helping organizations create, implement and monitor policies that protect personal identifiable information.


On the drawing board

An early warning system for automobiles

Quality information about cars currently relies on ‘lagging’ indicators, such as warranty costs, calls to customer service numbers and dealer service records. The trouble is that this information is only available after something has happened. IBM is working on a solution that will combine data from multiple sources and provide manufacturers with an Early Warning System to identify potential problems before they become major liabilities.

Innovation management services

Innovation management services help businesses introduce new strategies for targeted growth.

Secure Trade Lane for worldwide goods exchange

IBM Research’s Secure Trade Lane solution concept helps facilitate a more secure exchange of container-based goods shipped worldwide.

Social network analytics and business optimization (SNO)

In a corporate environment where informal social networks often dictate how work is accomplished, IBM's social network optimization tool can assist businesses in optimizing knowledge sharing among employees.

Transactional multi-site Grids

Grid computing is already successfully being used for scientific applications that require large amounts of processing power as well as computationally intensive financial applications, such as portfolio optimization and risk analysis. Applying that processing power to everyday transactions and core business processes is the next step. Learn how IBM Research is working on many of the key technologies needed to make transactional, multi-site Grids a reality.


Other

Business optimization

IBM is helping companies stay one step ahead of the competition by using advanced analytics to derive valuable business intelligence from complex data.

Changrui Ren

Changrui Ren is working to develop process-centric supply chain transformation tools.

Chidanand Apte

Chid Apte uses his expertise in advanced analytics techniques to help clients extract business intelligence from mountains of data.

Contact Center of the Future

Smart companies are investing in their contact center operations to strengthen customer relationships, while at the same time using automation technologies to streamline operations.

Dagan Gilat

In today's hotly competitive global market, Haifa Research Lab senior manager Dagan Gilat is working on cutting edge technologies to help transform business processes and create new business strategy models.

Impact of Future Technology

IBM's IoFT solution helps businesses better prepare for disruptive change, and more clearly understand how political and economic events and scientific breakthroughs can affect their organizations.

Information on demand

IBM's Information on Demand solutions help businesses leverage their information assets to better compete in a global market environment.

Innovation in identity verification

IBM's groundbreaking work in biometrics, cryptography, workflow management and smart cards has produced a Secure ID solution for governments and businesses around the world.

Michael Osborne

Operating in an environment that increasingly relies on technology to ensure secure identity verification and authentication, research staff member Michael Osborne is helping develop Secure ID solutions that address governments' and businesses' safety concerns while protecting personal privacy.

Mobile Web applications

IBM takes the lead in Mobile Web Research Activity to develop applications for consumers and businesses.

Nathaniel Mills

IBM Researcher Nat Mills is applying his expertise in advanced analytics to help improve performance monitoring and maintenance scheduling for complex systems.

Olaf Zimmermann

As more companies move toward Web-based services as a way to improve customer service and business operations, research staff member and executive IT architect Olaf Zimmermann is lending his expertise to architectural decision modeling and SOA and Web services design.

Sheng Lu

With network performance a key component of successful e-commerce businesses, HiPODS engineer Sheng Lu is helping develop network performance analysis tools that can pinpoint problems that hamper Web operations and slow down network performance.

Smart Supply Chains

IBM helps clients take the lead in building a smarter supply chain

Smart Supply Chain: Increasing efficiency and reducing risk

Helping clients streamline supply chain operations and reduce risk

Smart Supply Chain: Increasing supply chain visibility and sustainability

Helping clients improve visibility and sustainability in supply chain operations

Transportation Logistics

Advances in analytics technology from IBM Research pave the way toward improved transportation logistics.

Wenjun Yin

In an era when location can dictate the success or failure of retail ventures, Wenjun Yin is helping clients use technology to find the right location with the right mix of merchandise for the right customer.

Workforce Analytics

Efficient workforce management is a key strategy in streamlining operations and reducing costs in a highly competitive global market.

Xing Fang

With user experience a prime differentiator for e-commerce businesses, HiPODS engineer Xing Fang is helping develop performance improvement methodologies that can be shared across industries and platforms.

IBM Research Services and the travel & transportation industry

IBM Research Services and the travel & transportation industry

IBM Research Services provides travel and transportation companies with solutions that can transform traditional business models and processes because they combine an understanding of the industry with knowledge of forecasting and optimization.


More on the industry

Hospitality and leisure 2010: Experience rules

IBM Global Business Services consultants are thinking ahead to a fundamental shift from traditional hospitality and leisure offerings to a new paradigm of individually customized travel experiences.


Related research

IBM Research: Continual optimization

Optimizing across multiple factors in a dynamic environment is known as continual optimization.