Services Partner Alphawest Designing “Out of the Box” Business Solutions for Electronic Crew Records, Accounts Payable, Customer Services and HR
TOWER Software, the leading Australian developer of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions, and Alphawest announced that Jetstar Airways, Australia’s new low fares airline, has implemented an electronic crew records solution to comply with CASA regulations and improve both security and operational efficiencies.
The new solution, based on TOWER Software’s TRIM Context ECM platform, represents the first phase in a project designed to improve Jetstar’s operational efficiencies through new business solutions in four key areas. The electronic business solutions – for crew records, accounts payable, customer services and human resources – are being designed and implemented by TOWER Software services partner, Alphawest.
Through the efficiencies provided by the new low cost business solutions based on TRIM Context, Jetstar plans to hold costs in these four areas as the airline’s business expands. With the business expected to rapidly grow over the next five years, this means the avoidance of significant staff costs.
“One of the challenges of a developing low cost carrier is to maintain the cost model. Jetstar now has the lowest operating costs of any Australian domestic carrier,” said Stephen Tame, CIO for Jetstar Airways. “If we can hold costs with better systems, this will make a significant contribution towards retaining and indeed expanding Jetstar’s cost advantage over its competitors.”
The fundamental role of information technology (IT) at Jetstar, is “an enabler of efficiencies, not a core dependency of delivering the business”, according to Tame. “A lot of our systems are built upon the principle of being able to operate the business as much as possible around manual operations. If we lose IT at an airport then we must still operate. We take that principle to every business case.”
Jetstar’s initial investment in TOWER Software’s TRIM Context, customisation services from Alphawest and new hardware is one of the first projects initiated by the low cost carrier to deliver innovation through IT. That investment will grow with services purchased from Alphawest to create the additional business solutions for accounts payable, customer services and human resources.
“Jetstar is not against making investments up front as long as we achieve operational savings,” said Tame. “I don’t mind making a good quality IT investment if we are going to make good savings in the next 18 months to two years.”
Jetstar chose TOWER Software’s TRIM Context, on the recommendation of IT services provider, Alphawest, because “it represented the best value for money with the lowest implementation risk to achieve what we wanted to achieve”, he said.
The benefits of the new crew records system, compared with the previous system of manually maintained books, are numerous. Jetstar is the first airline in Australia to implement an electronic crew records system and now has approvals for the system from CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority).
“The regulator agreed that as well as reducing administrative overheards that the security, management and integrity of an electronic documents and records management system is far better than using a book,” said Tame.
“I could go to a book and remove a page and there would be no audit trail. Or we could have a fire and we could lose all the books. This is a far better solution.”
Apart from improved efficiencies in maintaining crew records, there are also efficiencies in meeting an audit request from the regulator. “If I can get an answer and send it to them in an hour, that is better than having three people go through a 1000 books for a week. This is an area where the technology will add to the business bottom line.”
“Alphawest are pleased to be working with Jetstar Airways and TOWER Software to deliver business value. Jetstar Airways wanted out of the box business solutions for the four business areas and Alphawest were able to provide the skills to help design and implement an electronic crew records solution,” said Garry Henley, Chief Executive Officer for Alphawest. “The combination of TRIM Context as the technology foundation and Alphawest’s expertise and services are achieving exactly the sort of outcomes that Jetstar is looking for now and into the future.”
“Jetstar Airways is a great example of how you can create low cost customised business solutions – based on a solid electronic documents and records management foundation – to improve operational efficiencies and drive the business forward,” said Geoff Moore, General Manager, TOWER Software Asia Pacific.
About TOWER Software
TOWER Software is the leading enterprise content management (ECM) provider to government. TOWER Software’s award-winning solutions empower organisations to drive their business forward. The TRIM Context® 6 solution is a single, integrated platform that manages and delivers business information throughout its complete lifecycle. By relying on its proven domain expertise, strong strategic partnerships, and powerful solutions, TOWER Software enables organisations to improve the accuracy of information on which business decisions are made; maximise efficiency by finding and delivering business critical information quickly and easily; and achieve and maintain standards compliance and best practices across industries, resulting in sustained competitive advantage. TOWER Software is a privately held company with operations in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit www.towersoft.com.
TRIM Context is a registered trademark of TOWER Software. All rights reserved.
