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The buy onboard retailing phenomenon has created a direct-to passenger, pay-as-you-go retailing sales model that is now being implemented by many airline, rail, and ferry operators. However, with this substantial shift in the industry's intentions to retailing meals, beverages, snacks, merchandise, services and entertainment (from previously only retailing duty-free merchandise) comes a new business challenge.
The Need for Complete End-to-End Solutions
Merchandising, forecasting sales demand, managing the supply chain, tracking onboard sales and inventory, and handling funds are, for the most part, all somewhat new to the passenger travel industry. The need for complete, end-to-end solutions to meet this new business challenge is clear, as this is a sophisticated retailing model. The uniqueness of the model is centred on the store (passenger trip), the intentions of the customer (passenger) and the retail sales personnel (crew).
Mobile Virtual Store (Passenger Trip) — The store is mobile versus a fixed location, it has extremely limited storage, and it is "virtual" since it is based on the different characteristics of a passenger-trip. In the future, as transportation becomes increasingly "webified" this virtual store model will incorporate web commerce.
Customer (Passenger) — A passenger's primary motivation is to get from point A to point B and have as enjoyable a travel experience as possible given their paid fare — it is not to specifically purchase goods and services.
Retail Sales Personnel (Crew) — Crew personnel are not sales people but now need to be trained and provided with the right tools to enable them to become retail-oriented.
The GuestLogix Mobile Virtual Store™ platform facilitates these new revenue streams by optimizing the planning and forecasting of each Mobile Virtual Store™, facilitating onboard sales transactions (e.g. credit card acceptance) and by providing the necessary business intelligence to manage the market trends, sales and inventory associated with this new retailing model. GuestLogix provides powerful, yet simple technology tools that enable airline, rail and ferry operators to become successful onboard retailers. |
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