Amadeus and BCD Travel, the world’s third-largest travel management company, announced a letter of intent for a technology partnership whereby Amadeus will design a next-generation agent automation and workflow solution to optimize key BCD Travel operations. The solution will replace a set of tools used by central service groups based in North America such as BCD Travel’s central fulfillment and after-hours teams. The Amadeus One agency desktop solution will be used as the “baseline” for the new design.

“The North America-based team handles clients with the highest online adoption rates in the world due to the market maturity. The online support, after hours and fulfillment services have unique requirements as they serve the entire client base,” said Louise Miller, executive vice president, Global Business Solutions, Sales & Marketing, BCD Travel. “We have worked with the Amadeus Travel Technology Consulting team in the past, and we are confident that their knowledge of the travel industry, combined with the use of the Amadeus One solution, will help us design new-generation tools that improve customer service delivery and enhance automation to meet the evolving needs of our business.”

According to Vic Pynn, executive vice president, Amadeus Americas, the relationship with BCD Travel is a prime example of Amadeus’ evolution as a true technology provider and partner.

Pynn said the consulting agreement originated with an engagement where Amadeus Travel Technology Consulting Team helped BCD Travel develop a set of functional and service requirements for its next-generation solution. Those requirements became the basis of a thorough discovery and evaluation process of several alternatives in the market. The result of which was to move forward with a detailed design phase of a replacement solution based on Amadeus One.

The role of Amadeus Travel Technology Consulting
For customers such as BCD Travel, the real difference and value Amadeus delivers today is not only in the area of technology solutions, but the understanding of the travel space and the consulting and design services that complement the business.  

“To stay relevant in the travel industry, many of our customers are now finding they need to go beyond off-the-shelf solutions and traditional thinking and approaches. That is exactly the premise behind the establishment of the Amadeus Travel Technology Consulting group, which was designed to help them do just that,” said Pynn.

The Amadeus Travel Technology Consulting group is a dedicated, cross-functional team of Amadeus sales engineers, functional specialists, technologists and consultants representing a broad array of expertise and experience in the travel industry and beyond. Their focus is to understand the customer’s business, consider key obstacles and objectives, take into account the competitive landscape, and provide consulting services and custom solutions.  Examples of customized solutions include custom integration and development; third-party integration; and outsourcing and hosting. The group was established in July 2009 with a focus on serving airlines, travel agencies, and hoteliers in the Americas and is jointly led by Pynn and Dwayne Ingram, executive vice president, Amadeus Americas.

“When customers come to us and say they need custom-developed technology and solutions to address their unique business needs, that’s where the Amadeus Travel Technology Consulting team can play a critical role. The members of the team are first listeners, then problem solvers for those customers who need something beyond our standard product offerings.”