ASSETS, INFRASTRUCTURE & INNOVATION
Delivering more value to passengers
TOCs must understand their role within the value ecosystem, so that they can shape new services, schedules, pricing and loyalty schemes to deliver value to passengers that extend beyond the train journey.
The infrastructure is a signifi cant part of the value ecosystem and its owners, although it is managed separately, must recognise the impact on customers through the planning, maintenance and usage given to TOCs and other rail users. Social applications hosted in the cloud are not only being adopted by consumers; industry is realising that it provides new opportunities to collaborate and connect complementary industries to provide greater value to consumers.
This is already evident in the travel industry (particularly in air travel) with the ability to book travel tickets, hotels and car hire together and retail is a fantastic example of how to drive loyalty and demand through business intelligence.
The increasing use of mobile devices should raise the question for TOCs as to how they can improve the customer experience. A signifi cant number of commuters use train time to extend their working day, combined with recreational activities e.g.
social interaction, browsing, gaming etc.
The trend toward mobile access to information has meant that employees are able to be as effective both in and out of the offi ce, with 3G/4G capability on their devices. Unfortunately 3G/4G service along many train routes is inconsistent, which means
connections to
systems, internet, media etc are repeatedly broken. Whilst TOCs have partnered to provide wi-fi hotspots in stations and on trains, many still charge for this privilege; this is extremely shortsighted when considering overall customer experience and satisfaction. The aviation experience shows that customer expectation is high.
Enabling commuters to work more effectively on their mobile devices will increase customer satisfaction and allow commuters the fl exibility
Prior to joining Tata Consultancy Services, he
The digital age has seen an increase in the speed at which everything is demanded and this is being driven by all of us in our role as consumers.
To respond to this, organisations will need to review their operating models to focus on core value they bring to customers both direct and indirect, to reorganise and refi ne their structure to be more agile and responsive. This will lead
was a sales director at a number of blue chip companies.
In the UK, he has worked with several TOCs, Network Rail and TfL.
Howard Wilson-Morissette FOR MORE INFORMATION
ADVERTISING FEATURE rail technology magazine Apr/May 13 | 213
www.tcs.com
About the author
Howard Wilson-Morissette has worked in the rail industry for 10 years in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and has recently returned from 18 months engaging with Via Rail and Canadian Pacifi c Rail in Canada.
to travel off-peak within the working day and address the peak and shoulder issue. This would distribute traffi c and
utilisation of the rail network throughout the day but might well lead to a change in the confi guration of trains – Chiltern Railways introduced ‘The Business Zone’ on some of its trains into London.
Trends to be concerned about
A catalogue of considerations
So why should the rail industry worry about what other industries are doing? Rail customers are employed by all manner of industries and it is the changes in these industries that will impact the railway.
• Asset performance management • Proactive asset management • Risk management • Turnaround management • Field force management • Reliability Centred Maintenance • Collaborative lifecycle management • Asset tracking • Safety management • Cataloguing • Inventory optimisation • Procurement strategising • Maintenance analysis • EAM standards • Regulatory compliance • Asset service management • IT asset management
to increasing specialisation with non-core activities being delivered through collaboration with partners. This need to collaborate as part of a wider ecosystem is where cloud, social and mobile extend the capabilities of organisations outside of their in-house IT systems and infrastructure.
Understanding the TOCs’ value in
the ecosystem
will be essential to ensure it can infl uence value to customers beyond the train journey.
Developing this ecosystem
with its partners (taxis, hoteliers, theatres, eateries, ticket agents, infrastructure, retail) to enable a more complete and joined-up customer experience will be essential to engage the customers in new ways and gain insights that will help make rail travel a fi rst choice for both business and recreation. The choice for the digital customer is not just between rail, road and air, it is also whether to travel at all – so harness the digital age to your advantage or it will compete with you.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244