Case Study
How UST streamlined IT operations for a leading cruise line
OUR CLIENT
Dedicated to helping travelers discover the world's most incredible destinations, this leading cruise line offers a wide range of luxurious experiences and itineraries covering all seven continents. With more than 30,000 employees and a fleet of 15 ships, the company prides itself on consistently being a top choice for those seeking memorable cruise vacations, as well as for maintaining a legacy of innovation and excellence.
THE CHALLENGE
Improving team productivity and efficiency
The client was struggling with the maintenance and support of its online reservation system, which is crucial to its day-to-day operations and revenue generation. Despite investing heavily in application maintenance and support, the client did not see proportional outputs, leading to concerns about the efficiency and effectiveness of its current support strategy. The excessive costs associated with maintaining the system were not yielding the expected quality in work products and deliverables, creating inefficiency and frustration across the organization.
One of the major challenges was the frequent changes in team composition, which severely impacted productivity. With constant shifts in personnel, there was a lack of continuity and a steep learning curve for new team members, leading to delays and inconsistency in the work delivered.
Additionally, the client was grappling with process and quality issues, particularly in technical analysis. The existing processes were not robust enough to ensure high-quality outcomes, leading to errors and rework that further strained resources and timelines and impacted the reliability and functionality of the reservation system.
Another pressing issue was the need to free up in-house subject matter experts (SMEs) from regular IT operations management. These SMEs were heavily involved in the day-to-day maintenance of the reservation system, which prevented them from focusing on higher-value activities, such as integrating other brands into the client’s reservation system. This lack of focus on strategic initiatives kept the client from realizing its growth objectives and expanding its market reach.
THE TRANSFORMATION
Implementing application transition strategies and applying best practices
The client recognized that to overcome these challenges, it needed a more effective and reliable support strategy that would reduce costs, improve the quality of deliverables, stabilize team composition, enhance process quality, and allow its in-house SMEs to concentrate on critical business expansion activities.
UST delivered a comprehensive and robust IT support strategy to address the client's challenges through well-structured due diligence and transition processes, which began with application portfolio discovery. This activity enabled UST to thoroughly understand the client’s existing applications, technologies, and infrastructure. Following this, UST developed a transition roadmap, which provided a clear path forward, including the establishment of a robust governance structure to ensure smooth and effective execution. A communication management plan was also implemented to maintain transparency and ensure regular updates throughout the transition. To optimize resource allocation, UST implemented a managed capacity model, ensuring that the right expertise was available at the right time. The transition to an onsite-offshore delivery model was completed in just four months, enabling the client to swiftly benefit from the enhanced support structure.
UST also introduced several best practices to secure long-term success. All operating processes were meticulously documented in a procedural manual, providing a reliable reference for the entire team. Additionally, UST established a client university, a tool for continuous knowledge gathering and training, ensuring that the support team maintains elevated levels of expertise and that new members could quickly become proficient. This integrated approach not only resolved the client’s immediate challenges but also laid a solid foundation for sustained success and operational excellence.
THE IMPACT
Improving app accuracy and reliability through standardization and documentation
The company can now efficiently manage and support its online reservation system application with a well-documented and structured approach, ensuring continuity and high-quality deliverables. The engagement also freed-up its SMEs to focus on strategic initiatives. The client achieved these significant benefits with UST's engagement:
- Enhanced app accuracy and reliability—achieved higher-quality deliverables through standardized project management and technical processes and implemented a rigorous quality review process, minimizing errors and ensuring consistently reliable outcomes
- Knowledge codification and team stability—created comprehensive documentation of processes and insights, fostering a well-informed and stable team, and reduced team turnover while building a consistent level of expertise across operations
- Improved productivity and scalability—enabled support for new brands using the existing reservation system without increasing headcount and optimized workflows for greater efficiency, preparing the client for seamless growth and integration
- Streamlined documentation and onboarding—standardized technical and business documentation to reduce misunderstandings and simplified onboarding with clear, organized resources for new team members to quickly acclimate
- Positioned for long-term success—delivered a more efficient, dependable, and scalable operation, empowering the client to handle future challenges and opportunities effectively
RESOURCES
https://www.ust.com/en/what-we-do/strategy-implementation-operations