Innovating in the times of a global pandemic: The TUI Group – IBS Software way
TUI Group and IBS Software have been working together for a decade on the enhancement and maintenance of the airline operations platform of TUI. The months following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have been tough for the aviation industry, and both TUI Group and IBS Software have been devising newer ways to interact and manage business operations amid the crisis. To reflect on how the whole exercise has been and to discuss newer ways to overcome the challenges, both TUI Group and IBS Software collaborated for a live webinar – REBOOT. Held in October 2020, REBOOT saw participation from technology leaders and consultants from both organizations.
The rapidly disruptive environment following the pandemic has urged airlines and their technology partners to reboot and rethink their strategies, strengthen leadership, and drive innovation. Expert panelists shared their thoughts on all these aspects with a view to adopting agile and innovative ways for customer engagement.
Speakers from TUI Group were Lena Klass (Head of IT - Airline Operations), Isabelle Droll (CIO, Aviation), and Julia Borgfeld (Agile Coach).
Lena introduced the theme and gave an insight into what was expected of the webinar. In her keynote address, Isabelle stressed on the importance of placing reliance on each other to pull through the tough times. Julia spoke about the necessity of developing an agile mindset to face the challenges head-on and to restructure our thinking to achieve high performance. She explained that on occasions, we must 'slow down to go faster' and realize the importance of good reflection in tough times.
Jens Boysen (Captain, Emma Mærsk) was a special invitee who introduced a fresh perspective on container shipment to keep the global supply chain active. He shared the experience of leading his cruise, balancing the safety of the crew and motivating his colleagues to perform well during the difficult times. He stressed the fact that leaders should focus on individuals, help teams to find positives and be empathetic in tough times.
Speakers from IBS Software were Kanu Aravind (Head of Digital and Innovation), Paul Pavlides (Consultant, Global Sales Operations), and Latha Rani S (Vice President and Head of Service Delivery, Consulting and Digital Transformation).
Kanu explained why innovation was an absolute necessity during the pandemic and detailed how crisis can be a catalyst for developing new innovation frameworks. He also explained the levels of innovation ranging from incremental innovation to moonshots. Paul described how airlines were preparing to take to the skies again post the biggest ever turbulence the industry has witnessed. He opined that airlines must relearn passenger behavior and find innovative ways to generate revenue and also use technology and automation wisely to mitigate risks.
"We shall reboot and we will do it in style," concluded Latha, who exuded confidence that both organizations would continue to seek innovative ways to collaborate further:
The webinar was attended by more than 100 people from both organizations, whose questions on the challenges around the crisis and the future of the aviation industry were promptly answered by the panelists.
Click here to access the webinar recording.