With nearly 60 offices spanning several countries (USA, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bangkok and India), Riya Travel has been able to significantly scale its operations in the past.
Travel businesses are amongst the most complex, owing to the variety of customer needs they address. Airline ticket bookings through GDS systems (e.g. Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo), connecting with low-cost airlines that do not function through GDS systems, bookings for trains, buses, and other modes of transport, booking hotels, planning holiday packages, making all sorts of amendments to the bookings, applying complex pricing models, offering discounts, reaching deals with diverse business partners, insurance, visa processing and all this while ensuring high customer satisfaction.
The company's operations were further complicated because a significant part of the business was through a partner network and B2B. Delays in collections, and consequent delays in payments to suppliers (airlines, hotels etc.) can result in additional costs (e.g. interest or reduced credit limits) which can have a significant operational impact. As the business was growing, it became vital for the company to accelerate digital transformation initiatives with modern, integrated systems, specifically built for travel businesses.
The deployment of Alletec Travel 365 ushered in a transformation in the company’s operations. The centralized system, which had travel operations inherently integrated with financial accounting, eliminated invoicing delays, made collections efficient, and significantly enhanced the ability to make timely payments to airlines, hotels, and other service providers. The throughput of business transactions through the system increased, removing roadblocks for the business to scale.
The system also enabled the company to efficiently navigate tax regulations, financial reporting standards, and compliance requirements across different jurisdictions. Riya Travel is able to manage multi-currency transactions and exchange rate issues without challenges. Leveraging cloud infrastructure has unleashed possibilities for the company to take firm steps towards developing deeper insights with Data Engineering and AI.