NorthLink Ferries

Using mobile and wireless technology gives NorthLink Ferries 
the ability to communicate effectively across a broad range of business areas.

Best practice in: Technology
Sector:           Travel
Size of firm:     250
Technologies:     WiFi Lan, Broadband, EPOS, Mobile, PDA
Location:         Scottish Highlands
Website:  www.northlinkferries.co.uk


Objectives

NorthLink Ferries provides passenger and freight transport services between the Scottish mainland and the Orkney and Shetland Islands. "We want to be the carrier of choice for customers and for the communities we serve," says Gareth Crichton, Commercial Director. 

The company is bound to a contractual agreement with the Scottish Executive governing the delivery of lifeline ferry services. "Operating under demanding contractual conditions, striving to provide a valued service to customers, we had no option other than look to effective use of technology," says Gareth.


Challenges

For NorthLink Ferries, delivering accurate, timely information to relevant staff and managers is vital for smooth operations. With five port offices in five different locations, four ships constantly ferrying freight and passengers as well as a separate head office where the reservations system is based, the communication system needed to be extremely robust. 


Solution

All operational areas including the ships are part of a WiFi LAN and VPN. The ships' computers can connect to the port office computers via a wireless cloud when they are within range (15 minutes from port). The port office computers can connect with the head office system using ISDN and ADSL, with un-metered dial-up as a back-up. This enables them to achieve an 'always-on' high speed internet connection. The head office itself can also connect to the ships using emergency ship-to-shore data network via satellite (from Immarsat). This means that all the different business areas have a quick and reliable channel for communicating. There are no operational LAN charges, as the business owns the equipment, saving the cost of a commercial service, which would be around £55,000 each year.


Results

Having secure, stable network connections means that NorthLink are able to quickly transfer data from different areas. For example the EPOS system used on board ships automatically transfers data to the port offices, updating information on stock and on-ship staff/resource management. The result is that finance and management information is at worst, half a day old and at best, up to the minute. 

This also applies to logistics and operations information. Customers can make reservations through a number of different routes: web, e-mail, call centre and reservation desks which all use a single inventory database. Passenger lists are then automatically produced, saving up to two hours per sailing, compared to a manual system. This works out as a saving of roughly £30,000 a year.


The last word

Effective communication also brings productivity savings in managerial effectiveness. With a flat management structure where NorthLink's 20 managers frequently travel between the port offices and the ships, it is vital that they can work anywhere as if they were in their own office. With wireless connectivity they can access the network via a laptop and keep up-to-date with all the latest information. The savings made in terms of time efficiency are estimated at around £30,000 annually.
NorthLink Ferries invested in technology in order to gain the efficiencies that technology brings. Without the savings that effective communication and data transfer have made, NorthLink Ferries would be unable to provide the level of service it's contractually obliged to deliver. Compared to its predecessor, NorthLink Ferries offers 20% more sailings and 18% lower fares. "It wasn't a matter of choice," says Reservations Manager Richard Foster, "using technology was the only way we could cost effectively deliver the service we had committed to." 

"Operating under demanding contractual conditions, striving to provide a valued service to customers, we had no option other than look to effective use of technology."
   

Gareth Crichton - Commercial Director