Group expands its market lead by investing in e-business Cooperation with Cisco Systems agreed
Lufthansa is in an excellent position and poised for the new economy. That is the conclusion reached by a team of experts which has examined all areas of the Group.
After four months of research within the company, the “eViation” project team has now presented an e-business masterplan. Compared to other companies in the sector and in other industries, Lufthansa is well prepared for the changes that the new economy will bring. That is particularly true of the business areas Sales and Procurement, as well as for internal Group processes. A package of measures is being drawn up to give added thrust to Lufthansa`s e-business activities.
The “InfoFlyway” is being further developed on the Internet as a direct sales tool, with the aim of raising the proportion of online bookings to 25%. Lufthansa expects this move to lower distribution costs by at least 100 million euros per year. There is also great potential for savings in online procurement. Here Lufthansa anticipates annual savings in the region of 100 million euros through the development and use of electronic platforms.

Lufthansa is investing some 200 million euros in a wide-ranging Customer Relationship Management project to provide a more individual service and target customers more directly. Meanwhile new offers are widening the service spectrum. Owners of WAP-enabled mobile phones will soon be able to access flight arrival and departure times and check in directly up to 45 minutes before departure with the new Web/WAP Check-in Service.

Passengers will also be able to enjoy the benefits of new technologies on board. Lufthansa Technik has recently become the first company able to provide live TV transmission and Internet access on board aircraft in high quality anywhere in the world. In future Lufthansa passengers will be able to surf the Internet, send and receive personal e-mails and select their favourite live TV programmes during a flight.
Lufthansa staff will also benefit increasingly from the Group`s know-how in future. “We want to exploit the full potential of Web technology in order to give the people in the Group all the information they wish and need for their work so that we can communicate interactively with them, make work processes within the Group more transparent and work with them towards improving them,” said Lufthansa chairman Jürgen Weber. A new-style Group portal, based on the Lufthansa Intranet, will become the vehicle for Group-wide knowledge management, giving individual staff access to information and communication tailored to their role in the company.

By forming a strategic partnership with Cicso Systems Lufthansa will be able to transfer business processes onto the Internet. The world`s leading provider of network solutions will equip the aviation group with the technology and network infrastructure and advise Lufthansa on the planning and development of e-business solutions.

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