Face-to-Face: Cheong Sui Hunn, Abacus Travel Systems
Today, Travel Daily chats with Cheong Sui Hunn, General Manager, Abacus Travel Systems in Singapore…
Q) What has the response been for Abacus solutions in Singapore in the last 12 months?
Our travel agency solutions have been very well adopted in the last 12 months, in fact this is much better than what we were expecting. We have had a lot of new innovations, including mobile product, automated tools s and our new back-office system, which allow us to offer a whole range of point-to-point services, from shopping to reporting.
We are seeing our existing customers adopting more solutions. Labour costs are going to be a big issue in Singapore following the cap on foreign staff numbers, and customers are also more demanding now. So we are helping our travel agencies to automate as fast as possible. We have the solutions in place so now we’re upgrading them for the next leap in performance. Travel agencies are hearing about our solutions and are coming to see us a year, even two years ahead of renewals.
And when new travel agencies come and set up offices in Singapore, we are the first GDS they call.
Q) To what extent have mobile solutions been driving Abacus’ growth in Singapore?
Most of our products are already optimised for mobile and we have had market leadership in this area for the last three years. It will take our competitors some time to even begin to catch up, and by the time they launch a mobile platform we will be moving on to something very different.
Some of our more innovative customers are now using mobile and visiting their clients’ homes. They are sitting with their customers, planning their trips and making bookings via a mobile tablet. Bricks and mortar agencies may be competing with the online travel agencies, but they are able to offer personalised planning for big family holidays, cruises, specialty tours, etc, which travellers can’t just buy online. These are sectors that are gaining popularity and growing in Singapore now.
Even the corporate customers are happy as tickets, itineraries and boarding passes are now available through mobile devices.
Q) So does Abacus have the largest market share in Singapore?
If you walk into most travel agencies in Chinatown or Little India, they have an Abacus set. And if you go to the NATAS Fair, we have 90% market share. Everywhere you turn you’ll see an Abacus logo. In Singapore we have the big boys, like ASA, Chan Brothers, CTC, Formosa etc, and we also serve the smaller ones, so they are able to work side-by-side with each other. But there is still more room to grow. As travel expands and we see more visitors regionally from India and China, our market growth will continue.
Q) Which other Abacus solutions are proving popular in Singapore?
For us the big thing is to be able to provide a seamless end-to-end solution. From the time people go to their mobile, website or at travel agencies, the point-of-sale fares are enabled, including hotels, airfares, cruise shopping, even down to ferries and buses. That’s something our competitors don’t have yet, and we’re able to aggregate the data and Abacus Point-Of-Sale solution are able to send quotations automatically by email.
We also have touchless invoicing now. One of our customers is now creating 50,000 invoices in one month, without any manual work. Previously they were transferring documents from one basket to another! Payments by cash, credit card or cheque can also be automated using Abacus PowerSuite.
Abacus TicketingExpress is also taking off very well in Singapore. The solution automates the ticketing process which takes up 25% of the travel consultant’s time. Over 200,000 tickets have been process and issued last year
We want travel agencies not to be bothered with such manual tasks. Travel agents should be freed up to serve customers, not stuck in the back office.
Q) How do you see your role in the Singapore travel industry?
We don’t just want to sell solutions. Our vision is to be the ‘Technology and IT backbone’ for our travel agency customers. We want to look at the needs of each of our customers: what do they need to grow, to be competitive and be profitable. And then we give them the right solutions so they can do what they want to do, in terms of IT support, data management and customer profiles management etc.
We also work with our travel agencies to offer workshops, training and consultancy services. We have to upgrade the skills of the travel agency staff and equip them with the tools they need to stay relevant and competitive.
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