Digital transformation: The Pulkovo airport implements chat-bots and carries out total integration of IT

Sergey Pavlov: Our company is in a stage of active development. It is possible to tell, as IT strategy develops evolutionarily, following the changing business needs. I will not be able to provide you it in a canonical form as the multipage document. However, it is available as the idea in the heads of company management and its existence is confirmed by the sequence of steps and actions to which we adhere in development information technologies in the company. For today a crucial element of our strategy is implementation SAP ERP of on HANA as a backend for process management of the airport. We do not intend to be limited to it and actively we investigate mobile solutions and web technologies the fact that digital is called, in those fields of our work where use of these technologies can bring notable benefit.

Airport business is very conservative, many processes settled long ago and work with decades in such type and, apparently, it is required to invent nothing in it. But digital technologies enter a certain disorder, in some way undermining foundations – what was from area of a fantasy earlier, today becomes a reality therefore also strategy does not stand still.

Sergey Pavlov: Frankly speaking, at us modern solutions practically everywhere are used, processes are automated, further development consists in making them front lines. In 2012 we implemented Navision, accounting, sales functions, material accounting, the personnel are automated. Accounting of services is integrated with MES – a production system of the airport. Processes of a maintenance and repair of transport and the equipment are also automated. To receive new quality, we transfer these systems to the SAP platform.

There are first sprouts of use of mobile technologies. So, supervisors fix the services ordered by airplane from mobile application. Further we are going to transfer in bigger volume B2B interaction to mobile rails, applying portal solutions.

Sergey Pavlov: As I already told, for today task number one – to transfer automation a backend of processes. In total with this task we work on reprogramming of billing and closer integration with our clients: both airlines, and tenants. I will tell so, we are going to make our interaction by more transparent: in a personal account of the client information on cost and structure of services will be quickly reflected. On perspective we think of implementation of digital technologies in interconnection area with passengers - it is portal technologies, big-date.

Sergey Pavlov: The state at us rather modest, but competent. Entirely everything cannot be moved own forces, but on each important direction we in a command should have experts. We try to understand at first independently a task and to experiment with technology, and then we involve specialists. On projects we work in close interaction with contractors.

The choice of contractors happens through tender procedures as we are a subject of natural monopoly. Ourselves direct the project, involving third-party examination, as some kind of katalist in certain areas where we need to promote quickly.

Sergey Pavlov: We needed a transaction system which allows to work steadily and in terms of information security, and in terms of scaling of processes under business growth.

Sergey Pavlov: As I already told processes of a maintenance and repair at us are automated. In particular, for transport this system is very advanced, integrated from gas station on consumption of fuel and masloprodukt, in it account of waybills is kept, the needs for spare parts are planned. With SAP implementation we transfer it to a single platform as a common denominator of process of TORO – the cost accounting, and it should be in uniform accounting space with other costs, warehouses, budgeting.

Except transport we have a number of areas where TORO is important. It is combined heat and power plant in the territory of the enterprise, the automated luggage system, the customs equipment, elevators, escalators, buildings. All this together with transport will be implemented in SAP ERP.

By experience of our shareholders, at the airport of Frankfurt 75% of users of SAP work in TORO, amount of works on starting information, maintenance of work of systems and planning of repair very big.

Now practically all modern equipment has the firm ware and is connected to a local network. To the forefront there are issues of data integration and work with information. The same elevators and escalators, in them are sensors which timely announce need to check or replace the failing part, a question only that these systems need to use adequately.

Centralization of processes of TORO in a single system will help us to consolidate data in a single system and to increase performing discipline. Simply speaking – complaints of the sensor should not remain unnoticed, and the faulty part should be timely replaced.

Sergey Pavlov: We have own DPC, DWH, a local computer network, Wi-Fi-network - all this works under our management. Life does not stand still, the equipment becomes outdated and requires upgrade. Besides, information volumes, processed in DPC, constantly grow. We develop policy of investment into the IT infrastructure till 2022 aimed at the development proceeding from business needs.

Sergey Pavlov: First of all it concerns B2B. We change the applications, we do them more open for electronic information exchange with partners, we pass to exchange by means of operators of electronic document management and directly directly.

As for interaction with passengers, we suspect this subject too. It will be for us the following priority.

Sergey Pavlov: We study a possibility of use of many technologies which can bring new quality. In particular, the idea of application of chat-bots first of all for operation of the manager of internal services can be such example. We have a large number of people and the equipment which work is coordinated and synchronized with the schedule of runs of airlines in a real mode of time. At our loading to manage work of such number of people on the radio set – not the best option today. Transition from the radio set to digital exchange and chat-bots which will help us to convey better information is planned and to optimize work.

Sergey Pavlov: It for us it is rather a perspective, those volumes with which we work at B2B, small, we can analyze them classical means. Obviously, in interaction with passengers these technologies will be required to us. Options of obtaining new value are here, and those who will find them will be in leaders.

Sergey Pavlov: Maintenance of carrying out the Cup, of course, demanded our attention – on preparation of infrastructure and support several system administrators were involved, but under it we did not develop any special solutions – managed available.