Why Top Organizations Have RPM Solutions

What is RPM? Responsive Process Management (RPM) allows an organization to sense and respond to changing conditions and customer interactions as they occur, enabling these businesses to analyze and track what is about to happen as opposed to what has already happened.

For example, we can see RPM’s impact in routine activities such as flight operations management and customer experience within an airline. This slideshow will explain how an RPM solution benefits the airline by examining a scenario of traveling for a business meeting from Boston, connecting through Cincinnati, and landing in San Francisco.  Each situation will show a common event in air travel and describe the result if that airline has or does not have an RPM solution in place. Finally, it will illustrate what it could mean for the IT department.

Click through to see how an RPM solution can help businesses respond to changing conditions as they occur, from Progress Software.

Many business travelers often use third-party online travel agencies to book their travel.

1. With an RPM solution – Airlines that have an RPM solution in place are able to seamlessly integrate third-party website profile information plus internal frequent flier number and flying preferences such as seating and meals into a single view of the customer.
2. Without an RPM solution – The profile from online travel sites is taken into account, but the customer may have to contact the airline directly to incorporate frequent flier information and flying preferences.
3. How this affects IT – The airline is able to connect disparate systems, both those it owns and those from third parties and easily integrate them into one succinct view of that customer without having to change out systems or manually go into each data source and pull information.

The flight from Boston to Cincinnati takes off in 24 hours and notice has gone out that the meeting has been pushed back to the following week.

1. With an RPM solution – When the airline is notified of this change, it reads the last-minute update as an event and is able to help the customer change other downline reservations such as car rentals and hotels, acting on behalf of the customer.
2. Without an RPM solution – The airline is ill-equipped to handle this change and the customer is on their own to notify any reservations made prior to the change.
3. How this affects IT –The IT department is able read this event and instantly respond with a tailored response, such as a new flight reservation for high-value customers or a coupon for average value customers. Because the IT organization has previously worked with the business users to map out and pre-program the rules and processes for such an event, they can instantly take action with an ‘automated,’ yet tailored, opportunity for rebooking flights, hotels, etc. for high-value customers.

Even though the weather in Boston is sunny without a cloud in the sky, there are extreme winds and rain in Cincinnati, the connecting city.  These conditions cause the flight to be delayed two hours until the winds calm down.

1. With an RPM solution – An airline’s notifications to customers, via text or phone call, are timely and accurate and provide additional alternatives for connecting flights or other services. 
2. Without an RPM solution – An airline may text message its customers, but the data may not be as timely or accurate and does not have the ability to position other offerings to a customer. Therefore, upon arrival, passengers are often upset by the idea that their flight is delayed and have to wait in the airport for two hours.
3. How this affects IT – The IT department has previously prepared data path scenarios for such event changes and is able to seamlessly contact each passenger via their preferred method.  Also, the scenarios can alert internal departments of the delays and their impact to crews, aircraft, etc. without having to go into each system individually.

When arriving at Logan Airport in Boston for the initial flight and going through the normal processes of checking bags and passing security clearance, an opportunity presents itself for one passenger to upgrade to an empty first class seat.

1. With an RPM solution – The airline gains visibility into the current passengers on that flight and determines the most appropriate choice for awarding the upgrade to first class, based on airline-specific criteria.  
2. Without an RPM solution – The airline cannot see a customer’s lifetime history and could potentially frustrate an already irate customer if they were to walk past an available first class seat.
3. How this affects IT – The IT department can establish an “available seat” as an event and create a policy and procedure so that the customer-facing staff can proactively contact the highest-value customer on board and offer them an upgrade to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Yet another irregular operation has occurred, and the delayed connecting flight from Cincinnati to San Francisco is now oversold.

1. With an RPM solution – The airline is able to sift through the customer data in real time and, based on pre-programmed rules and processes, such as number of connections or final destination, determine whom to offer an upgrade or ticket voucher.  Upon determining the top candidates, the airline is also able to proactively provide these customers with other flight options that would help them land in San Francisco as soon as possible.
2. Without RPM solution – The airline is not able to gain insight into the customers on that flight and relies on the “tried and true” method of solving the overbooked problem – make a blanket announcement through the PA system and hope that a few willing passengers will help.
3. How this affects IT – The IT department is able to rapidly sift through customer data and respond accordingly as opposed to manually checking customer profiles and connecting flights.

Throughout all of these changes from Boston to San Francisco, the baggage has been lost. In Cincinnati, the baggage has mistakenly been placed on another flight to Los Angeles instead of the one to San Francisco.

1. With an RPM solution – The airline is able to track the luggage and the passenger. While it may not be able to have it rerouted to San Francisco by the time the customer lands, it is able to control the situation by notifying the customer that the bag is in Los Angeles and that it will be on the next flight to San Francisco and delivered directly to the hotel before the end of the day. 
2. Without an RPM solution – The customer waits at the baggage claim belt for their luggage to arrive. It doesn’t arrive, and the customer is already disgruntled when approaching the airline’s baggage desk. This frustration only increases when the customer is told by the airline to please wait until the bags arrive in San Francisco in a few hours.
3. How this affects IT – An RPM solution enables the back-end systems for baggage and customer information to ‘talk’ to each other and proactively raise the issue of mishandled baggage so the customer can be contacted with the proposed solution without the customer identifying it first and then having to look things up manually. 

Air travel inherently comes with several last-minute complications and changes. Airlines must have their information as updated as possible due to the downline effects of handling thousands of daily flights with millions of passengers. Airlines that are able to react and respond to these events and accurately predict that something such as baggage getting lost may go awry will be able to proactively communicate with their customers – resulting in an improved customer experience, which should lead to an increase in overall customer satisfaction. Additionally, by becoming truly responsive, the IT department is able to establish policies for events such as lost baggage, weather delays, etc. and proactively map the corresponding systems to automatically take action, as opposed to manually searching each system reactively for a solution for each passenger.