Dedicated Development for EU Ferry Line

Vertical:

Cruise Companies

Technology:

Java, Objective-C, AngularJS, React.js

Scope:

50000 + man-hours

Approach:

Custom Development

Project Background

Tallink is one of the leading EU cruise operators managing a large fleet of ships and ferries travelling daily through the Baltic Sea to and from Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Latvia. The company is among the largest passenger and cargo carriers in the Baltics.

Challenge

Among other things, Tallink needed a set of solutions to support online ticket sales, optimize booking processing and reservation routines. The company was looking for long-term cooperation with dedicated allocation of IT resources.

Goals

The project goals were formulated by Tallink as a set of technical requirements driven by the plans to secure sustainable business growth. They were:

Development of a custom ecommerce portal for search & book of cruises to replace the outdated legacy system.
Extension of digital sales into the mobile segment via a responsive UI and cross-platform apps on Apple and Android platforms.
Introduction of a branded loyalty program to increase revenues and customer retention rates.

Solutions

Initially, GP Solutions set up a dedicated development team within its office premises. Afterwards the team proceeded to steadily develop and deploy new tech solutions under close supervision of Tallink specialists.

Development Highlights

SPA-based interface: The UI structure of Tallink system was switched to a Single Page Application (SPA). This approach greatly simplified the booking experience. Now users go through all of the booking stages and add up more travel services on the same web-page, while seeing all the changes, actions and pricing updates.

Tallink ferry booking portal

User-friendly extras: GP team came up with new sophisticated features allowing users to choose alternative routes back for their round trips, book extras (catering, on-deck entertainment, etc.) or update bookings online without calling an operator.

Responsive and mobile-optimized UI: Tallink’s online booking portal was turned fully responsive and compatible across multiple browsers. This made it perfect for viewing both on desktops and mobile devices.

Mobile booking app: Based on a separately provided specification, GP team delivered cross-platform mobile apps on iOS and Android platforms.

Loyalty program: GP developed and integrated a custom loyalty program as an integral part of the online booking process. The program incorporated options to offer discounts, bonus points and custom rewards for frequent travelers.

Results

A brand-new online booking portal was developed, with mobile apps and a custom loyalty program for travelers.

Innovative use of SPA approach placed Tallink web-portal among the first solutions allowing users to book multiple travel services and change their details without leaving a single web-page.
Online booking experience grew more flexible, user-friendly and accessible thanks to the new mobile version and cross-platform mobile apps.
Introduction of extra services as part of the booking process accelerated cross- and up-sale growth.

Overall, the newly developed solutions helped Tallink to grow sales by 1.4% reaching 192.8 million euros. Tallink was fully satisfied with the contribution made by GP Solutions and its performance.

Ongoing Dedicated Development for a Major EU Ferry Line