Travel Agency - Free Essay Example

REPORT ON Management information system on Travel management Submitted to: Prof. Prashant Barge Submitted on: 10th Sep 2010 By: Praveen Kumar Rajesh Kumar Abhigyan Banerjee Kushal Reddy Shobhit Lasod Deepak M 10020741049 10020741050 10020741051 10020741052 10020741053 10020741054 A STUDY OF EXISTING MIS SYSTEM AT KIRTY TOURS AND TRAVELS – NASIK ? About Kirty Tours and Travels Kirty Tours Travels is a deep-rooted name for arranging different types of tour with excellent packages available like North India Tour package, South India Tour package, India golden triangle tour, Pilgrimage tours etc. Involved in the line of providing superb tour packages, we have 20 years of experience acting as very best travel agents and tour operator. Their main mission is to achieve a concrete success in the Industry and build the Brand Image of the company beyond heights. They are continuously trying to achieve the goal of being one among the Fortune companies and provide the maximum customer satisfaction. We are moving ahead with our excellent services of North India Tour package, South India Tour package, India golden triangle tour that are capable of changing the trends of the life styles. Objective of the Project: The aim of this project is to study the daily business operations of a tour and travels business/ operator, examine their existing information system in detail and suggest changes/ improvements in their existing Management Information system. As part of this assignment, we chose to study the system prevailing in Kirty Tours and Travels, Nasik. Kirty tours is a fairly big tours and travels operator having 4 branches in Nasik city and provides services like bus, rail and air ticket booking, package holiday and tours and pilgrimage bookings. In this endeavour we would like to make the usiness more responsive and flexible by proposing a new MIS system which can serve the overall information needs of the business. Our proposed MIS system will tightly integrate financial, booking and customer management systems. Our MIS system integrates all phases of travel management submitting initial requests, planning, online booking, and submitting and settling travel expenses. The application includes a tailored user interface for all roles involved in processes used by travel agent. The new travel Management MIS provides an end-to-end solution for managing business of a travel agent. The solution provides features and functions that allow them to perform: ? ? Travel planning and online booking – This system enables travel agent to book flights, hotels, cars, and country-specific rail options, as well as look up related information. In addition, the application fully supports communication with customer, making interactions more efficient. Travel management reporting – Travel management MIS system supports decision-making and facilitates the development and implementation of new travel management strategies. Travel Management sy stem optimizes the entire trip life cycle, from travel requests and approvals through planning and reservations, travel bills management, policy compliance, and analytics. These are a few reasons why the management of Kirty tours and travels should look for new / proposed MIS system: ? ? ? ? ? ? End-to-end solution –Travel Management system requires no development or additional interfaces. Integration with Finance – The application is completely integrated with the financials. Reduced indirect costs – We can dramatically reduce indirect costs by automating your processes and workflow. Improved compliance – The proposed MIS system ensures improved compliance with travel agency’s policy and negotiated travel contracts. Booking consolidation – The new MIS provides a reliable analysis of travel information and costs through synchronization with reservation systems. Improved cash flow – Efficient accounting cycles and up-to-date cost in formation result in better cash flow. ? DFD OF EXISTING SYSTEM ? STUDY OF EXISTING SYSTEM The existing system at Kirty tours and travels is mostly based on manual operations. The daily operations of Kirty tours can be described as follows: 1. Customers normally approach Kirty tours and travels booking office in person or over phone to book his travel needs/ requirements. 2. Tie-ups with prominent travel booking websites enables Kirty tours to search for the most suitable travel packages to the customer. This search is done by one of the personnel’s of Kirty tours online using a desktop terminal. 3. Some of the travel management companies with which Kirty has tie-ups with are ? Beam https://travel. beam. co. in/ ? Suvidha https://suvidhatravels. in/ ? Cleartrip https://www. cleartrip. com/ ? Make My Trip https://www. makemytrip. om/ ? Yatra https://www. yatra. com/ 4. Commission to Kirty tours from these travel management organisations is based on number of bookings do ne from their respective websites. 5. Once the booking is done from a website, billing/ invoicing takes place, again manually and the ticket is handed over to the customer. 6. For the purpose of financial audits, the Tally ERP system is used. All financial book-keeping work is currently happening at the Mumbai Naka branch of Kirty tours. 7. Kirty tours have 4 branches in Nasik and employs on an average 3 employees in each branch to service the customers. As evident from the existing system description, there is no linkage between the Finance team and people working in the branches who book customer orders. The functional departments are working in isolation and hence there is no linkage between the different functional teams. There is no MIS system that is currently being used in the business enterprise. Only personal computers are used by the employees booking the customer orders to find/ search for a travel package. As the current work process is completely dependent on online travel management portals, the daily operations are very arbitrary and random. Also the end of month commission owed by various online travel management companies to Kirty tours can be known only online in their respective portals. Thus the business has a high degree of dependency on these online portals. There is also a need to integrate all the four branches and the finance team for better communication and functioning of the business. Hence, there is enough scope for the business to improve their operations and make it more efficient by having an MIS system. ? MODIFIED DFD ? DESCRIPTION OF THE MODIFIED SOLUTION The proposed MIS system for KIRTY TRAVELS is shown in the DFD. The proposed MIS system will be used for customer order bookings, order processing, ticketing and billing. As per the new information system, Kirty tours and travels instead of working with travel management companies like â€Å"Make My Trip†, â€Å"Yatra†, â€Å"Cleartrip†, now will have direct tie-ups with prominent domestic airlines such as â€Å"Jet Airways†, â€Å"Kingfisher airlines†, â€Å"Spice Jet†, â€Å"Indigo†, â€Å"Indian† and â€Å"Go Air† etc. For this to happen, Kirty tours has to enter into an agreement with these airline companies and can become a direct franchisee (Authorised tour operator) of these airline companies. Thus Kirty tours will now be directly working under the airlines instead of working under 3rd party travel management companies. Some of the main advantages of this direct alliance are: ? Greater degree of transparency and flexibility in terms of ticket booking and confirmation: Kirty tours having entered into an agreement will have greater privileges now and can offer Credit Periods to customers. Kirty tours will have quotas booked for each flight and thus will have greater visibility of flight seat status and likes. Hence, it will be highly unlikely that for a given flight, the customer will return without having booked a ticket; therefore this leads to greater customer satisfaction. ? Being a direct franchisee of airlines, Kirty tours will now get their total payment or commission as per their bookings and this information can be directly obtained real – time from the airlines application. ? A high performance MIS system will now interact with applications of prominent airways and hence service time also reduces drastically. Thus effectively the new/ proposed MIS system will directly interact with the applications of different airlines to book orders and thus the operations of the business is expected to become more responsive, smooth and efficient. On similar lines, the application will interact with the IRCTC website of Indian railways to cater to customers who wish to undertake train journeys. However for bus journeys and travel bookings, the proposed MIS application still has to work with interfaces like â€Å"Neeta Tours†, â€Å"Red Bus. in† etc. The daily operations using the new MIS system can be expected to be as given below. 1. Initially the customer approaches KIRTY TRAVELS for their customer needs. Inputs like travel mode/ stay options/ travel date are collected from the customer. 2. Kirty tours will now use their online MIS application (Instead of using the 3rd party travel management websites) and directly connect to airlines/ railways/ bus ticket booking application online. Based on the given inputs, different travel options are suggested to the customer. Upon the consent of the customer a provisional booking is made. . The customer must confirm the booking (provisional) within 3 days by sending a deposit of 10% of the total cost. On the receipt of the deposit, the reservation module sends the details from the provisional booking file to the confirmed booking file. 4. Four weeks before the departure is due, the accounts module sends an automated generated invoice to the customer for the remain ing dues. 5. Once the full payment is received, accounts module sends an acknowledgement that no dues are left to the customer service module which then delivers the confirmed tickets to the customer. . The entire proposed MIS system will run as an online real time MIS application. Investments in terms of software application, hardware services and work stations are needed. 7. In order to achieve a higher degree of flexibility and ease of operation, the proposed application can be integrated with the currently existing auditing tool that is tally for easy auditing. 8. Also since every customer transaction is saved in the database of the proposed system. So Kirty tours and travels will now be informed to a much greater extent about the details of their ravel bookings and have passenger details. This important customer data can be analysed at a later stage to make some important business decisions. Some of the drawbacks of the existing system that can be completely eliminated with the introduction of MIS system at Kirty tours are: ? Faster processing of customer requests or orders, thus leading to higher levels of customer service. The customer satisfaction levels are surely going to increase. Enhanced reputation and thus increase in customer loyalty. Earlier because of interfaces, order processing was tedious and time consuming. ? Having an accounts module inbuilt in the MIS system and integration with Accounts department system (Tally system) will make the financial processing and audit process for the business at the end of the year easy and convenient. All the payments from the airways will directly be credited to the bank account of Kirty tours and also the proposed system will have visibility over the money transactions. Hence greater degree of financial control is being offered. Integration also among the branches of Kirty tours will give them greater visibility over the business operations of their branches; which was earlier not possible because of s tand-alone operations of all branches. ? Also lesser workload on employees because of the automated MIS system and hence greater levels of employee satisfaction. NEW EQUIPMENTS TO BE INSTALLED The equipments that need to be procured/ purchased and installed for the new MIS system are: 1. Network Servers: A high performance server from either IBM or Dell is required on which the proposed online application will run. This server should also run a fast and efficient database such as SQL Server or Oracle DB. 2. The storage capacity of the database is decided to be 3 Terabytes considering the magnitude of operations of Kirty tours. Out of this capacity 1 TB is used for operational purposes, while 2 Terabyte is used for back-ups and archiving. 3. An efficient firewall with antivirus is very essential for smooth operations of the online MIS system and protection against malicious software threats and attacks. 4. Data-cards and LAN wires for interconnectivity is necessary for interconnec tion of system/ workstations in the LAN. . Apart from the above mentioned hardware requirements, an online tool for managing the entire daily operations is also necessary. This will be the online software application for provisional order booking, order confirmation, order cancellation, rescheduling, ticketing and billing/ invoicing. ? TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY Feasibility study is carried out t decide whether the proposed system is feasible for the company. The feasibility study is to serve as a decision document and it must answer three key questions: 1. Is there a new and better way to do the job that will benefit the user? 2. What are the cost and the savings of the alternative(s)? 3. What is recommended? Technical feasibility: Technical feasibility centres on the existing computer system i. e. Hardware, Software etc. Kirty tours and travels require SQL/ Oracle database management that are all easily available with extensive development support through manuals and blogs. The requirements of the system for Kirty tours and travels are also quite standard and on – par with what industry leaders (such as â€Å"Cox and Kings†, â€Å"Thomas Cook†, â€Å"Sita tours and Travels†) use. Network connection to inter-connect all the branches can be done through a common server. Thus the proposed application is technically feasible. Economic feasibility: Economical Feasibility is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness of a candidate system. More commonly known as Cost/ Benefit analysis, the procedure is to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from the candidate system and compare them with costs. If the benefits outweigh costs, then the decision is made to design and implement the system. The cost – benefit analysis in qualitative and quantitative terms is done in the next section. Operation feasibility: A simple to use, user friendly system is being proposed for managing i nformation in Kirty tours and travels. This system is definitely feasible in operational terms. PERT CHART Computing Platform 10 Begin 1 2 Installation 4 Testing 9 5 Implementation 15 6 12 6 12 Prepare Site 3 10 35 Follow up ? Node ? Activity Measuring units in Weeks ? COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS The cost benefit analysis can be divided into 2 parts namely: Quantitative Analysis: We propose that after the introduction of MIS system in Kirty tours, business revenues are going to increase by 40% in value terms. The cost involved in setting up the MIS system is analysed below. 1. Cost incurred in setting up of the MIS 2. Cost involved in training the personals on usage of the system. 3. Cost involved in the annual or biennial maintenance of the proposed MIS system. Hardware components like databases and databases that are used for data storage form a part of the proposed MIS system. These systems are to be maintained on a regular basis to avoid technical glitches. 4. The internet connecti on should be protected by a robust firewall. Firewalls protect the corporate network from external connections i. . Internet. Cost is incurred in implementing firewall for the network. Suppose we assume that the ? Average revenue generated for the last 3 years to be 30 lakhs, ? the increase in the average annual revenue due to MIS implementation would be in the range of Rs 11 to 12 lac pa ? An increase of roughly Rs 1 lac per month. Pay-Back Period Analysis: We are proposing a MIS system whose ? Cost is around 12 to 14 lakhs. This cost includes the cost of development and delivery of MIS software system, cost of new workstations, hardware cost and other miscellaneous overheads. Assuming that the above estimated figures are close to the actual reality, the Pay-Back period would be anywhere between 12 months to 15 months. Qualitative Analysis: Analysing the cost and benefits of introducing the MIS system in qualitative terms, we can suggest the following benefits: 1. Greater customer service 2. Greater degree of customer retainment: Because of enhanced services, more and more customers would like to associate themselves with the enterprise. 3. Increased customer goodwill: Greater customer satisfaction automatically leads to increased customer goodwill, increase in reputation. . Easier to track customer orders: Introduction of a completely automated MIS system leads to greater transparency of the entire travel management system and makes the process of tracking customer bookings easy and convenient. ? NEW PROCEDURE/ TRAINING 1. Training to all staff and managers on new software: The new MIS system comes with a cost of training all the staff and employees on the new MIS software system. 2. Training on new process and report generation techniques from the new MIS system. ? ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS WITH NEW SETUP 1. We have seen and read about various organizations that have experienced problems and resistance from employees whenever a new change is brought about in the organization. So we foresee a resistance from the staff of Kirty tours and travels on account of introduction of this change in their business process. Hence the management of Kirty travels must ensure that the transition is smooth and must inform the staff in prior about the features and benefits of the proposed system and should prepare them for a successful roll-out of the MIS system. 2. The proposed system is a completely automated online MIS. However because of limited infrastructure and resources in India, there can be disruptions in the internet connectivity and hence care must be taken to build a robust MIS system, taking these technical aspects into considerations. ? IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WATERFALL MODEL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFECYCLE (SDLC): From the inception of an idea for software system, until it is implemented and delivered to the customer and even after that the system undergoes the several changes. The software is said to have a lifecycle known as Software Life cycle composed of several phases. Each of these phases results in the development of either a part of the system or something associated with the system, such as a test plan or user manual. In the traditional and most common lifecycle model called WATERFALL MODEL, each phase has well defined starting and ending points with clearly identifiable inputs to the very next phase attached to it. In practice basically very simple and meaningful to visualize and understand clearly as depicted in the figure: REQUIREMENT GATHERING AND ANALYSIS DESIGN SPECIFICATION CODING MODULE TESTING INTEGRATION SYSTEM TESTING USER ACCEPTANCE TEST DELIVERY, DEPLOYMENT MAINTENANCE WATER FALL MODEL OF SYSTEM DEVELOEMENT We intend to propose the waterfall model for system development. A simple waterfall Lifecycle Model comprises the following phases: Requirements gathering Analysis Requirements gathering and analysis is usually the very first phase of system development lifecycle. It is undertaken af ter a feasibility study has been performed to define the precised cost and benefits of the software system. The feasibility study here shows positive signs and hence we can proceed ahead to the requirement gathering phase of SDLC. The purpose of this particular phase is to identify and obtain the exact requirements of the system. Detailed requirements for the proposed MIS system can be given by our group on behalf of Kirty tours and travels, since we have studied their entire system in entirety. We have understood their new system needs. The system development team will thus have to gather every requirement or need of the system and should work on the design of the system. Here all the requirements will be in functional terms and this has to be converted into technical design documents for further usage. Design Specification Once the requirements for the system have been documented and are validated, software engineers design a software system to meet them. This phase is some times split into two sub-heads such as architectural or high level design and detailed design. The high level design deals with the overall module structure and origin rather than the details of the module. The high level design is defined by designing each module in detail known as detailed design. Separating the requirements analysis phase from the design phase is an instance of a fundamental what/how dichotomy. The general principle involves making a clear distinction between what the problem is and how to solve the problem. The purpose of the design phase is to specify the particular system, which will meet the stated requirements. The proposed system is an online MIS, design documents (both high level and low level designs) highlighting the Graphical user interfaces (GUI), business logic, interfaces with other airline applications are to be designed first and should get validated from us or from Kirty tours and travels. After obtaining the consent of the client, coding an d development is to be started. Coding Module Testing This is the phase, in which actual system development activities are taken up. Individual modules of the proposed system will be developed and will be tested in isolation for their functionality and logic. This phase known is known as Coding/ development and module testing phase. Integration System Testing This is the next phase in the traditional Waterfall Model. In this phase all the modules that have been developed before and tested are basically linked/ integrated together. The integrated module now forms an entire system in totality and will be tested for functionality, logic and robustness. The system will also be thoroughly checked for end-to-end data flow. Database entries and performance are also monitored and tested. Data-flow to Tally system will also be tested. User profiles and accounts are created and are checked for thoroughness. User Acceptance Testing In this phase of the system development, the built system will be tested by the client or client team i. e. ersonnels of Kirty tours and travels or by us. The criteria for validation here will be Ensuring all our requirements and needs are correctly addressed in the system functionality. Ease – of – use/ user friendliness of the new system Performance of the system. Once the system is checked and tested for the above mentioned criteria, the system is ready for delivery and deployment. However if the client is not satisfied with the system, rework has to be done to modify the system as per client’s needs. Delivery, Deployment Maintenance Once the system passes all the tests and its subsequent activities, only after that it is delivered to the customer. This phase is known as delivery stage. In our case, the system will have been tested by the client and client team for acceptance. We expect the system to be ready for deployment in this phase. In the deployment phase, the software code/ application is loaded/ deploy ed in the application server, centralised database is installed and all the branches of Kirty tours and travels will have to be interconnected through application network. The new application infrastructure is now ready for use. After the successful completion for the delivery stage the system enters into the maintenance phase. As a result of this any modifications made to the system after initial delivery is usually attributed to this particular phase. Unlike a conventional software system, this MIS system is fairly less complex and hence annual or biennial maintenance of database, server and network hardware components would suffice.