AirAsia Expedia uses Anaplan to consolidate data, boost planning

• Anaplan now connects 22 points of sales and 14 channels for AirAsia Expedia across Asia
• Implementation took 6 weeks, compared to months for previous attempts with other solutions

THE joint venture between low-cost carrier AirAsia and online travel agency Expedia, AirAsia Expedia, has successfully used Anaplan to improve its budget forecasting and planning across the region.
 
Anaplan’s cloud-based modelling and planning solution was used to consolidate AirAsia’s and Expedia’s data for analysis, Anaplan said in a statement.
 
As a joint venture startup, a major initial challenge for AirAsia Expedia was the integration of data from the systems of both parent companies, resulting in incompatible solutions.

“The travel industry is highly dynamic, so we wanted something flexible, fast and user-friendly to collate our information in real time for business analysis,” said Henry Tjan, head of forecasting, planning and analysis at AirAsia Expedia.
 
“Anaplan gave us the solution we were looking for, and we were impressed to find that implementation took only six weeks, compared to many months for previous attempts with other technologies,” he claimed.
 
Anaplan now connects the two brands, 22 points of sales and 14 channels for AirAsia Expedia across Asia. This was a task that previously involved using linked spreadsheets to collate data generated from disparate systems, and had to be manually updated to account for new points of sale.

“With the old system, we had various spreadsheets that were up to 60 megabytes in size,” Tjan said.
 
“It was almost impossible to navigate. We had 300 to 400 formulas in the spreadsheets, and each time we had a new point of sale, we had to change the formulas and re-link related files.
 
“We implemented Anaplan with zero scripting or coding. It was completely streamlined, and finance can make changes at any point in time,” he added.
 
“By working with AirAsia Expedia, we were able to greatly improve the speed, accuracy and auditability of their forecasting,” claimed Anaplan managing director Samir Neji (pic).
 
“Every number can be traced back to its source, and calculations are achieved in split seconds. This increases AirAsia Expedia’s ability to perform timely, accurate budgeting and planning,” he said.
 
AirAsia Expedia opened its Hong Kong site in July, and recently unveiled a strategy to offer more localised services in Asia.
 
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Anaplan expands Series C funding by US$3mil
 

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