Who knows what kind of technical support traditional dealers need?

However, based on the strong growth of China's tourism market, the growth of OTA only reduced the market share of traditional agents, seized some of their high-end customers, and did not push them to the point of life and death. The business volume of traditional agents still maintains a certain degree of growth, but the number of regular dealers is gradually decreasing, and the technical input and market share of large dealers are increasing year by year.

At present, it seems that the traditional distributors have the following coping styles: enriching products and developing from a single air ticket distributor to an integrated travel service provider. ? Through the improvement of management level, strengthen internal management, increase commission income, reduce operating costs and improve passenger service level. ? Vigorously develop tourism agreement customers, increase financial strength through various means, and meet the pressure of regular settlement of tourism customers. ? Within its affordable cost, actively try new technologies, develop its own website or platform, actively explore cooperation with marketing channels such as search engines, and explore new customers and new sources of income.

In the use of technology, traditional dealers rely heavily on CRS system, and are actively seeking various tools and software to promote sales and improve management efficiency. After years of development, the domestic market has formed some IT companies that provide industry solutions based on agency business. Their products effectively meet part of the needs of agent informatization and e-commerce development, but they still can't meet the needs of agent transformation. IT tools that distributors need to realize transformation in recent years include:

1. A system that can support distributors to realize the transformation into integrated tourism service providers.

The traditional travel agency system focuses on store reception, planning and route management, but the matching degree of the distribution model aiming at leisure and self-help travel in the transformation is quite different. Traditional distributors need a complete IT system, which is consistent with the management process and can support all kinds of non-aviation business and parcel business. If an independent system can't meet all aspects and products of travel service provision and management, then the cooperation and data exchange between systems is more important.

Traditional travel agencies and distributors, due to the short development time of IT systems, relatively weak systems, personnel and product foundations, and insufficient investment in IT funds, time and management, have higher requirements for the functions, services and business support of system providers.

In addition, the situation of low IT application level, opaque information and low consumer satisfaction in the traditional travel agency market can be greatly improved through the development of large-scale tourism product trading platform and OTA in the future. This may be one of the breakthrough points of distributor transformation.

2. Tools to improve management efficiency

Even if the traditional distributors are transformed, the core of their tourism products is still aviation products, which is also related to the highest consumption ratio of aviation products in all kinds of tourism products. Therefore, the cooperation and docking between IT system and CRS system is also an important link.

With the large-scale development of airline direct sales and OTA, traditional distributors need to achieve results in the standardization and efficiency improvement of internal management, reduce personnel investment and improve accuracy. Through cooperation with CRS system or airline system, IT system providers can provide more and better tools for distribution, improve work efficiency and management level, and provide targeted solutions for different types of distributors, especially the management and statistical tools for sales data and customer information need to be improved as soon as possible.

Tourism service management tools are another key area. International TMC companies have entered the China market and seized an important share of global corporate customers in China tourism market, but the needs of various domestic government agencies and enterprises still need a large number of local TMCs to meet. If there are suitable tools to help dealers improve and standardize the existing service level and help them solve various problems such as quotation and reconciliation, data analysis and uneven personnel level, then the gap between corporate customer demand and TMC company management level can be greatly bridged.

3. Reliable localized CRS system

China has a wide geographical distribution, and there are great differences in culture, management mode and quality of employees among different regions. Dealers are scattered all over the country, and the polarization trend is obvious. The existing CRS system is full of contradictions in the face of cross-regional development of OTA and big agents, diversified products and new business development.

In the process of transformation, the dependence of traditional distributors on CRS system will increase in a certain period of time. Therefore, a reliable and localized CRS and its related quality management and data service tools will be of great help to the development of distributors.

4. Tools and systems to help improve the passenger service experience.

As mentioned above, traditional distributors have insufficient IT investment, less system development time and experience, and cannot compete with airlines and OTA in e-commerce tools for passengers. A few years ago, many dealers had been involved in e-commerce enthusiastically, and most of them ended without results. But today's online consumer market, especially in large and medium-sized cities with spending power, has gradually matured. IT's time for us to think deeply about what kind of IT tools can be undertaken by distributors and can really help distributors improve passenger service and experience.

The author believes that e-commerce websites and mobile phone applications that can help distributors develop their business characteristics will have a great market. Of course, the management of dealers also needs to improve the understanding and application ability of e-commerce technology.

Generally speaking, traditional distributors need to strengthen their own understanding and investment in the commercial value of technology, take their own development direction as the leading factor, supplemented by technology manufacturers and CRS system supporters, in order to succeed in the transformation process. At present, there are not too many technology companies and products on the market, but too few. Due to the high degree of specialization in this market, the scale of income and profit needs to be explored, and the enthusiasm of technology manufacturers is not high. It is more necessary for all parties to discuss together and build a win-win benign development direction.

Author Introduction The author joined Guanghangxin in 2003. He used to be the product manager and customer service manager of R&D center, and now he is the manager of distribution business department, responsible for the sales of regional distribution market and the management of distribution products. He has a deep understanding of tourism distribution and aviation business, and has rich experience in R&D management and marketing of IT products. Before joining Guangzhou Hangxin, I was engaged in the development of distribution system, GDS cooperation and airline e-commerce projects in Netcom Travel Network. View all authors' articles