By
Alex Smith |
Irish Ferries is to implement Hogia Ferry Systems’ BOOKIT reservation system for managing its passenger and freight operations.
The operator currently uses separate systems for the two sides of its business, but these will now be replaced with a single solution. Irish Ferries believe this will improve its capacity management capabilities and simplify port operations.
“After what was eventually years of meetings, site visits, demonstrations and the resulting procurement process, we are very confident that we have made the right decision in choosing Hogia and BOOKIT,” said Andrew Sheen, managing director of the ferries division at Irish Ferries. “The new system will give us more flexibility, improve holiday packaging, automate our port operations and we will no doubt see improvements for both our customers and staff.”
Four Irish Ferries ro-pax vessels and one high-speed ferry currently operate on two routes across the Irish Sea, as well as a direct route between Ireland and France. The new reservation system will be available for passenger bookings by the end of the year, followed by the commercial business in 2021.
“We are seeing more and more ferry operators choosing to buy into a standard system to replace their bespoke or in-house solutions,” said Niclas Blomstrom, managing director at Hogia Ferry Systems. “A standard system offers the operator continuous product development to keep up with the expectations across the industry, without operators needing to research, scope, develop and maintain that new functionality themselves. Reaching this point has been a team effort and although we have a period of hard work ahead of us, it is something we are hugely excited and proud to be undertaking.”