Client Background

Client: A leading Swiss public transportation system operator

Industry: Transportation

Areas of operation: Operates public transportation in Geneva and in the neighbouring French regions.

Fleet: Trams, trolley buses, buses (including electric buses)

Challenge

The client operated, managed and coordinated a large fleet of buses, which included multiple bus types (including trolley buses, single and double decker buses & electric buses). Since the parking allocation and scheduling for this large fleet was done manually based on available slots, the client often ran into problems related to optimizing parking efficiency, smooth fleet movement and adhering to predetermined schedules. Multiple constraints like bus health, size & type of buses; considering ad-hoc schedule changes; emergency maintenance, next-day scheduling etc. made this operation very challenging. Some of the focus areas where the client intended to bring about transformation included:

• Appropriate parking bay allotment based on all the constraints
• Enabling smooth, hassle-free fleet movement, easing the pressure on the Depot Manager
• Ensuring effective management of bus breakdowns and maintenance
• Enabling effective coordination with incoming buses

Solution

A workable, seamless solution for efficient depot management was the need of the hour. Wipro’s proven expertise in SAP-driven smart business solutions, the HOLMES’ team’s AI proficiency, as well as engagement led by SAP, was made to order. Optimizations were put in place while assigning schedules; parking bay allotment and fleet management were integrated into one seamless solution supported by a chatbot. Some of the key highlights of the solution were:

• Creation of a master dashboard to enable the Depot Manager to get a 360⁰ perspective of the fleet operations at a glance
• An advanced rule-based engine to assign parking spaces based on bus types, parking patterns, maintenance status and schedules
• A voice-based, multilingual chatbot leveraging the capabilities of SAP Conversational AI to ease day-to-day tasks of the Depot Manager
• Arrivals, departures, parking and re-parking schedules were integrated into a dynamic scheduling algorithm
• Drivers without smartphones could now use SMS for bay allocations 
• SAP Cloud Foundry app hosted on SAP Cloud Platform, driven by modern microservices-based architecture
• Complete engagement, from ideation-to-delivery, driven remotely
  

Business Impact

The SAP smart business solution turned out to be the right fit for the client’s multifarious operational challenges. With a synchronized modus operandi, the client could not only save time, but also ease pressure and effectively optimize on schedules. Smooth running of the fleet also paved the way for better operations, which was good for business and overall productivity. Some of the key benefits included:

• Increase in productivity with enhanced schedule adherence
• Better end customer experience overall as a result of smooth scheduling
• Quicker emergency responsiveness due to dynamic scheduling
• Better employee morale and improvement in work-life balance due to lesser pressure on drivers and fleet managers
• Enhanced safety in the work environment by reducing unnecessary movement of fleet within the depot

“The SAP smart business solution brought about dynamic changes across the functions in Depot Management. Our team at Wipro spared no effort in optimizing solutions within the stipulated time frames. From enabling smooth operations to creating a happy workforce, we enabled overall productivity and a better user experience.” - Sundararaman Sankaranarayanan, General Manager & Global Head, SAP Digital Innovation Group, Wipro