Thomas Cook India -; SOTC win 'Innovation in Omni-experience' Award at IDC Industry Innovation Awards 2021

7 Feb 2022 , 10:03 AM

Thomas Cook (India) Limited – India’s leading integrated travel services company and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have been honoured with the award for ‘Innovation in Omni-experience’ – Travel, Transportation & Logistics category, at the International Data Corporation (IDC) Industry Innovation Awards 2021.

At around 10:05 AM, Thomas Cook was trading at Rs65.60 apiece down by Rs0.3 or 0.46% on the BSE.

The IDC Industry Innovation Awards recognise and celebrate the transformative initiatives led by India’s tech leaders in accelerating their organization’s journey towards digital maturity.

In line with the theme of the year – “Build, Grow & Invent: The Road to Realization”, Thomas Cook India & SOTC have successfully demonstrated innovation, agility and digital astuteness in consistently leveraging technology to drive scale of change in delivering business benefits.

With the pandemic having altered customer behaviours/ priorities, Thomas Cook India & SOTC have displayed innovation and speed in enhancing their omni-channel clicks & bricks model to deliver a safe, seamless, contactless customer experience.

With the announcement of the lockdown, the Companies were quick to empower their sales and servicing teams with a central dialler telephony and VPN access to stay in touch and provide meaningful support to customers. Additionally, Thomas Cook & SOTC launched India’s first Virtual Holiday Store that leveraged technology to deliver a convenient and contactless interface.

For India’s digital natives, the Thomas Cook & SOTC apps and portals offer a range of holidays, flight, hotel and attractions. In addition, Thomas Cook & SOTC’s innovative Build-Your-Own Holiday module enables customers design their own holidays based on their unique preferences.

With easing of restrictions, the Companies’ omni-channel model enabled customers walk in to a Thomas Cook or SOTC outlet closest to them, to meet with Holiday experts and co-curate their trip. Customers could select from the Companies extensive pan India retail network of approximately 300 outlets, covering metros, minimetros, Tier 2 — 3 cities.

A seamless digital platform developed in-house equips both customers and Thomas Cook & SOTC teams with end-to-end transactions across a comprehensive array of travel and related services, like flights, hotels, holidays, attractions, foreign exchange, visa services, etc. The platform is integrated with the Companies’ CRM and enables multiple digital payment solutions.

Amit Madhan, President & Group Head — Information Technology & E-Business for Thomas Cook (India) & SOTC said, “At Thomas Cook India & SOTC, we are obsessed with our customers! Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our aim was to create a safe, seamless and contactless experience and I am delighted with our agility and speed in delivery. My Team and I are thus honoured to accept IDC’s prestigious award for ‘Innovation in Omni-experience’.

Our hybrid ‘clicks & bricks’ model puts the power in our consumer’s hands giving them the choice of interacting with us via one or multiple channels — based on their preference/convenience. So, our customers can opt to research & transact digitally via our apps and portals; interact with our contact centres for reassurance/guidance or walk into their closest store to finalise their plans with our Holiday experts.”