Founded in Cracow, Poland, Comarch is celebrating its 20th anniversary as an international provider of IT solutions, boasting 40 subsidiaries in 25 countries – and does not intend to stop there.
Almost 50 per cent of its revenue is generated worldwide and a diversified portfolio of foreign investment attests to the quality of the company’s software development.
Among Comarch’s many leading, original solutions is its system for managing loyalty and marketing platforms.
Among the clients who use Comarch loyalty solutions are JetBlue Airways in the United States, Enterprise Holdings, one of the world’s largest car rental companies, Rogers Communications in Canada, Russia’s S7 Airlines, the Brazilian airline Azul, and foremost among UK clients are BP and Heathrow.
Comarch employs nearly 4,000 specialists and can boast more than 3,000 projects carried out successfully on five continents in 40 countries over the last two decades.
The opening of a London office in Paddington last year is the result of a long-term strategy of gaining a client base in Western Europe and overseas, and proves that Comarch loyalty management systems are recognised around the world. The main sectors of UK interest are financial services, telecommunications, travel and retail.
Comarch and Heathrow
Covering five square miles and processing nearly 200,000 passengers each day – more than 70 million a year – Heathrow is one of the world’s most popular airports. Serving over 180 destinations, it plays host to more than 80 airlines, providing a global hub for its many passengers.
In June, Heathrow was named Best Airport in the 2013 ACI (Airports Council International) Europe Awards. This builds on the 2013 SkyTrax World Airport Awards when Terminal 5 was named the world’s best airport terminal for the second consecutive year and Heathrow was recognised for best airport shopping worldwide for the fourth consecutive year.
Within six months of being awarded the Heathrow contract, Comarch has delivered an on-target programme launch and a range of new innovations
With more than 200 different outlets, Heathrow is home to some of the world’s most successful retail space with annual net sales of over £1.7 billion, income which subsidises the landing fees charged to airlines.
Fundamental to this retail offering is the loyalty programme for Heathrow’s frequent travellers. Originally launched in 1999 as WorldPoints, the programme was rebranded in May as Heathrow Rewards in parallel with the transfer of programme management to Comarch and the Comarch Loyalty Management Platform.
Responding to member feedback and employing the functionality of the new platform, the customer proposition was also enhanced at this time to offer greater appeal to the modern, digital traveller.
Heathrow Rewards
A loyalty programme that rewards members for everything they do at the airport, Heathrow Rewards has more than 400,000 members. Growing rapidly, it continues to evolve to improve members’ airport experience by recognising the key role retail plays in overall customer satisfaction.
Members collect points through transactions at any of the airport’s retail outlets, bars, restaurants, bureaux de change and official car parks or by pre-booking tickets for the Heathrow Express rail service.
These points can be enjoyed as shopping vouchers, redeemable across the airport, or as parking and rail discounts. Members can also elect to use points to boost their balances within other frequent-flyer programmes, including British Airways Executive Club, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Lufthansa Miles & More. Members enjoy twice the amount of free Heathrow wi-fi as non-members, and benefit from exclusive offers and promotions from retail brands located within the airport.
As part of the loyalty partner tendering process, Heathrow expressed a desire for greater agility in responding to members’ needs and advances in digital technologies, in addition to a seamless transition to any new platform.
Within six months of being awarded the Heathrow contract, Comarch has delivered an on-target programme launch and a range of new innovations, including virtual membership cards, a mobile-enabled member portal, electronic redemption of rewards within retail outlets and the real-time validation of loyalty credentials within the Heathrow wi-fi service. Future developments include the integration of loyalty segment information within other Heathrow transactional websites.
In addition to the loyalty management platform, Comarch supports Heathrow in programme management, offering services such as data analysis, key performance indicator reporting, contact centre services, member website services and new partner integration, including points accrual hardware.
The collaborative nature of the Heathrow and Comarch relationship is already delivering benefits in terms of member numbers and desired behaviour, and both parties are now engaged in long-term planning for continuous improvement, delivering upon the promise of “Making every journey better”.
For more details and to join Heathrow Rewards, please visit www.heathrow.com/rewards
