Jet Services Uses SAS® to Gain Clearer View of Activities

Jet Services was a pioneer in the use of barcodes to facilitate the tracing of packages, and was also one of the first shipping companies to employ new information technologies to provide its customers with real-time tracking tools via the Internet.

Created in 1973, Jet Services is the undisputed leader in inter-company express transport in France. More than 300,000 packages are handled each day and delivered the next day throughout the world. With 2,600 employees and revenues of 335.4 million Euros, Jet Services in 1988 joined the TPG (TNT Post Group) and in this manner confirmed its expansion strategy at the international level.

A few years ago, the company undertook quality steps intended to attain a maximum rate of satisfaction for the number of packages delivered by time. Furthermore, sales management wanted to take advantage of enhanced visibility of its activities.

Because their existing tools did not yield coherent and reliable data, Jet Services decided to obtain a new decision support system, based on SAS, in order to run the data of its central AS/400 site. "We wanted a single and identical database using management rules shared by all employees," says Eric Micheau, director of information systems.

Several solutions were studied by Jet Services' information systems management before they selected SAS. The solution specifically had to be capable of handling large volumes of data (considering the 300,000 packages handled each day) and interface with a large number of databases and query tools. Yet it should be easy to implement and use.

"This decisional architecture seemed to us to be the most open and most powerful, considering the volume of information to be processed," says Micheau – a conclusion that was subsequently confirmed by several performance tests. "We selected the SAS data warehouse, because it combines processing power with information pertinence," he explained.

Expanded Possibilities
The collaboration with SAS resulted in the installation of a data warehouse, followed by the establishment of an application for sales administration.

"The SAS decision support solution offers a wealth of functionality that allowed us to foresee, from the moment of its installation in the company, numerous possibilities in terms of activity reports," according to Nadine Coffy, head of decision systems, who noted that the users themselves were the main driving force behind the installation of the data warehouse.

Company management then decided to concentrate on client quality with a strategy that became operational in the first quarter of 2001 (and was deployed in the hundred or so centers distributed throughout France). Next, Jet Services focused on the administration segment of sales, and specifically the detailed analysis of revenues.

Enhanced Visibility
"The objective was the make a common 'data dictionary' available, containing examples of sampling data from each regional management office, so that local problems can be better understood and can be faster resolved," says Micheau, who regards the SAS data warehouse as an added advantage. "Because of the establishment of common management rules throughout the entire company, the data processed by the system is clear and precise for all users."

Currently, approximately 50 employees (regional directors, center chiefs, and those in charge of commercial aspects) operate the data warehouse. Eventually, this number will be close to 200. Information system management does not preclude the installation of "free service" PCs to allow anyone access to the information of the company. "At this time, the balance is very positive. The users are very satisfied. The center chiefs finally have a clear tool that allows them to focus on problems as they occur," Micheau says.

Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All Rights Reserved.