Strategic Plan For Southwest

Stakeholders

 Company Management, Shareholders, Staff and Employees, Customers, rating agencies, Airlines board. 

Mission

To accommodate RFID technology to manage smoothly luggage handling at airports to enable customer satisfaction

To become a leader amongst airlines that provide utmost care to passengers to handle their luggage’s  

• To track luggage flow from airports to  aircrafts and reduce luggage misplacement
• To allow customers take better care of their luggage and retrieve them
• To prevent reduced loss claim due to language misplacement

• Southwest Airlines aims to become a market leader in low cost airline space providing highest amount of customer satisfaction

• The business goals of the Company is to cater to best possible costs, security and comfort in airline travelling that customers can make. It provides services in all possible routes.
• To allow ease of luggage tracking by incorporation of RFID technologies and systems.

Some of the key values that are provided by Southwest Airlines are award winning customer service, ticketless travelling, low cost of travel, ticketless travel and various other features to facilitate highly technology integrated services to customers.

Business Goals: The business goals of the Company is to cater to best possible costs, security and comfort in airline travelling that customers can make. It provides services in all possible routes.

Business Initiative: The business goals of the Company being to become leading company that caters to new technology for customer satisfaction. To attain business goals it incorporates highly integrates technologies, increased security features, high levels in customer services and sense of warmth and friendliness to individual customers to ease their flying experience. In order to encourage loyalty from customers it encourages commitments low cost structure yet being most profitable airline in the country.

Business Goal: To allow ease of luggage tracking by incorporation of RFID technologies and systems. To provide best possible customer services and increased luggage capacities.

Business Initiative: Incorporating Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) such that luggage of individuals can easily be tracked and increased security measures can be ensured for customers.

Business Goals: The business goals of the Company is to cater to best possible costs, security and comfort in airline travelling that customers can make. It provides services in all possible routes.

Business Initiative: The business goals of the Company being to become leading company that caters to new technology for customer satisfaction. To attain business goals it incorporates highly integrates technologies, increased security features, high levels in customer services and sense of warmth and friendliness to individual customers to ease their flying experience. In order to encourage loyalty from customers it encourages commitments low cost structure yet being most profitable airline in the country.

Business Initiative	IT Strategy #	IT Strategy
The business goals of the Company being to become leading company that caters to new technology for customer satisfaction. To attain business goals it incorporates highly integrates technologies, increased security features, high levels in customer services and sense of warmth and friendliness to individual customers to ease their flying experience.	IT strategy for 1	IT enabled systems for customer tracking. Online ticket sales, highly integrated ERP systems.
In order to encourage loyalty from customers it encourages commitments low cost structure yet being most profitable airline in the country.	IT strategy for 2	Integrated ERP and Value chain system to ensure that products, processes and prices can be ensured to customers

Business Goal: To allow ease of luggage tracking by incorporation of RFID technologies and systems. To provide best possible customer services and increased luggage capacities.

Business Initiative: Incorporating Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) such that luggage of individuals can easily be tracked and increased security measures can be ensured for customers.

Business Initiative	IT Strategy #	IT Strategy
To allow ease of luggage tracking by incorporation of RFID technologies and systems.	IT strategy 3	RFID technology with backward integration to services
To provide best possible customer services and increased luggage capacities.	IT strategy 4	RFID technology retrieving by means of in-house technological systems

Categorizing IT Objectives by Domain

Business Domains: Airlines – IT Objective: To provide an integrated approach to customers for their bookings and handling of luggage

Business Domains: Travel-IT Objective: To ensure security and on-time deliveries of luggage’s and passenger flight schedules

1. Enterprise relationship management (ERP): Southwest Airlines has an integrated ERP system to coordinate amongst it various processes and deliveries. To allow for timely deliveries and low costs, the Company manages it’s bookings dynamically. Prices of seats are low costs by reflecting on various factors as seat reservations, early bookings and so on. An ERP system allows to reflect at the customer end availability of seats, schedules of flights and other prominent parameters.
2. Customer relationship management (CRM): CRM is the most prominent factor in any type of business. CRM in any business is done using scope of technological systems as in this case the Airlines ensures the same by handling service queries and other relevant issues through online systems. CRM is the most important aspect for airline business as they need to constantly maintain competitiveness, for this purpose the Company provides check-ins and other necessary information regarding the flights and its various schedules.
3. Supply-chain management (SCM).:The supply chain management especially in case of airlines is ensured by various distributors as well as suppliers that provide various services. Food, cleaning, fueling, maintenance and various other jobs that are required to maintain an airline is done using suppliers and distributors. Southwest Airlines by software enhances such relationships and such SCM software provides competitiveness to the Company in terms of handling and delivering on-time services to clients.  
4. Human capital management (HCM).:  Human capital is the most important type of capital for any for any organization in the scope of service. As in case of the current organization, HCM refers to the multiple service provided by staffs and employees for handling customers as well as their luggage across various cities and airports. These staffs and employees render productiveness and services to satisfy the demand of the customers hence, Southwest Airlines allocates duties and evaluates the productivity of each and every employee by means of HCM processes and systems.  
5. Business intelligence (BI).: The scope of BI is developing at a rapid rate currently and is providing extreme competitiveness to the business model. The scope of BI in case integrated to the business is used to identify scopes and valued propositions such as to identify unique prevailing opportunities and to take advantage of the same. Southwest Airlines makes active usage of its BI in terms of enhancing its competitiveness and by leading in the market. The Company makes use of such features to identify key scopes in the market and provide necessary customer services from the same. BI is used and integrated across various business platforms and services to render effectiveness of services.

Technical Domains: In order to develop IT strategies and cater to effectiveness in the field of RFID Southwest Airlines need to provide necessary technical domains such that the greater IT goals can be accomplished. There are certain features of IT Technical Domains that provide competitiveness to the Company and helps with its maintenance of competitive strategies. The following are some of the scopes that are discussed for the purview as;  

• Software architecture: It consists of the IT framework that is accommodated within a Company for its various functioning. Software architecture is basically a conceptual model that defines task allocation and division of responsibilities amongst various participants of the business.

• Database: Database is the most important aspect for any type of prevailing business software systems that allows system functionalities. A database forms the backbone for any software architecture and is used for delivering results and arriving at system functions.

• Server: Server is a computer device or program that is used to store user information and retrieve from it thereof.A server maintains information and database that is retrieved by multiple users at the same time and is used dynamically to allow for greater functionality in every aspect of the business be it customer care, supplier relationship or any other processes.

• Storage: Storage can be volatile and it also can be static in nature. In company’s usage both type of storage as well as memory is used for various processes. Volatile memory is used for non-important tasks whereas static memory is used for the purpose of important tasks where details regarding transactions and other important issues needs to be maintained.

• Desktop : Desktop comprises of a static computer system that includes LCD for display, mouse, CPU and printer. A desktop is often used at offices for the purpose of managing various tasks and processing the same.

• Messaging: Messaging is the text or information that is provided to a person. There is a receiver and a sender in message systems and a sender initiates a message which is received by the receiver in turn. A message can be generated by means of computer architecture and also mobile network system for communication.

• Networking and telecommunications: The process of networking and telecommunication is to keep connected to various people by usage of technology. While networking allows keeping in touch randomly with multiple users at the same time, telecommunications includes communicating by means of phones or mobile phones.

• IT Effectiveness: The concept of IT effectiveness deals with providing security and other measures that can ensure functional effectiveness and efficiency. the goal of an IT infrastructure is to ensure that customers, suppliers, employees and other necessary and relevant stakeholders of the organization can be brought together and rendered services. An IT infrastructure needs to be secured in nature and also needs to meet the necessary needs of customers such that there is relatively lower rates of complaints and issues of risks.  

• Risk Management:  Risk management is the most important functionality of a IT infrastructure and its systems. Risks management allows for checking for various systems and convergence of responsibilities such that risks can be adequately handled. A risks management procedure allows for charting of necessary requirement and each processes against their perceived risks levels. Each type of risks is dealt with in separate ways, either to mitigate them, avoid them or to transfer them in totality.  The period for each type of risks is also an important factor that helps determine the complexity of the issue. Risk coverage is a must and added feature for all system processes as it entails handling of systems functionality in an efficient and effective manner.