Airports are a key market for Quintiq as it explores further growth. They are, of course, very dynamic environments, and the inherent flexibility of the Quintiq platform in responding to operational changes or disruption in real-time, makes it a vital technology for airports.
The Quintiq story is one of rapid, successful growth. Beginning in 1997 with a group of five ambitious computer programmers, the company now boasts more than 800 employees in offices around the world. COO Arjen Heeres joined shortly after Quintiq was founded, and his own passion for solving planning puzzles echoes the company’s vision.
Central to this vision is the ability to solve each planning puzzle using a single supply chain planning and optimisation software platform. “We optimise and plan larger operations with multiple planning puzzles, each of which have some
Arjen Heeres, Quintiq COO: “We can strategically help airports determine at what level they should invest in new infrastructure, for example. We can also assist on a practical level with capacity planning and staff rostering, while on an operational level, we can help minimise the effects of last minute disruptions in real-time.”
kind of interdependency,” Heeres commented. “The platform we provide is one where you can capture all those puzzles, identify where they all work in collaboration with each other, and find the best possible solution given the circumstances.”
Quintiq has recently been acquired by Dassault Systems, which will only strengthen its focus on the aviation business. Airports are a key market for Quintiq as it explores further growth. They are, of course, very dynamic environments, and the inherent flexibility of the Quintiq platform in responding to operational changes or disruption in real-time, makes it a vital technology for airports.
Heeres explained that the software empowers airports to create practical plans – for the short-, mid-, and long-term – in line with their key performance indicators (KPI). Quintiq provides the tools and feedback needed to plan according those KPIs, be they related to efficiency, customer service or profitability. “We can strategically help airports determine at what level they should invest in new infrastructure, for example,” Heeres said. “We can also assist on a practical level with capacity planning and staff rostering, while on an operational level, we can help minimise the effects of last minute disruptions in real-time – the system can re-plan with a full new schedule for people, resources and vehicles.”
Copenhagen Airports, operator of the busiest hub in the Nordic region, is using Quintiq’s software platform to plan its workforce. Copenhagen Airport handled a record 24.1 million passengers last year, and Quintiq has provided a single integrated software platform to optimise the planning of the airport’s workforce of 2,100 staff. Its software implementation also includes the deployment of a mobile application, integration with SAP Payroll, and the automation of key planning tasks.
Enormous benefits of optimisation
Quintiq also works with airlines and air navigation service providers (ANSPs). Indeed, it was recently announced that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has rolled out its software platform to optimise its workforce planning strategies for pilot management. Meanwhile, Quintiq works with some of the world’s biggest ANSPs, including Deutsche Flugsicherung, the FAA, and NAV Canada. Quintiq’s workforce planning and optimisation solution enables ANSPs to create plans that fully incorporate government legislation, labour agreements, and the latest fatigue risk management principles.
Heeres’ concluding sentiment was that optimisation is typically underestimated, but the benefits are tangible. “You need to be precise in capturing the operation of an airport. That requires quite some work, but my recommendation is look into it and really make the effort to understand why, if you put the effort in, the rewards can be enormous.”
