Samsonite Europe scales luggage-damage service with Oracle
Luggage maker moves Bagsupport app to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, cutting costs, increasing uptime, and charting course for global expansion.
“Bagsupport, our luggage-as-a-service application, will take off as a multi-airline service and expand globally, thanks to consistent uptime and the ability to scale with Oracle’s elastic compute infrastructure and global data center network.”
Business challenges
Samsonite International is the world’s largest manufacturer of travel luggage and accessories, with globally recognized brands such as Samsonite, Tumi, American Tourister, Lipault, Gregory, and High Sierra. The company sells its products in more than 100 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America through authorized retailers, company-operated stores, and on its website. The company operates multiple cloud platforms, including Oracle Retail, for integrating online and in-store channels.
The Belgium-based Samsonite Europe began testing a new offering called Bagsupport, which has now been rolled out by airline companies in Europe. The objective for Bagsupport is to save airlines time and money by handling passenger claims and repairs for damaged luggage.
Historically, airlines worldwide have relied on thousands of local baggage-repair partners to resolve customer claims, resulting in complex invoice handling. Samsonite’s initiative relieves airlines of that responsibility, providing a one-stop shop operated by a globally recognized luggage specialist with a 110-year-old history.
Bagsupport also allows airline flight personnel to exchange luggage at Samsonite airport stores, guaranteeing quality products to pilots and crew. The app’s front end was developed as an on-premises application. But Samsonite soon realized that to scale globally—as more airlines saw the benefits of its offering—it would need to shift the app out of its data center and onto a cloud-based platform.
Why Samsonite Europe Chose Oracle
Samsonite chose Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) for reasons of cost, availability, scalability, and security. “Although the lower cost of the cloud drove us forward, uptime was the crucial factor,” says Guy Dedeurwaerder, infrastructure manager for Samsonite Europe. “In Oracle Cloud, you’re always up.”
Samsonite also reasoned that because Oracle Platinum partners iAdvise and Exitas built the Bagsupport app on the Oracle APEX low code development platform—which runs on OCI—that tight integration would ensure smooth enhancements to the app as more airlines come onboard.
Results
Moving Bagsupport to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure eliminated the downtime Samsonite had experienced managing the app in its own data center. As part of its OCI implementation, Samsonite deployed Oracle Database Backup Cloud Service and Oracle Infrastructure Monitoring Cloud Service, and acquired 24/7 access to Oracle support engineers.
Samsonite also reduced its software and hardware costs while gaining the scalability needed to expand its luggage-as-a-service offering to airlines worldwide. Airline passengers can count on a first-class experience on their mobile devices when registering claims, selecting replacement luggage, scheduling repairs, and identifying pick-up points. And thanks to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, airline personnel anywhere in the world can access the application, select from the Samsonite inventory, and collect their items from the luggage maker’s airport stores or dealerships.
Samsonite is extending its Samsonite’s Bagsupport offering via an OCI interface to the WorldTracer Baggage Self-Service system operated by SITA, the global airline telecom cooperative, which lets passengers report, track, and manage delayed or damaged bags from their own devices.
“We are a global company and can partner with any airline in the world,” says Dirk de Smyter, Samsonite IT director for Europe. “Using Oracle’s Gen 2 Cloud, we are ready.”