CASE REPORT

E-COMMERCE

Course Code: INE300602

Lecturer: NGUYEN THI THANH HOA
GROUP 3
1. VU LAN HUONG – 20070212
2. TRAN HUU PHUC – 20070298
3. PHAN THI KHANH – 19071388
4. NGUYEN KIEU HA – 20070152

Hanoi, 2023
Table of Contents
I. Introduction.............................................................................................................2
II. Summary the case ..................................................................................................3
III. Answer the questions ...........................................................................................5
IV. Conclusion .........................................................................................................11
V. References ...........................................................................................................12

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I. Introduction in the company
We always aspired to do things differently when we launched the company in 2003. We want to
provide passengers with all of their flight alternatives in one place - a straightforward alternative
to complicated, cumbersome websites.

We've swiftly established ourselves as a top worldwide travel agency, with over 100 million
people using our app and website each month. When we search through billions of tickets,
hotels, and auto rentals to locate the greatest bargains right now, we take pleasure in being
transparent and objective.

Our goal is to make tourists feel at ease and secure when planning and booking their vacation.
We're driven to find the best answers, whether it's using technology to ease complexity or
connecting travelers with trustworthy partners who can deliver honest and transparent solutions.

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II. Summary the case

One of the top search engines for travel metadata is Skyscanner, established in 2003 by three IT
specialists. Skyscanner began as a website that made travel simple by compiling all of your ticket
options in one location, an idea that was inspired by Williams' dissatisfaction with trying to
locate cheap flights. Edinburgh, Scotland welcomed the opening of the first office. Since that
time, Skyscanner has developed into a fantastic resource for traveler information. Skyscanner
was purchased by Trip.com Group in 2016, making it the biggest acquisition in European travel
technology. Skyscanner has more than 100 million monthly users after three years. The business
offers a one-stop platform where visitors may book hotels, flights, and rental cars by compiling
data from various sources. The fundamental service offered by Skyscanner to travelers was the
aggregation of flight prices in exchange for commissions. Soon afterward, Skyscanner
introduced hotel and vehicle rental services, and it expanded to offer insights into travel data for
the travel sector, including airports and airlines. Over time, Skyscanner's income has increased.
Skyscanner took three critical strategic choices to establish itself as a market leader in the travel
data aggregation. Initially, it extends its offerings to other nations, for example, by launching a
number of overseas websites. Secondly, Skyscanner expanded its travel planning services to
include hotel and auto rentals. Finally, In order to enable comprehensive trip planning across all
platforms, Skyscanner has now released an app that is compatible with both Android and IOS,
combining the three main Skyscanner services into one platform to enable complete trip
planning, regardless of the user's location. Besides offering price comparisons from different
vendors, the app also provides information on available deals and suggests activities at desired
attractions and a “recent search” feature. ” to allow users to continue from where they left off in
previous searches. The purchase of Twizoo, the biggest social media review and
recommendation firm in the world, and Distinction, an app development company, contributed
significantly to the app's growth. Additionally, Skyscanner introduced Travel Insight, a tool that
gathers information from flight search and navigation data to help airlines and airports with
planning, scheduling, and price optimization. path, forecast of market trends. Low costs, user-
friendly websites, mobile applications, and two-side marketplace model that provides services to
travelers and service providers help Skyscanner stand out from the competition. Skyscanner was
chosen as the top travel comparison website in a study of passengers' opinions on their

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experiences using well-known holiday booking websites. This industry leadership has also been
reflected in Skyscanner's performance over the years; Through its “greener choice” campaign,
Skyscanner has helped customers choose low-emission flights. Behind the technology
Skyscanner uses are hundreds of engineers working to develop fast, affordable, and user-friendly
software. As a result, the company has evolved its core technology from Microsoft Excel into a
web-based platform and mobile apps. With support from AWS, Skyscanner migrated its entire
infrastructure to the cloud to ensure better performance and optimize costs. Skyscanner also
switched to its enterprise service GitHub in 2018 to meet its evolving technology needs. GitHub
has become the development platform used by every Skyscanner engineer. A few months after
making the transition to GitHub, Skyscanner claimed minimal operating expenses because
engineers spent less time managing source code version control and maintaining the
development platform. Since it offers an integrated and low-maintenance home for all of
Skyscanner's code, GitHub has emerged as a crucial part of the company's entire infrastructure.
Now, Skyscanner wants to keep developing its foundational technology so that it can provide
users better value.

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III. Answer the questions

1. Why did Skyscanner adopt Amazon Web Services for its information technology
infrastructure?
Skyscanner’s technology runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), an on-demand cloud computing
infrastructure that provides a host of tools, technologies, and support services. AWS optimizes
the performance of Skyscanner’s platforms by automatically reducing and expanding
infrastructure requirements based on Internet traffic. With support from AWS, Skyscanner has
migrated its entire infrastructure to the cloud to ensure better performance and cost
optimization. As such, Skyscanner is able to provide services to over 100 million customers
across the world every month.
Skyscanner also adopted AWS for its ability to support agile development and continuous
deployment. With AWS, Skyscanner's development teams can rapidly test and deploy new
features and updates to its platform, reducing the time-to-market for new innovations. This
allowed Skyscanner to deliver new features and services faster to its customers, keeping up with
the fast-paced and highly competitive travel industry.

Another key reason why Skyscanner chose AWS was its global reach. AWS has a vast network
of data centers and availability zones around the world, which enables Skyscanner to easily
expand its services to new markets and geographies. By leveraging AWS's global infrastructure,
Skyscanner can provide fast and reliable service to its customers anywhere in the world,
improving its customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Furthermore, by adopting AWS, Skyscanner can benefit from its vast ecosystem of third-party
tools and services. This includes a wide range of analytics, machine learning, and artificial
intelligence services, which Skyscanner can use to gain deeper insights into customer behavior
and preferences, and to personalize its services to better meet their needs.

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2. What strategic decisions enabled Skyscanner to become a leader in its industry?
To become a leader in the travel data aggregation industry, Skyscanner made three key strategic
decisions.
First, it expanded its services to other countries like China, Singapore, Australia, and the
United States through the launch of different international websites. These websites provided
support in over 30 languages, including French, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Spanish,
Japanese, and German. To support this expansion, Skyscanner secured about £1.5 million in
Series A funding from Scottish Equity Partners and another £1 million in 2008. Today,
Skyscanner remains a leading travel search engine, providing millions of users with a simple and
intuitive way to find the best travel options for their needs. Its commitment to innovation, global
expansion, and user satisfaction has helped it establish a reputation as a trusted and reliable travel
partner.
Second, Skyscanner added hotel and car hire services to its travel planning offerings. The
travel booking process is often considered a booking funnel, which means that people book
flights first and then hotels, cars, and other ancillary services and products. With the addition of
the hotel booking and car hire services, Skyscanner offered its users the convenience of
looking for all information on flights, hotels, and car hire services on the same website,
without having to navigate several different sites. Skyscanner's move to add hotel and car hire
services to its platform was a strategic one, as it recognized the importance of providing a
comprehensive travel planning experience to its users. By offering a one-stop-shop for travel
planning, Skyscanner was able to differentiate itself from its competitors and attract more
users to its platform. Furthermore, the addition of these services allowed Skyscanner to increase
its revenue streams, as it could earn commissions on hotel and car rental bookings made
through its platform.

As Skyscanner’s core service was flight information aggregation, it lacked the requisite
partnerships to effectively offer hotel and car hire services, so it acquired Spanish hotel
comparison business Fogg to leverage its resources to offer hotel and car hire services. The
acquisition of Fogg helped Skyscanner to offer better services to its users and expand its reach
in the travel industry. With the integration of Fogg's technology and expertise, Skyscanner was

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able to quickly provide its users with accurate and reliable information on hotel and car hire
services. Additionally, the acquisition allowed Skyscanner to gain access to Fogg's network of
hotel and car rental partners, enabling the company to offer a wider range of options to its users.
Skyscanner's move to add hotel and car hire services to its platform was a strategic one, as it
recognized the importance of providing a comprehensive travel planning experience to its users.
By offering a one-stop-shop for travel planning, Skyscanner was able to differentiate itself from
its competitors and attract more users to its platform. Furthermore, the addition of these services
allowed Skyscanner to increase its revenue streams, as it could earn commissions on hotel and
car rental bookings made through its platform.
Lastly, Skyscanner launched an app, available for both Android and iOS mobile devices,
which combines Skyscanner’s three main services into one platform to enable complete trip
planning, irrespective of the user’s location. Besides providing price comparison of flights,
hotels, and car hire services from different providers, the app also furnishes information on
available deals and suggests activities at the desired travel destinations.
Skyscanner's app became an instant hit among travelers, with over 70 million downloads across
different countries. The app's user-friendly interface and advanced features made it stand out in a
market crowded with travel booking apps. The app's search algorithms were designed to provide
users with the most relevant and personalized results based on their travel preferences, budget,
and location. To further enhance the user experience, Skyscanner added a feature that allowed
users to set price alerts for their desired flight or hotel bookings. The app would notify users
when the prices dropped or rose, giving them a chance to make an informed decision.

3. What are the primary benefits of Skyscanner’s mobile app?

Price Alerts: One of the best features of the Skyscanner app is its price alert feature. Users can
set up notifications for specific flights, and they will receive an alert when the price drops. This
feature is particularly useful for people who are flexible with their travel plans and can wait to
book their tickets until the price is right. In addition to providing price comparison of flights,
hotels, and car hire services from different providers, Skyscanner's mobile app also offers several
other useful features that enhance the travel planning experience for users.
One of these features is the ability to access information on available deals. Skyscanner's app
offers exclusive deals and discounts on flights, hotels, and car rentals to its users. These deals are
often only available through the app, making it a great tool for finding the best prices on travel
services.
Another useful feature of Skyscanner's app is its ability to suggest activities at the desired travel
destinations. This feature helps users to plan their trip by providing them with ideas and

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inspiration for things to do at their chosen destination. Users can access this feature by selecting
their desired destination and clicking on the "Things to Do" tab, which displays a list of popular
attractions and activities.
Skyscanner's mobile app does offer a "recent search" feature that allows users to continue their
search from where they left off on previous searches. This feature is particularly useful for users
who need to take a break from their travel planning and want to resume their search at a later
time.
When a user opens the Skyscanner app, they will see a "Recent Searches" section on the
homepage. This section displays the user's most recent searches, allowing them to quickly access
their previous searches and continue their search. The recent search feature saves users time and
makes the travel planning process more convenient.

We will provide to you more benefits of using their mobile app:

Convenient and User-friendly Interface: The Skyscanner app has a straightforward interface that
allows users to quickly and easily search for flights, hotels, and car rentals. The app has been
optimized for mobile devices, which means that it is easy to navigate on small screens, and the
search results are easy to read.
Flexibility: The Skyscanner app allows users to search for flights based on a variety of criteria,
including their preferred dates, nearby airports, and even flexible dates. The app also allows
users to filter their search results based on factors such as departure and arrival times, the number
of stops, and airline preference.
Multi-city Trips: Planning a multi-city trip can be complicated, but the Skyscanner app makes it
easy. Users can enter multiple destinations and dates, and the app will generate a list of flights
that meet their criteria. This feature is particularly useful for people who are planning a vacation
that includes multiple destinations.

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4. How did Skyscanner ensure that users could use its services in different countries?
Skyscanner's global success can be attributed to its commitment to providing a seamless user
experience for customers in different countries. To ensure that users can use its services in
different countries, Skyscanner has implemented several strategies:
- Localization: Skyscanner's platform is localized in over 30 languages, including English,
Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and many others. Users can select their preferred
language from a dropdown menu on the platform's homepage. In addition to language
localization, Skyscanner also offers localization of currencies, units of measurement, and
date and time formats, making it easier for users to search for travel options in their local
context.
Partnerships: Skyscanner has formed partnerships with local travel providers, such as airlines
and hotels, to offer users the best prices and deals in different countries. These partnerships allow
Skyscanner to access local inventory and offer users a wider range of travel options.

In addition some strategies that Skycanner also apply to spread their platforms around the world.
User feedback: Skyscanner listens to user feedback and makes changes to its platform based on
the needs of users in different countries. For example, Skyscanner introduced a "Nearby
Airports" feature to cater to the needs of users in countries with multiple airports.
Mobile app: Mobile app: Skyscanner's mobile app allows users to access its services from
anywhere in the world, making it easy for users to plan their travel on the go. The app is
available in different languages and currencies, and users can switch between them easily.

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5. How has Skyscanner managed to outperform its competitors?
Skyscanner took three major strategic moves in order to become a leader in the travel data
aggregation market.
Firstly, it expanded its services to nations such as China, Singapore, Australia, and the United
States by launching several overseas websites. Support was available in over 30 languages,
including French, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, and German. Skyscanner
received around £1.5 million in Series A capital from Scottish Equity Partners, as well as another
£1 million in 2008.
Secondly, Skyscanner expanded its travel planning services to include hotel and auto rental
options. The travel booking process is sometimes referred to as a booking funnel, implying that
customers book flights first, then hotels, transportation, and other auxiliary services and
products. Skyscanner's inclusion of hotel booking and car rental services provided visitors with
the ease of searching for all information on flights, hotels, and car hire services on the same
website, rather than having to visit multiple distinct sites. Skyscanner's primary offering was
airline information aggregation, and it lacked the necessary partnerships to efficiently offer hotel
and car hire services, so it purchased Spanish hotel comparison startup Fogg to utilize its
capabilities.

Finally, Skyscanner introduced an app for both Android and iOS mobile devices that combines
Skyscanner's three core services into a single platform for comprehensive trip planning
regardless of the user's location. Besides comparing prices for flights, hotels, car rentals from
various suppliers, the app also provides information on current offers and suggests activities in
the chosen holiday places. In addition, the Skyscanner app has a "recent search" option that
allows users to pick up where they left off on past searches. Skyscanner also introduced Travel
Insight, a tool that pulls insights from users' flight searches and relays data to airlines and
airports to help them optimize fares, plan routes, forecast market trends, and learn more about
travelers. Instead than diverting visitors to service providers, Skyscanner has incorporated a
direct booking facility through its platform.

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While comparable services like Kayak, Booking.com, Momondo, Trivago, and Expedia exist in
the travel price aggregation and metasearch industry, Skyscanner stands out with low prices, a
user-friendly website and app, and a two-sided marketplace model that provides services to both
travelers and service providers.

IV. Conclusion

Skyscanner wants to show you the world. Skyscanner wants you to have every option at your
fingertips, from selecting a place to finding the cheapest price. That's why we're working hard to
make travel more convenient for everyone. Make the entire scheduling and ticketing process
simple, easy, and delightful from beginning to end. To ensure that every penny you spend on
your trip is worthwhile. And let the travel sector become transparent and trustworthy.
Skyscanner's actions are guided by this spirit. Skyscanner is always there for you and is pleased
to be the world's most trusted travel information site.

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V. References

Skyscanner - Routes. Available at: https://www.routesonline.com/suppliers/9924/skyscanner/

(Accessed: 22 May 2023).

Introduction - API Developer Documentation. Available at:

https://developers.skyscanner.net/docs/intro (Accessed: 22 May 2023).

Intended positioning on the market - IATA. Available at:

https://www.iata.org/contentassets/621b91da1bae41cda036cc6dde769712/skyscanner-ndc-
idcard-2017.pdf (Accessed: 22 May 2023).

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