Airport Terminal Services

Company

St. Louis-based Airport Terminal Services (ATS) is a full service aviation company supporting more than 150 airline and airport customers in 50 locations across the U.S. and Canada. ATS provides ground-handling services (including labor and equipment) required to operate and maintain airports and flying fields. Customers include major domestic and international carriers, as well as regional and charter flight providers.

Challenge

The ATS finance team faced major challenges and frustrations with its billing processes that were characterized by inefficiency, redundancy, and data integrity issues. ATS station managers were hampered by paper processes that required ramp agents to collect detailed usage data on the tarmac – including explanations for delays or other billable services. That same data had to be rekeyed into a custom-built back-office system, leading to inefficiencies and redundant work. Delays in getting stations to close the flights created billing delays and errors. Data-entry errors were common, forcing ATS to waste time resolving differences in ATS’ records and the airline’s records.

Solutions

ATS wanted a flexible, user-friendly solution that could integrate seamlessly with its existing Oracle Financial Cloud ERP system. Given the size and sophistication of its customers, ATS also needed to handle each customer differently. RecVue gives the finance team the flexibility to make changes, without manual intervention. It easily accommodates tiered, rules-based pricing for airline customers that all operate in different ways. Since it’s a cloud-based application, ramp agents can easily access RecVue from their mobile devices and collect services information in real time. Flight schedules are now automated and schedule changes are automatically updated.

Benefits

RecVue’s B2B monetization platform has cut two days off of ATS’s A/R closing cycle. ATS has slashed the number of records required by 70% – from 2,000 to just 600. Revenue analysis is simpler and improved communication between stations and corporate finance means billing issues get handled more quickly. Invoice accuracy and integrity has improved with RecVue, and analysts can compare original invoices to amendments.

Each month, ATS creates more than 100 new pricing rules to support new sales agreements. With RecVue, the finance team can simply copy prior contracts and pricing rules and make adjustments – without starting from scratch. Even as the company continues to grow, the finance team doesn’t have to add headcount or spend more time, thanks to productivity gains achieved with RecVue. Using improved reporting and analytics, analysts can view daily data and instantly see if something isn’t tracking. This mitigates risk and ultimately generates more revenue by reducing errors.

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