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Socrate - Buying systems instead of developing them

Socrate - Buying systems instead of developing them. Reservation System for the French National Railroads (SNCF) To be implemented at a set deadline at the same time as the launch of the Atlantic TGV Ambitious attempt to develop a Global Distribution System (GDS) for rail transportation

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Socrate - Buying systems instead of developing them

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  1. Socrate - Buying systems instead of developing them • Reservation System for the French National Railroads (SNCF) • To be implemented at a set deadline at the same time as the launch of the Atlantic TGV • Ambitious attempt to develop a Global Distribution System (GDS) for rail transportation • Very large development project • current system obsolete • lack of confidence in internal development (previous failure) • Why not buy SABRE?

  2. Story of a Disaster • Launch January 18th 1993 • Million of customers stranded • Queues longer than ever before • ghost trains • missing towns (eg Rouen / 400,000 inhabitants) • Clerks went on strike • traffic decrease by 7% in 1997!

  3. The real story • Difficult managerial decision • difficult project technically (never done before) • Other factors (increased competition) explain the bad results of 1993 • Reason of the failure were largely external to the project • No support from top management • SNCF is important and irreplaceable service

  4. Why buy SABRE? • Current system has reached the end of the road • bad experiences with semi-state bodies developing large systems • GDSs are huge packages - Socrate was expected to • take 500 man years to create • add up to a million lines of code • cost around £150 million • Train industry is very specific => outsourcing not an option • Lack of political support for European collaboration • SABRE provided a good basis for what was needed - service + yield management

  5. Development • Joint venture between AMR and SNCF • gradual transfer of responsibility and knowledge • overshot budget by 20% • was ready just about on time • systems has now been sold to SNCB, SNCS and other European operators • Users and customers not involved in development • Training was minimum

  6. Greatest Problems • Bad analysis of requirements • Underestimation of the complexity of the problems raised (eg: exceptions) • Not consideration given to training needs • Lack of understanding of the implications of the culture and structure of the company (eg: databases) • Appalling communication with the public

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