The challenge
"We decided to adopt Google Cloud solutions totrigger positive changes in a large part of the Company and get immediate feedback," explains Francesco Di Maio Business Innovation for Alilauro.
"Alilauro is the beating engine of the group's holding company in technology: being one step ahead is our daily challenge!
Mariaceleste Lauro, CEO-among the youngest shipowners on the national and international scene-has succeeded in engaging an under-30 team that is particularly enthusiastic and responsive to new implementations, which can count on the support of milestones that have lived through the Company's history.
I believe that our CEO can broaden the horizons by improving the work carried out by his predecessors with the right momentum, managing to amalgamate the drive for innovation with past experiences, to sail to prestigious destinations with a look back at the rich, almost 100-year old family tradition."
The Solution
Alilauro's team realized that Google Workspace Appscan open up new scenarios.The company currently uses Google Cloud tools to store sensitive data and optimize communications between clients and work teams, but the intention is to extend them more and more widely.
"It's only a matter of time, we have the right tool! Thanks to Google Workspace, we have begun to rationalize the passive cycle," continues Francesco di Maio, "to manage the amount of work that is generated by Marintecnica (the three shipyards-two in Naples and one in Castellammare-serving all the shipping companies of the Lauro Group).
The anagraphic dematerialization of sensitive data makes it possible to optimize the entire supply chain, reduce the time required by tax regulations, payments, any transmission errors, facilitating timely consultation.
In Drive, thanks to the Forms and Google Sites Apps, for the past year and a half we have been storing envelopes of all invoices, including previous ones, available to the administration with one click.
The next step will be to add digital signature document validation! The legal area also works only with Google Workspace on adedicated Drive where it stores the documentation and PECs of all holding company companies, GDPR compliant.
The Google Workspace tools are easy and intuitive to use, but for specific needs related to new implementations we enlisted the support of Mario, Google Cloud Deployment Specialist in power2Cloud. Together we developed the Work with Us section for the Alilauro website.
While before we had only one email reference, for recruitment there is now a dedicated Form for each company department to which we attach, according to privacy regulations, resumes and personal data, which our employees, in the back office, can consult in Drive documentation or through Sheets.
The warehouse, ticketing offices and administration also work with the Sheets and Forms Apps to practically and cross-referentially track and account for ticket dispensing operations on our sea routes.
But it doesn't end there. "One project I am working on" Francis concludes, "to facilitate the work of Customer Care and our administrative department, is a platform for managing subscriptions, whether they are requests or renewals.
The new system will connect Google Workspace to a QR Code (generated and placed in Alilauro ticket offices) that through scanning will allow to open a Google Form that our customers will be able to fill in easily and autonomously.
We will thus collect all the data in a simple, secure and fast way, limiting errors by virtue of tax compliance and the issuance of the invoice in electronic format.
Google Workspace will once again be a valuable ally. I will then continue to work on a platform for shipbuilding activity management, i.e., the marriage of sea and land, in order to make connectivity between the shipboard and the shipyard faster simple and operational, all based on the tools provided by Google."
The results
"Explaining the change produced by the implementation of Google Cloud is complicated!
Let's start with the fact that it positively disrupts working life, allowing access to data at any time and with any tool (computer, cell phone, tablet).
You no longer need to be in the office to provide assistance to colleagues!
Alilauro works in peace of mind because protection, privacy and security of information are Google's top priorities.
A company like ours, carrying 4.5 million users a year, with substantial online traffic, a tour operator, outside agencies hooking into our systems, and sensitive and copious internal communications, can be attacked virtually anytime.
With Google Workspace all our data is kept in the cloud. InDrive is the whole business life: we save copies of contracts, invoices, F23s, F24s and more. If the computer has viruses thanks to the Cloud we don't lose anything, if the power goes out ditto!
Also, with such a structured archive,Google Cloud Search is essential to always search for what we need in no time."