Lufthansa Industry Solutions starts Data Insight Lab

Groundbreaking analysis: new business models with big data in perspective

There is enormous business potential to be found in big data. However, companies often lack the resources and skills to be able to draw definite benefits from the amounts of data available to them. Lufthansa Industry Solutions has therefore set up the Data Insight Lab. Here, it is not merely a matter of evaluating untold quantities of data, but also of putting together the data relevant to companies, analyzing them and using them as a basis for making decisions relevant to success, or even for developing whole new business models.

That is why not only business analysis experts work at this competence center of the Lufthansa subsidiary, but also experts in data science and data architecture. They show customers in various industries how to obtain added value from structuring and analyzing their data. “We offer independent analysis and consulting. In addition, we are a full-service provider and can thus also implement and supervise data analytics solutions,” says Bernd Appel, Managing Director of Lufthansa Industry Solutions.

The starting point of collaboration can be a particular business-critical challenge to the customers: companies might come to Lufthansa Industry Solutions wishing to design their logistics processes more efficiently, for instance. “Our specialists at the Data Insight Lab will then work together with the customers to elaborate specific problems, analyze the data made available, identify patterns, and derive insights from them,” explains Bernd Appel.

“Route-n-Fuel”: big data and mobility in car IT

For example, Lufthansa Industry Solutions developed the “Route-n-Fuel” cloud solution, an app which tells drivers on their smartphone or tablet which filling stations along the planned route will have the cheapest fuel at what times. This view into the future is made possible by analyzing the driving behavior on the basis of vehicle data from the diagnostic interface, the collected GPS data, and the current traffic data. Furthermore, the solution calculates whether it would be worthwhile to take longer alternative routes with cheaper filling stations.

Predicting events on the basis of data analyses – that is, predictive analysis – is becoming increasingly important. In view of this fact, the experts at Lufthansa Industry Solutions also develop predictive maintenance solutions, for instance. These enable customers to see early on when a specific machine or machine part needs to be replaced to avoid unexpected breakdowns. Using data analytics, the experts also compile trend analyses to enable companies’ support and service departments to predict customer inquiries and complaints.

Wide range of expertise in business analytics, data science and data architecture

“With our Data Insight Lab and the specialists working there, we can provide the entire range of expertise in business analytics, data science and data architecture,” says Bernd Appel. Lufthansa Industry Solutions has been able to make use of the experience and expertise it originally gained in aerospace and logistics for projects in other industries. These include, among others, developing and implementing a new IT system for the Hamburg port railway, and a project to optimize the docking of ships.

About Lufthansa Industry Solutions

Lufthansa Industry Solutions is an IT service company for process consulting and system integration. This wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Group supports its customers with the digitization of their business processes. Its customer base includes both companies within the Lufthansa Group and more than 150 companies in different industries. Lufthansa Industry Solutions was spun off from Lufthansa Systems AG on 1 April 2015. The company based in Norderstedt employs around 1,000 people at several branch offices in Germany, Switzerland and the USA.