© 2009 Sabre Inc. All rights reserved. wearelistening@sabre.com

Think globally, act locally. The phrase first coined in 1979 referred to the argument that global environmental problems can

turn into action only by considering ecological, economic and cultural differences of local sur-roundings.

Today, the phrase describes a strategic business priority reflective of the new eco-nomic realities of a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week “follow-the-sun” marketplace where successful multinational companies must live in the markets they serve.

Late last year, Sabre Holdings demon-strated just how well it understood the prin- ciple by opening an operations base in Bangalore the “Silicon Valley” of India. Sabre Holdings has three businesses — Sabre Airline Solutions®, Sabre Travel Network™ and Travelocity® — that use the center for software development, on-time customer service delivery and operational support in Asia/Pacific.

“The new Bangalore office has been successful since opening last September, from the perspective of Sabre Holdings and our cus-tomers,” said Shail Maniar, managing director of Sabre India. “The move is reflective of our

strategy to grow globally and, at the same time, stay close to our customers.”

Sabre India started with only two work-ers in March 2005 and began the New Year with more than 50. Maniar expects to add at least another 70 employees by the end of the year, primarily in areas of product development, professional services support, quality assurance, data analysis and operations research.

“We are on target to build a world-class team at our Bangalore facility,” Maniar said. “Bangalore has a huge pool of talent consisting of both recent graduates and expe-rienced employees. Sabre India has quickly established itself as an ‘employer of choice.’”

Recruiting from top-tier Indian universi-ties, such as the Indian Institute of Technologies and the Indian Institute of Management, is a key strategy in developing the right mix of talent at Sabre India.

New staff is needed as solutions from Sabre Holdings are further established in India and the surrounding regions. Customers have embraced Sabre Holdings and welcome its presence in Bangalore, and being close to them is paying off. For example, Jet Airways’

Web check-in solution was customized and delivered by Sabre Airline Solutions employ-ees based in Bangalore. Additional capacity at the Bangalore facility will accommodate 162 employees and includes a world-class training facility to support customers in the region.

Having the Bangalore development office as a base of operations has permitted the Sabre Holdings business to grow their presence in the surrounding regions as well.

“Our professional services teams based here have traveled to customer locations in the region, such as Singapore Airlines, China Airlines and Air New Zealand, to manage our product testing and acceptance,” said Maniar. “This support has also been extended to our customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, such as Lufthansa German Airlines.”

BeyondBangaloreSabre Travel Network was the first Sabre Holdings company to set up offshore opera-tions in India.

It opened a Mumbai office in 1994. Today, three employees market airline distribu-tion products to airlines throughout South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

By Lynne Clark | Ascend Staff

Following the SunThe Sabre Holdings™ business offices in India enable its

three businesses to connect with local customers.

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“Our airline customers have immedi-ate access to Sabre Travel Network products and service delivery processes because of our India office,” said Emmanuel Phillips, managing director for Sabre Travel Network in India. “Our local support helps these airlines increase revenues and efficiencies.”

In 2004, Travelocity moved a portion of its contact center operations and back-office fulfillment to India when it signed a multi-year master services agreement with WNS North America, Inc.

“Travelocity needed to differentiate itself from its online competitors, and our move to India allowed us to offer a customer-service guarantee,” said Lesley Harris, Travelocity vice president of sales and customer care. “Customers can now contact us 24/7. We’re able to staff more efficiently and offer more proactive services. For example, if one of our customers has a negative experience, we can follow up much faster, simply because we have a 24-hour time frame in which to work.”

OffshoreIssuesYes, trade is global, but landscape is local — that’s the challenge, according to Maimie

Jones, senior vice president of strategic sourc-ing for Travelocity. And more often than not, the challenges are basic.

For example, India and the United States, both former British colonies, celebrate Independence Day. The national holiday in the United States is July 4. In India, it’s Aug. 15. For planning purposes, managers with teams in India need to put both dates on the calendar.

“We have our holidays and they have theirs,” said Jones. “The point is that you need to be really familiar with the culture in which you are operating. Communication is very, very key.”

Jones said having a diverse, multinational team benefits all Sabre Holdings business units. “I think having offshore operations like the ones we have in India are tremendously important from our standpoint as a company that connects people with the world’s great-est travel opportunities. As we interact with different cultures, we get an appreciation for and information from potential customers. We get to see what they want from their travel experiences, which helps us develop more customer-specific products.”

Lynne Clark can be contacted at wearelistening@sabre.com.

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Photos courtesy of Sabre India

Sabre HoldingsofficesinBangaloreandMumbai,India,enableitsthreebusinesses—Sabre Airline Solutions,Sabre Travel NetworkandTravelocity—toprovidelocal24-hour-a-day,seven-day-a-weekservicetoitsAsia/Pacificcustomers.

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