Changi Airport Group (CAG) has tapped Accenture to establish and operate a “digital factory” as the world’s seventh busiest airport continuously re-invent the passenger experience and transform operations.
“Picture a start-up environment where employees begin by thinking about what the customer wants and work backwards from there — experimenting rapidly to develop innovative products and services,” said Fabio Vacirca, the market unit group lead responsible for managing Accenture’s business across Australia and New Zealand, South East Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East.
Known as DIVA — for digital, innovation, ventures and analytics, the factory is designed to help CAG develop, experiment and launch new digital products and services — from conceptualisation to market launch, using new ways of working.
Staffed with professionals from both CAG and Accenture, DIVA leverages the latest innovative technologies and capabilities — including artificial intelligence (AI), digital marketing, big data / analytics, predictive maintenance and the internet of things (IoT).
Managed like a factory, DIVA focuses on delivering business outcomes at scale, with lines of production, predictable delivery schedules and quality controls. This model uses and enables new ways of working — with design thinking, rapid prototyping and experimentation at the core.
“DIVA is enabling CAG to re-evaluate how the airport operates and develop digital solutions to ensure that it remains a world-class leader,” Vacirca added.
AI-powered virtual assistant
As part of its work creating and managing DIVA, Accenture has helped CAG develop an AI-powered virtual assistant for airport operations, a predictive maintenance solution for engineering, and next-generation commercial digital marketing campaigns, powered by Accenture Applied Intelligence solutions and accelerators.
“By establishing DIVA with Accenture, we hope to continue to foster a culture of innovation and experimentation, by injecting new ways of working within our organization,” said Jeffrey Loke, a senior vice president at CAG. “DIVA is helping CAG implement digital innovations, at speed and at scale, at the enterprise level, serving all CAG departments, including commercial, operations, engineering, IT, and corporate marketing & communications.”
Aligned to Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, DIVA reflects CAG’s efforts to keep pace with the ongoing disruption of business operations and an important milestone not just for CAG, but for Singapore. DIVA is the first such capability that Accenture developed in ASEAN.