LATAM has been advancing increasingly in its digital transformation journey, making it increasingly interconnected with the business and attentive to customer experience and resource optimization. The topic was highlighted by VP of Digital and IT at LATAM Airlines Group, Juliana Rios, in one of the s at Web Summit Rio, the Brazilian edition of the major technology event that takes place between April 27 and 30. Together with Alexey Boas, CTO for Latin America at Thoughtworks, and moderated by Gustavo Brigatto, founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Startups.com portal, the presented how innovation and technology have been used in the aviation sector to improve customer experience and business efficiency.
During the , Juliana highlighted the importance of seeing technology as a constant evolution rather than specific projects and how it is being applied in the airline. “Today, technology is constantly changing and we need to know how to use its new applications and coexist with them in our teams, with an infrastructure that allows this use”, opined.
She also pointed out the stages of maturation of a company in the digital environment, ranging from the traditional, with the IT area being used as a service provider, to the most advanced stage, with multifunctional teams that have common goals, where technology, data and business share responsibility for results. “At LATAM, we are moving towards the final stage, where digital is integrated into the way we create and deliver value. But getting there involves some effort, such as reformulating the structure of teams, the way we measure results and also how leaders and employees think about the business in relation to technology.”
The conversation also discussed the importance of artificial intelligence in the company's environment to consider digital transformation. For Juliana, the essential thing is simplicity in implementation. “Artificial intelligence can be used in different applications, from legal activities to improving customer experience. We are working on using AI to facilitate processes within different areas of the company, and it is important to make this technology more accessible so that people use it more and more”He explained.
Juliana Rios is the Brazilian currently leading LATAM's digital transformation efforts, while keeping the company's applications and infrastructure running smoothly. With experience in Services, Marketing and Finance, Juliana ed LATAM in 2015 in Chile to the enger Service System area and, in 2018, co-led the Greenfield digital transformation to reinvent the company's customer and employee experience. She was named one of Hot Topics' 100 Most Relevant CIOs and, in addition, one of the “100 Women Leaders” from Chile, annual ranking promoted by the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, in partnership with the organization “Mujeres Empresarias”.
Digital Transformation in LATAM
LATAM's Digital Transformation process seeks to redefine the relationship between customers and the company. The first phase of the transformation, which is most visible to customers in Brazil, began in 2021 and is based on four pillars: a new purchase flow on the website, which includes a profile with all customer information in one place, personalized notifications, automatic check-in and LATAM Wallet. LATAM's Digital Transformation process also applies to Brazilian airports, having reduced service times by up to 50%.
Artificial intelligence has been used in customer experience, but also to optimize resources and automate processes such as onboarding and training teams. An example of its use in internal routines is the creation of AmelIA, a generative AI platform in partnership with OpenAI, named after Amelia Earhart, and designed to optimize the routines of 35 employees in 6 countries.
In operations, the company uses AI to predict delays, optimize maintenance, improve crew scheduling, and track ground operations. One example of this use is at Guarulhos airport, where LATAM uses cameras and artificial intelligence to track all operational movements around its aircraft on the ground, allowing it to prevent damage from foreign objects, check the status of the boarding/disembarking bridge (finger), and provide compliance reports that help the company maintain safety measures around all aircraft on the ground.
