Ramblers Holidays.
Established: 1946.
Market: walking holidays throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
Staff numbers: 38.
Sales: 16,000 per annum.
Turnover: £12m per annum.
Ramblers Holidays has spent a considerable amount of time and effort, and has incurred costs in excess of £75,000 as a result of making sure that its business is year 2000 compliant.
The company is happy that 95% of critical systems have been tested as millennium ready. The company has purchased a new system and staff have shown their appreciation for the hardware and software updates in that the work can be done more easily, faster and more efficiently.
Holidays which departed before October 31 1999 used the old system, while the new system has been used for holidays from November 1 1999. The new system is compliant and is working for holidays beyond 2000.
All critical suppliers have been contacted verbally, or by standard letter, to confirm their compliance status. Ramblers has around 700 suppliers, so failure of any one of these is a small part of the business.
The occasional hiccups from suppliers do occur – hotels overbook and airline flights are diverted – but the business can cope with such occurrences.
n Be prepared to back up any statement you make about the millennium readiness of your company or products by appropriate documentation. Check what your staff have said about millennium readiness and take any appropriate action if they have over-committed. Keep written records of your millennium bug actions in case you have to demonstrate due diligence in cases of legal action against you.
n If you find yourself in dispute with either a supplier or customer, consider alternative dispute resolution as the timely way of resolving the problem rather than resorting to court proceedings.
n Check the health and safety implications of potential equipment failure and that employee safety regulations will be met if your business is operating over the millennium date change period.
n Check your contractual commitments to your customers for millennium period deliveries. Check the obligations of your suppliers to you.
n If purchasing new software or equipment, make sure it is millennium compliant. Check for year 2000 exclusions in sales contracts and warranties.
TRAVEL businesses have been warned that this is their last chance to prepare themselves for the millennium bug. Action 2000, funded by the Government, has launched a campaign to encourage everyone in the industry to make sure they can carry on working in January.
“Taking no action is not an option if you want to stay in business,” said an Action 2000 spokesman.
“This is a foreseeable act, rather than an act of God, so people may find that if they don’t take any action and things go wrong, they will be in breach of contract.”
The millennium bug is a computer error due to the fact that machines cannot recognise the year 2000 and Action 2000 said that building security, ordering and invoicing are just some of the areas that may be at risk if people have not ensured their computers are completely millennium compliant.
As part of a contingency plan to tackle the bug, Action 2000 said businesses must check that key personnel and external suppliers and consultants will be available to work during the holiday period over new year.
It is also essential to make electronic and hard copy back-ups of business data, and keep off-site copies of back-ups.
Action 2000 advises travel businesses to reschedule route tasks such as invoicing, payments and stock taking so that they are completed before the end of the year. Overdraft facilities should also be negotiated to protect against short-term cash-flow difficulties brought about by customers having millennium bug problems and not being able to pay invoices.
For more information on contingency planning, visit the Action 2000 site at w.bug2000.co.uk or telephone 0845 601 2000.
Action 2000 has identified businesses with several offices at different locations as most at risk from the millennium bug.
Travel companies which fall into those categories should check the handbooks for their office equipment and consult suppliers and manufacturers to check whether they are all prepared for the millennium.
“Most major manufacturers have Internet sites and/or automated customer helplines which will provide you with details about the millennium readiness of specific models in their range,” said a spokesman for Action 2000.
“Consider whether the failure of any of your systems or equipment will damage your business and if so, prepare to replace them or avoid their use.”
Businesses at ‘medium risk’ are those that have a small team working in a single office and use standard equipment such as telephones, fax machines and a photocopier.
“The extent of the millennium bug for these people will depend on the type and age of equipment and how it is used,” said an Action 2000 spokesman.
Companies which run their business from a small office with a basic phone and a fax machine are considered ‘low risk’.
“The millennium bug is unlikely to be a problem for these businesses, but they should check their faxes for date functionality if they send date critical faxes,” according to the spokesman.
n Action 2000: Action line 0845 601 2000 Further information on all aspects of beating the bug can be found in Action 2000’s Last Chance Guide.
n All literature is available free of charge. This information is repeated on the Action 2000 Web site, www.bug2000.co.uk, which also includes:
A software database giving details of the millennium status of the top 500 most commonly used software packages.
A list of suppliers of year 2000 services and consultancy.
The role of the travel agent and the
millennium bug
n Keep checking the Foreign Office Web site.
n Keep in touch with the big tour operators and check their readiness now.
n Know what the big tour operators will do if things go wrong, ie people who get stuck abroad.
TRAVEL agencies have been told to publicise their new year opening hours so customers do not assume they are having millennium bug problems when they are shut.
“If customers don’t know your plans and try unsuccessfully to contact you, they may lose confidence and assume you are suffering problems,” said an Action 2000 spokesman.
According to Action 2000, the best way to communicate plans is through door signs, posters and flyers and by printing the information on invoices and stationery.
Agents with a Web site can also post the information on the Internet and all businesses can have a special answerphone message giving details of opening hours.
“Agencies should also consider local advertising,” said an Action 2000 spokesman. “This may be particularly appropriate if you have a large number of customers.”