Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Hervé Bellaïche, I’m 48 years old, and four months ago, I took over a company called Catlante Catamarans. Previously, I spent over 10 years at Ponant, where I met N&C.
Catlante Catamarans offers luxury catamaran cruises, with large ships equipped with a captain and a chef. The ships typically have 6 cabins, and our clients can reserve one or more cabins, or even the entire ship. Our cruises operate in Corsica, the Caribbean, and the Seychelles, and we are currently developing new destinations.
What were the main Revenue Management challenges you faced before turning to N&C?
I met N&C almost 10 years ago when we collaborated on Revenue Management with Ponant’s teams. At that time, I was impressed by their professionalism and the value they were able to create.
When I joined Catlante, one of my first actions was to contact them to seek their expertise in auditing our RM strategy. At that time, we didn’t have a specific responsible person for this area, and it seemed essential to us to benefit from an external perspective to guide our development. For me, this was an essential step to successfully carry out this evolution. Until then, Revenue Management was well understood, but it was spread among several actors, which could sometimes impact its effectiveness.
Given the significant impact of this issue on a large number of people, I quickly decided to prioritize it at the executive committee level. What was most important to me, beyond the audit and the recommendations to be implemented, was their long-term follow-up. It was therefore essential for all members of the company to be fully involved in their implementation.
Ultimately, I believe this was the first important and structuring mission!
How did N&C support you?
Similar to what we do at Catlante, I wanted a consistent, fair, and harmonious way of operating for all our clients. A responsible approach that aligns with the company’s roadmap for corporate social responsibility that we have implemented.
We conducted a diagnosis by creating an RM roadmap during a one-month mission. Two consultants from N&C were mobilized, working closely with Catlante’s teams to gather as much information and data as possible. Fortunately, we had a large amount of data, which was a major asset, with a well-organized history covering a period of 20 years! We then began by cleansing the data collected in our various tools.
In parallel, N&C conducted several interviews with individuals involved in this subject to present us with an initial analysis of our level of maturity in Revenue Management and our goals to achieve, our ambition. Finally, the roadmap was developed, identifying the tools necessary to develop. In summary, recommendations were formulated in three main areas: tools, processes, and organization.
Overall, how did the support go? What did you appreciate the most?
I found N&C to be highly professional, with a team that is both experienced and rigorous, yet also agile and capable of adapting to the size of our company. Their approach is very pragmatic, striking the right balance between strategic and operational advice. For me, this is one of N&C’s great strengths.
We received a list of extremely clear recommendations and a well-defined action plan. The recommendations were well received and are already being implemented, with some already in place. What’s very appreciable is that these recommendations cover different aspects, allowing us to act effectively and relevantly to progress quickly. They are both easy to implement and have a significant impact on the entire organization. In fact, we started implementing them the very next day, and we now hold regular meetings to deepen their implementation.
Keywords: Catlante Catamarans, N&C, Yield Management, Revenue Management, recommendations, tools, processes, RM expertise
