Messages from 2018 - AMCON Software GmbH

AMCON presents the ticket machine of the future

verenadrees — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 14:02:47 +0000

From September 18 to 21, the InnoTrans took place in Berlin for the twelfth time. At the international trade fair for transport technology, AMCON presented visitors with a self-service terminal for customer centers that is unique on the market.

The ticket machine of the future

The new self-service terminals not only look like the ordering terminals of a major fast-food chain, they are also produced by the same manufacturer. The Politouch Passport is a standard product from Pyramid Computer, a German company with manufacturing near Erfurt. These large Passport terminals with touch displays enable cashless payments using AMCON’s software. They can be mounted on stands or on walls, and depending on the environment, different card terminals are used. The semi-attended terminal is designed for staffed areas such as customer centers or service points, while the robust unattended terminal is ideal for unmanned locations.

In addition to these standard products, AMCON has developed a concept with Pyramid for a more rugged machine. This can be used as a mobile ticket machine on buses and trains or in vandalism-prone areas like subway stations. Possible functions of the self-service terminals include ticket sales and the collection of increased fare penalties (EBE).

Moreover, the ticket machine of the future serves as a source of information and tips about the surrounding area. This allows for closer integration with tourism and creates new advertising opportunities for transport companies. Whether restaurant recommendations, city hotspots, or alternative travel options—the information made available to passengers is determined by the transport provider. Visitors at AMCON’s booth could experience the easy and intuitive operation firsthand and try out the new technology on site.

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Ticket sales for the Priwall ferries easier than ever before

verenadrees — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 14:10:37 +0000

Buying tickets for a trip to the Priwall at the mouth of the Trave is now easier than ever before. At eight new machines, delivered by software provider AMCON in cooperation with ticket machine manufacturer krauth technology, passengers can purchase tickets quickly and conveniently.

New sales system for Priwall ferries

For the replacement of the previous sales systems for the Priwall ferries in Travemünde, Stadtverkehr Lübeck has commissioned the software company from Cloppenburg to deliver eight new ticket machines. With AMCON’s modular UFHO backend system, integration with the PATRIS system operated in Lübeck will be straightforward and simple in the future. “The machines also feature Girocard and credit card payment options, including contactless payment, which is a great advantage for our Scandinavian tourists,” says Matthias Zander from Stadtverkehr Lübeck. In addition to standard tickets, it is now possible to purchase weekly and monthly passes directly at the machines.

As a native of Lübeck, Olaf Clausen, Managing Director of AMCON, is particularly pleased that Stadtverkehr Lübeck was convinced by the innovative sales solution. “With our UFHO sales model, Priwall visitors are offered an intuitively operable ticket machine software that significantly simplifies cashless ticket purchases,” says Clausen.

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AMCON showcases innovations at InnoTrans 2018

verenadrees — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 14:19:15 +0000

From September 18 to 21, InnoTrans takes place for the twelfth time in Berlin. At the international trade fair for transport technology, AMCON will present visitors with a self-service terminal for customer centers that is unique on the market. At booth 314 in Hall 2.1, visitors can also learn all about the new subscription management module, which simplifies the time-consuming processing of customer subscriptions for transport companies.

The ticket machine of the future

The new self-service terminals not only look like the ordering terminals of a major fast-food chain, they are also produced by the same manufacturer: The large Passport terminals with touchscreens enable cashless payments using AMCON’s software and provide additional information and tips about the surroundings. Whether restaurant recommendations, city hotspots, or other travel options — the information available to passengers is determined by the transport company. Visitors at AMCON’s booth can experience the simple and intuitive operation firsthand and try out the new technology on site.

Time-saving and stress-free – the new UFHO subscription management

The UFHO subscription management with web interface enables transport companies to manage their subscription customers more easily and quickly. The UFHO module is designed for private customers, large clients, and students, supporting passengers from childhood through to senior age in a centralized customer database. The customer portal is integrated into the transport company’s website in its corporate design. End customers can register online, select their desired ticket, enter start and end stops, and provide bank details. Next, the relevant authority or school is notified of the new ticket selection, can verify the data, and decide on eligibility and subsidies. All data flows into the UFHO backend system for further processing. The transport company can then issue or send the tickets in the desired format and handle billing.

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North Frisian Islands: The Wattentaxi departs!

verenadrees — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 14:30:13 +0000

From Sylt to Amrum, from Pellworm to Föhr – thanks to the new Wattentaxi from Watten Fährlinien GmbH in Husum, this is no longer a problem. At any time, islanders and holiday guests can order their own Wattentaxi and are no longer bound to scheduled routes and fixed departure times. The ship “Liinsand” is also environmentally friendly thanks to its hybrid drive and offers space for 50 people. The fare depends on the number of passengers and the distance traveled. This makes it ideally suited for tour operators, commuter groups, or shopping trips.

Discover the North Frisian Islands

Anyone planning a holiday on the North Frisian Islands can’t miss Sylt. But the other islands, like Amrum, Föhr, Pellworm, or the Halligen, also have plenty to offer visitors. Numerous lighthouses, wide sandy beaches, and many events make holidaymakers’ hearts beat faster. With the Wattentaxi, guests and locals of the North Frisian Islands have the opportunity to travel to another island at any time and explore the natural paradise off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein.

Software solution for ticket sales comes from Cloppenburg.

The Wattentaxi of Watten Fährlinien GmbH from Husum connects the North Frisian Islands, Halligen, and the mainland. For ticket sales, the company relies on the UFHO distribution system from the Cloppenburg-based software provider AMCON.
“The simple usability and flexible expandability of the system convinced us. Both the data from ticket sales and the time tracking of our crew are integrated in the UFHO system, providing a good overview,” says Sven Jürgensen, Managing Director of Watten Fährlinie GmbH.

In addition to recording sales of tickets, snacks, and drinks, the system also tracks the crew’s working hours. Thanks to the hardware independence of the UFHO system, AMCON has a competitive advantage over competitors and can respond individually to the technical requirements of its customers.

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Company visit at AMCON: District Administrator and Mayor visit the software company.

verenadrees — Wed, 09 May 2018 14:40:47 +0000

Innovative, unconventional, and with North German groundedness – that’s how the software manufacturer AMCON from Cloppenburg presented itself on May 8 during the visit of District Administrator Johann Wimberg and Mayor Dr. Wolfgang Wiese, accompanied by economic development officer Katharina Deeben and district council member Neidhard Varnhorn, at Osterstraße. AMCON’s software is already in use by many large and well-known transport companies in Germany, such as the Hamburger HOCHBAHN, Hülsmann Reisen, and the Wilhelm Janßen bus company from Saterland. But topics such as employee retention and recruitment in rural areas were also discussed during the visit.

District Administrator Johann Wimberg and Mayor Dr. Wolfgang Wiese were impressed by the innovative and customized solutions. “Companies like AMCON demonstrate how future-proof our district is. Here, software solutions are created by highly trained employees that are used all over the country,” said District Administrator Wimberg. Mayor Wiese was also impressed by the commitment to addressing the skilled labor shortage. “Nowadays, the shortage of skilled workers in the IT sector is widely discussed. Here, we have a great example of how training our own specialists proves successful in practice,” said Mayor Dr. Wolfgang Wiese.

Each year, AMCON offers at least two spots for dual students in cooperation with IBS in Oldenburg, as well as apprenticeships for training as IT specialists in the field of application development. “Well-trained employees are the foundation of every successful company. To counter the shortage of skilled workers in the IT sector, we also focus on training our own staff. Our open house events, where we invite computer science classes from local schools, and our presence at job fairs in Cloppenburg, Vechta, and Oldenburg are also important for us to be seen as an attractive employer in the region,” says Clausen.

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Future Career Day at AMCON: First Programming Experience with a Robot

verenadrees — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 06:19:29 +0000

At AMCON, the focus on Future Career Day was on having fun with programming. To introduce the six students to the topic of software development, the Ozobot was also used. With the small robot, the students were able to broaden their horizons in the fields of computer science and technology by guiding it over a paper test track using different sequences of colors. “There is an urgent need for young talent in the software industry. That’s why Future Career Day is a great opportunity to introduce young people to software development and spark their interest in programming. Thanks to new methods such as mini robots or microcomputers, children’s technical understanding is enhanced in a playful way, and first moments of success are guaranteed after just a few minutes,” says Olaf Clausen, Managing Director of AMCON.

Using seven tasks on the Calliope microcomputer, the students were able to write their first programs that controlled motors, played music, and transmitted via radio.

The Lower Saxony Future Day is intended to support career orientation and break down gender-specific career choices. That’s why the AMCON team was especially pleased that, in addition to the three boys, three girls also visited us to learn more about the profession of software development.

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Review of IT-TRANS 2018: Successful Discussions and More Trade Fair Visitors Than Ever Before

verenadrees — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 06:33:01 +0000

After IT-TRANS is before IT-TRANS. From March 6 to 8, 2018, AMCON once again used the trade fair in Karlsruhe to discuss the mobility of the future with industry professionals and to present the expanded UFHO system.

With over 6,000 visitors, IT-TRANS was able to increase attendance again compared to the previous year. A special highlight at the AMCON booth was the control of interior and exterior displays via the innovative IBIS Bluetooth adapter from ÖPNV-Service, which is unique on the market. This allows individual vehicle components to be easily controlled through the UFHO system. In addition, trade fair visitors at the AMCON booth had the opportunity to test the various modules of the UFHO system, such as the pre-sales module, the control module, the background system, the EBE recording, and the bus solutions, directly for their intuitive usability. The freshly made AMCON waffles were also a highlight, generating a lot of interest.

“We are very satisfied with how this year’s IT-TRANS went and are already looking forward to the upcoming InnoTrans in September 2018. Besides expanding existing partnerships, we were once again able to use the trade fair to establish new contacts and meet interesting personalities from the mobility sector,” says Olaf Clausen, Managing Director of AMCON GmbH.

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Our Team, Our Pride: AMCON Receives Award from Great Place to Work

verenadrees — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 10:01:57 +0000

The software manufacturer AMCON from Cloppenburg was recognized as one of the best employers in the regional Great Place to Work® competition “Best Employers in Lower Saxony-Bremen 2018.” This was officially announced on Friday by the Great Place to Work® Institute Germany in Hanover. The award stands for outstanding achievements in developing trusting working relationships and creating attractive and supportive working conditions for employees.

“We are very pleased to have been able to repeat our success from 2016. Our team has grown significantly over the past two years, and it fills us with pride that the new colleagues also feel comfortable with us. Especially through the great cooperation, strong company identification, and pronounced team spirit, we have grown into such a high-performing team and achieved this excellent result,” said Darius Rauert, Managing Director of AMCON GmbH.

Team spirit and satisfaction drive success in companies

The evaluation was based on an anonymous survey of AMCON employees covering key workplace topics such as trust, identification, team spirit, professional development, compensation, health promotion, and work-life balance. Additionally, the quality of personnel and leadership measures within the company was assessed. “The award represents a good and future-oriented corporate culture, characterized by values such as trust, appreciation, and team spirit,” says Andreas Schubert, Managing Director of the German Great Place to Work® Institute. “Attractive and future-focused working conditions are a key factor for employee retention and business success.” 91 percent of the surveyed AMCON employees said, “I am proud of what we achieve here together,” 94 percent enjoy coming to work, and 97 percent agreed with the statement: “New employees feel welcome here.”

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AMCON Presents the Expanded UFHO System at IT-TRANS 2018

verenadrees — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 06:54:20 +0000

“If there’s a way to do something better, find it!” inventor Thomas Alva Edison once said. As always, individuality is the key to economic success — including in public transportation. For this reason, the software manufacturer AMCON from Cloppenburg will present the expanded UFHO system at the 6th IT-TRANS in Karlsruhe, the international trade fair for IT trends and innovations in public transport, from March 6 to 8, 2018, at booth B2.

Highlights from AMCON

A special highlight of the expanded UFHO system is the control of interior and exterior displays via the innovative IBIS Bluetooth adapter. For controlling the individual vehicle components, the Bluetooth/IBIS adapter developed specifically for this application by ÖPNV-Service GmbH is used. It operates the standardized interface to the vehicle systems and is unique in its form on the market.

Sales data from the bus is transmitted via WLAN or mobile network to the associated UFHO backend system in the AMCON cloud, and the timetable data in the VDV452 standard is processed and visualized for the driver on the tablet. This was not previously possible with tablet solutions. The devices can also be integrated into the driver’s workstation in a space-saving and ergonomic manner. Thanks to hardware independence, tablets from various manufacturers can be used and configured individually. The first projects with the IBIS Bluetooth adapter have been running productively since early 2017.

New Product Innovations at the Trade Fair Booth

At the AMCON booth, trade fair visitors have the opportunity to try out individual components of the UFHO system directly on various mobile devices and experience the system’s intuitive usability. Another new feature is the messaging function enabled by the UFHO system. The driver can send standard texts generated by the backend system, so no text input is required from them. For example, if there is a route closure, a PDF file with a detour map can be sent directly from the control center. Furthermore, AMCON has expanded its sales channels with a webshop that is fully integrated into the UFHO system, thus avoiding isolated solutions.

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All for a Good Cause: AMCON and Berliner Parkeisenbahn launch joint Project

verenadrees — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 07:04:04 +0000

Gatekeeper, train driver, station manager, ticket seller, telecommunications technician — these are all jobs that a transport company needs to carry out its daily work. What is part of everyday life at any station is something very special at the Berliner Parkeisenbahn. Here, the main players are only between 9 and 16 years old. Since 1956, the Berliner Parkeisenbahn has been firmly in the hands of children, and since its founding, around 80% of the more than 6,000 children have pursued a career in the railway industry as adults. To ensure that the children not only operate real trains but also sell tickets using real ticket sales systems, AMCON supports the BPE by providing the software for stationary and mobile sales devices free of charge. On AMCON’s side, this project is also carried out by young professionals.

Training Project on Both Sides

A team of apprentices and dual students at AMCON is responsible for project management and execution, supported by experienced software developers. “We rely on well-trained, in-house young talent to largely avoid the skilled labor shortage in our industry,” explains Managing Director Olaf Clausen. “We are pleased to support an organization that is highly committed to youth work with this initiative. Additionally, we have a passion for narrow-gauge railways and steam locomotives, and it’s great that we can contribute with our UFHO system.”

With the new sales system, tickets can be sold at the stations and on the train. Moreover, the catering services are also billed through the system. “With nearly 60,000 passengers per year, we need a future-proof sales system. At the same time, our over 60 park railway employees are naturally looking forward to the new system,” says Jörg Pfeiffer, one of three volunteer managing directors of the BPE. The UFHO system supplies the sales devices with tariff, inventory, and master data and processes the sales. The young sellers are billed centrally, and inventory management for drinks and snacks is introduced to provide reliable data for the accounting of the non-profit company.

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