SeaLink

Multi-year digital transformation program for an icon of Australian tourism & marine transport.

Client
SeaLink Marine & Tourism (Kelsian Group, ASX: KLS)

Product Type
Web, Mobile, Internal Systems

Stage
Enterprise, Scale (PMF→∞)

SeaLink, an icon of Australian tourism and marine transport, set out to elevate customer experience, boost online bookings, and improve operational efficiency.

Facing fragmented digital journeys and legacy tech, SeaLink launched a multi-year transformation program – partnering with growthbox to modernise technology and deliver lasting impact at scale.

Product Strategy & Program Management
Digital Transformation / Strategy & Roadmap / Team Mentorship / Data-driven insights

Design
Mobile + Desktop UX, UI / Web design / Prototyping / Design system

Technology
React / React Native / API / CMS / AWS / CDK / CoPilot

The Brief

1. Fragmented Customer Journey:
2. Internal Tech Constraints
3. Rising Mobile Expectations
4. Insufficient marketing data and insights
5. Legacy Operational software

Our Approach – A True Product Partnership

We didn't come in to just "deliver a series of projects" in the transformation program. We came in as a strategic product partner to help SeaLink define and execute a winning product strategy.

1. Starting with the Problems
To solve the right problems, we first had to understand them deeply. We embedded a culture of continuous discovery from day one.

2. Project Mindset → Product Mindset
Fixed Scopes → Aligned Objectives
Rigid Milestones → Build-Measure-Lean
Outputs & Velocity → Outcomes & Results

3. Be Strategic and Focus
The feeling of "slow delivery" wasn't a resource problem; it was a symptom of a lack of strategic focus. The teams were busy, but they were "snacking" on low-value tasks that didn't move the needle.

A "One SeaLink" Experience

Reimagined the entire digital front-door by consolidating 8 business unit websites into a single, cohesive experience.

11%+

Increase in revenue $$

4.6

Customer Satisfaction score (CSAT)

14.7%

Increase in online bookings #

A unified booking platform across the group

Aside from the SeaLink ferry sites, we designed and built a consolidated website platform powering 12 unique tourism brands within the Brilliant Travels' family.

10%+

Increase in Conversion Rate

15%+

Website Core Vitals Health Improvement

Two Mobile Apps for Customers & Staff

Launched two mobile apps to serve different audiences: For Frequent Travellers: Browsing, booking, and account management; For Staff: A ticketing/scanning app to streamline boarding that works without internet

20%

Improvement in customer boarding time

30k+

App installs

3rd-Party Products Integration

We piloted a lean MVP approach instead of a full API integration build with Booking.com and Rezdy, allowing SeaLink to quickly learn market demand, 3rd-party product popularity, avoid upfront investment, and build a confident path to scale.

$1m+

Saved by going with MVP approach to validate

6 months

Development time saved

Personalisation & CRM integration

Support the rollout of Salesforce to power personalised, lifecycle-aware marketing.

Customers had never previously been able to self create an account with SeaLink. This feature unlocked the enablement of timely, contextual communications that also created new opportunities for up-sell and cross-sell.

Result

A Cohesive Digital Ecosystem

By the end of the program, SeaLink's digital landscape was completely transformed.

We replaced SeaLink's fragmented collection of tools in their booking platform with a unified product suite, designed for growth.

Quicktravel Websites

Quicktravel Booking App

Quicktravel Ticketing

Quicktravel Connect

Quicktravel Booking Admin

Why growthbox?

The product studio where customer love meets enterprise‑grade craft.

Enterprise‑scale, product‑led transformations. We turn multi‑year, multi‑stakeholder program into focused product roadmaps that shift teams from “deliver the scope” to “deliver the outcome”.

Full‑stack craft under one roof. Strategy, UX, engineering, data and AI sit in a single squad, so insight flows straight into code and nothing slips through the cracks.

Customer‑love as the north star. Every experiment, feature and optimisation is tied to real user value—because conversions follow delighted customers.

Proven impact at scale. 11% revenue uplift, 14% more online bookings and 20 % faster boarding for SeaLink show how a product mindset drives measurable business results.

"Stuart's modern, collaborative way of leading large-scale programs made a real difference both in our outcomes and in how our teams worked more collaboratively and focused on our shared goals. Stuart and his growthbox team were a valuable partner in helping us to navigate complex technology initiatives, and I would happily recommend their services to any organisation looking to drive significant technological change."
Donna Gauci
CEO, SeaLink Marine & Tourism
"growthbox transformed our team's digital capabilities, driving the success of our multi-million-dollar transformation. Stuart and his team broke down our API integration project into iterative MVPs, aligned our marketing and engineering teams around common business goals, and delivered outcomes that exceeded expectations. Their approach saved us significant investment while validating what our product should be — everyone was happy with the results."
Chris Benson
CTO, Kelsian Group (ASX: KLS)
"Stuart helped change our approach from a fixed project mindset to more agile and adaptive approach which allowed us to go to market quickly with a solution to test the strategy rather than investing extensive time, resources and dollars upfront. This test and learn approach ultimately saved us time and money by allowing us to be more adaptive to a fast evolving customer expectation."
Phillip Boyle
Executive General Manager, Customer, Sales & Marketing, SeaLink Marine & Tourism
"Stuart's modern, collaborative way of leading large-scale programs made a real difference both in our outcomes and in how our teams worked more collaboratively and focused on our shared goals. Stuart and his growthbox team were a valuable partner in helping us to navigate complex technology initiatives, and I would happily recommend their services to any organisation looking to drive significant technological change."
Donna Gauci
CEO, SeaLink Marine & Tourism
"growthbox transformed our team's digital capabilities, driving the success of our multi-million-dollar transformation. Stuart and his team broke down our API integration project into iterative MVPs, aligned our marketing and engineering teams around common business goals, and delivered outcomes that exceeded expectations. Their approach saved us significant investment while validating what our product should be — everyone was happy with the results."
Chris Benson
CTO, Kelsian Group (ASX: KLS)
"Stuart helped change our approach from a fixed project mindset to more agile and adaptive approach which allowed us to go to market quickly with a solution to test the strategy rather than investing extensive time, resources and dollars upfront. This test and learn approach ultimately saved us time and money by allowing us to be more adaptive to a fast evolving customer expectation."
Phillip Boyle
Executive General Manager, Customer, Sales & Marketing, SeaLink Marine & Tourism
"Stuart's modern, collaborative way of leading large-scale programs made a real difference both in our outcomes and in how our teams worked more collaboratively and focused on our shared goals. Stuart and his growthbox team were a valuable partner in helping us to navigate complex technology initiatives, and I would happily recommend their services to any organisation looking to drive significant technological change."
Donna Gauci
CEO, SeaLink Marine & Tourism
"growthbox transformed our team's digital capabilities, driving the success of our multi-million-dollar transformation. Stuart and his team broke down our API integration project into iterative MVPs, aligned our marketing and engineering teams around common business goals, and delivered outcomes that exceeded expectations. Their approach saved us significant investment while validating what our product should be — everyone was happy with the results."
Chris Benson
CTO, Kelsian Group (ASX: KLS)
"Stuart helped change our approach from a fixed project mindset to more agile and adaptive approach which allowed us to go to market quickly with a solution to test the strategy rather than investing extensive time, resources and dollars upfront. This test and learn approach ultimately saved us time and money by allowing us to be more adaptive to a fast evolving customer expectation."
Phillip Boyle
Executive General Manager, Customer, Sales & Marketing, SeaLink Marine & Tourism
"Stuart's modern, collaborative way of leading large-scale programs made a real difference both in our outcomes and in how our teams worked more collaboratively and focused on our shared goals. Stuart and his growthbox team were a valuable partner in helping us to navigate complex technology initiatives, and I would happily recommend their services to any organisation looking to drive significant technological change."
Donna Gauci
CEO, SeaLink Marine & Tourism
"growthbox transformed our team's digital capabilities, driving the success of our multi-million-dollar transformation. Stuart and his team broke down our API integration project into iterative MVPs, aligned our marketing and engineering teams around common business goals, and delivered outcomes that exceeded expectations. Their approach saved us significant investment while validating what our product should be — everyone was happy with the results."
Chris Benson
CTO, Kelsian Group (ASX: KLS)
"Stuart helped change our approach from a fixed project mindset to more agile and adaptive approach which allowed us to go to market quickly with a solution to test the strategy rather than investing extensive time, resources and dollars upfront. This test and learn approach ultimately saved us time and money by allowing us to be more adaptive to a fast evolving customer expectation."
Phillip Boyle
Executive General Manager, Customer, Sales & Marketing, SeaLink Marine & Tourism

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