For Multinationals, Uber Doesn’t Always Cut It
Summary
KDS, which provides corporate travel and expense management software, said earlier this month that it has partnered with TBR Global Chauffeuring. In an interview with PYMNTS, Annicka Lofstrand, senior director of global suppliers and partners at KDS, said that, although corporate travel expense solutions have spanned, for example, air and hotel bookings, vehicle or ground transportation has been relatively unmanaged as an area of spend, in part because it has historically been “such a fragmented industry.” For platforms, such as KDS, the executive said, the steps involved in booking TBR and integrating those services into a trip’s continuum include information across the firm, meeting, destination and time and date. Lofstrand also said that the fleet extends across luxury cars to coaches and noted that the far-flung locations dictate that security be top of mind — in short, she noted, among larger multinationals, “there are different demands for different services.” In riskier environments, she said, there is the knowledge that TBR’s drivers have been vetted and have extensive training (TBR itself can assess risk factors of certain itineraries, and in those potentially heightened situations, chauffeurs have training in first aid, defensive driving and protective services). The syncing with these added ground transportation services takes place with flights and hotels (also via mobile), but for back-office functions, there is the need for cost control. According to Lofstrand, the finance department can benefit from the greater visibility of costs (and the employee does not have to pay cash) that are presented as part of the entire travel itinerary, whether payments are being charged to accounts or on cards.