Grab moves deeper into the corporate travel, events space
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Grab for Business is enlarging its role beyond ground transportation and will roll out a corporate food delivery service by 3Q2019 to help corporate customers cater for in-house or off-site events and meetings.
This will follow its May launch of Grab Logistics, done in partnership with Ninja Van, for delivery of bigger parcels.
Also on the drawing board is Grab for Business finding a role for and working with TMCs, according to Dileep Kannan, regional director – Grab for Business, a speaker at the recent ACTE Singapore Education Forum.
Grab for Business now has 10,000 corporate accounts, and individuals signing up for Business Profile in the main Grab app is registering month-on-month growth of between 10 and 15 per cent, he noted.
Business Profile, a feature within the Grab app, allows individual employees in companies with a flexible travel policy to separate their business rides from their personal ones, schedule a monthly automatic statement and link it with an expense management provider such as Concur, Chrome River and Expensify.
To help corporates achieve “cost efficiency” in managing what they describe as the “fragmented” ground transportation landscape, Grab for Business offers Grab Concierge, a web-booking interface for up to 50 cars.
Kannan told TTGmice that there have been many requests for new services, and Grab is evaluating them.
He said: “A few of our corporate customers have asked Grab for Business if they can pay a subscription fee and maintain a flat fare for all their business rides, even during peak surge periods. While we appreciate the feedback, we have no plans for such a service at this time.”
A solution around surge pricing could be Grab Rent, a service available in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Users can book a dedicated Grab five-star rated driver and a six-seater vehicle in slots of three, six, nine and 12 hours, where prices are fixed and transparent. Payment can be by cash, credit card or corporate billing (by companies) for the on-demand service, via the Grab app or Concierge Web Booking,” explained Kannan.
Meanwhile, Kannan said Grab for Business is conducting a pilot in Vietnam where corporate travellers have the option to pay a higher fare to secure a five-star rated driver and vehicle.
A few companies in Vietnam have also asked Grab to explore offering executive-class vehicles for their senior management to utilise while booking business rides, he added.
A dedicated 24/7 call centre and a corporate GrabShare solution for employees in different departments booking transport to a similar destination are recent corporate requests received and being looked at.