FCM partners with super app Grab to deliver on-demand ground transportation for business travellers across Asia
26th September 2019
FCM Travel Solutions, a leading global travel management company (TMC), has made it easier for clients to take advantage of Southeast-Asia’s most popular ride-sharing service Grab, in a partnership announced today. Through this collaboration, business travellers can book Grab rides via FCM’s Smart Assistant for Mobile (Sam) app across seven Southeast-Asian countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Simplified end-to-end experience is always a boon for business travellers. Today’s overworked and stressed-out travellers are constantly looking for improved traveller satisfaction and time-saving options as they enable greater productivity and certainty for the traveller. As Grab’s first partner to provide seamless and convenient on-demand ground transportation via a TMC’s travel savvy app, FCM will provide clients with additional ground transportation options as soon as they arrive at a destination, saving travellers time and getting them where they need to be in a safe, convenient and fast way.
“When a traveller arrives at a new destination, Sam will notify them about the traffic situation from their current location to their destination and ask if they would like to ‘request a ride’”, says Robert Ramos, FCM’s Technology Lead for Asia. “In just a few clicks, FCM travellers with Sam app will be able to get to their destination hassle-free. They do not have to waste time to hunt down a cab or wait in a long line at a taxi stand, and also have ease of mind that the driver will not be circling round the block, resulting in escalating costs and waste of time.”
FCM has more than 51,000 travellers from close to 1900 national and multinational companies currently using Sam, and the app has an average of over 20,000 active users per month.
“Ground transportation is an important aspect of every business trip, and many are familiar with Grab in Southeast Asia, so to be able to offer this value proposition to FCM clients through this partnership is significant for us,” says Bertrand Saillet, Managing Director of Asia, FCM Travel Solutions. “FCM is committed to providing a seamless end-to-end traveller experience, focused on meeting clients’ expectations by offering customised global solutions. To have Grab as our first ride-hailing partner in Asia, exemplifies the commitment to fulfil the confidence that our clients have in us.”
About FCM Travel Solutions
FCM Travel Solutions (a subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group) is a leading global corporate travel management company with networks in more than 95 countries, employing over 6,000 people. FCM is transforming the business of travel through our empowered and accountable people who deliver 24/7 service and are available either online or offline. The combination of our people’s expertise, supplier relations, unrivalled negotiating strength and innovative technology solutions, has positioned FCM as a leading business travel partner for large national, multi-national and global corporations. For four consecutive years, FCM has been recognised as Asia’s Leading Travel Management Company at the World Travel Awards.
About Sam
The first of its type among TMCs, Sam is often known as the travel assistant in the pocket. It helps business travellers on the go with everything from itinerary management, bookings, service (via live chat or message) and support. Sam is designed to help stressful business travel become a much more enjoyable and hassle-free experience and does this by blending a powerful mix of AI with the expertise of real FCM travel consultants to deliver personalised, relevant information to business travellers’ mobile devices through an intuitive chat-based interface. For more information, click here.
About Grab
Grab is the leading everyday super app in Southeast Asia, providing everyday services that matter most to consumers. Today, the Grab app has been downloaded onto over 163 million mobile devices, giving users access to over 9 million drivers, merchants and agents. Grab has the region’s largest land transportation fleet and has completed over 4 billion rides since its establishment in 2012. Grab offers the widest range of on-demand transport services in the region, in addition to food, package delivery, digital payments and financial services, across 339 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries.