The rise in uncertainty in Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment is on course to further dampen business activities, with more firms seen closing up shop in recent times. In today’s competitive business landscape, optimizing operational efficiency and reducing costs are crucial for corporate enterprises. One area often overlooked in this quest for efficiency is corporate travel.
With the current economic downturn in Nigeria, there is a need for innovative solutions that will help corporates and SMEs streamline their transport needs, saving money and boosting productivity.
According to Deloitte report, seven in 10 companies say they now weigh the need for business travel based on potential outcomes such as revenue generation, with associated costs, emissions, and health risks. The question is, what can businesses consider to ensure employee travel needs are met in 2024 without the spiralling travel costs?
Some companies have already put on their thinking caps and sought out the ideal solutions to optimize their transportation needs by significantly reducing overhead costs associated with pool cars, simplifying expense management, and boosting productivity.
In truth, several companies have tried different approaches, and some perhaps still have processes like having employees take a cab and then submit the receipt for reimbursement. Even though this method has proved effective over the years, it is not a perfect solution.
The major cons of reimbursement include, employee’s financial condition; this means that even though the company will reimburse the amount later after verification, what if the employee does not have enough funds to make the payment? The second one is the possibility of human error;
The traditional reimbursement method involves a lot of input in terms of energy and time. The finance manager needs to manually check on the receipts of transactions and reconcile them into the accounting system.
According to Bolt Business data, businesses can cut travel costs by around 25 percent. Traditional corporate transportation models, such as maintaining a fleet of company cars or relying on ad-hoc taxi services, come with significant costs. These include the initial capital expenditure, ongoing maintenance, insurance, fuel, and parking fees among others.
“It just seemed like a lot of thought had gone into taking the pressure off business owners and managers who would often be tasked with the responsibility of transporting team members across locations, and for the kind of model we operate at Sony, it felt like it was designed just for us,” Jim Donnett, the PR and admin manager at Sony said while responding to questions when asked about specific features of Bolt Business that particularly appealed to Sony.
“My colleagues are happy that they can use the service in Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Abuja, America, Paris and London. Not just Lagos only.”
Also, managing transport logistics, including reconciliation of travel expenses, processing reimbursements, and tracking usage, can be a time-consuming and error-prone task which is something that Bolt Business simplifies by providing a seamless experience for both employees and administrators.
Time is a valuable resource in any enterprise. Bolt Business helps companies maximize productivity by minimizing the time employees spend arranging transportation and dealing with related administrative tasks, allowing employees to focus on their core responsibilities, driving overall productivity and business performance.
Jim further revealed the impact of corporate ridesharing is beyond corporate travel. “It has improved our operations significantly.”
“For one, I no longer have to worry about how funds have to be made immediately available for team members to travel,” he said.
According to him, logistics and transport management has become more efficient across his team with the ability to set policies and restrictions that prevent overspending.
Also, he adds that the detailed report on all travel that informs on location, time and distance of travel and how they affect the final cost of any travel.
It is safe to say that corporate ridesharing is changing corporate travel by providing a cost-effective, efficient, and scalable solution that enhances productivity and employee satisfaction.
By eliminating the financial burden of maintaining a fleet, streamlining administrative processes, and offering flexible and safe travel options, players like Bolt Business continue to stand out as a true game-changer for corporate enterprises.
