Slash travel costs, reclaim over 1,000 work hours: How automating expenses transforms business efficiency

ALZYS GLOBAL built its commodity trading business on its ability to maximise the value of every asset from silk to steel. But as Evelyn Huang stared at the pile of documents on her desk, she realised they were squandering their most valuable resource: time.

Business was booming, and so were the transport expense claims by sales and finance teams. They travelled frequently locally to meet clients and banking partners. Each month ended with a dreaded ritual of cobbling all their transport receipts.

“Employees paid first and submitted claims later, including a physical form and receipts,” says Huang, deputy general manager of corporate finance. “The finance team then verified each claim before reimbursing employees.”

This process left employees frustrated about paying for business expenses and spending around two hours a month on claims.

“Our finance team only had two people. They would spend nearly an entire day each month processing claims from over 50 employees,” Huang adds.

She estimates the company spent over 1,300 hours a year filing and processing expense claims – equivalent to eight months of productivity lost for a single employee.

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Alzys Global is not alone in its struggle with managing transport expenses effectively. One in five companies has said that their expense reports contain errors or need clarification, according to a 2022 Global Business Travel Association study. Other challenges include a lack of visibility into transport expenses, and enforcing company guidelines and policies.

Streamlining business travel

What if there was a way to reclaim time and resources through automation?

That was the promise when Huang discovered GoCorp, a transport expense management platform by Gojek. It aims to simplify and streamline how companies manage business transport expenses.

With GoCorp, finance managers can instantly view all employee transport spending in one dashboard, making it easy to enforce company policy and process reimbursements.

When Alzys Global signed up for GoCorp, its employees could book rides on Gojek with priority allocation. Rides were charged to the company’s account, eliminating the need for manual claims or scanning taxi receipts. Gojek estimates employees spend up to 50 per cent less time on business expenditure paperwork.

Finance managers could charge all employee expenses to their corporate card with perpetual zero service fees. It also gave them real-time visibility into transport expenses. With GoCorp, Alzys Global could set customisable limits and settings to control expenses, ensuring that employees adhere to company policies.

“GoCorp consolidates our business transportation expenses. It made our overall process much more efficient,” says Huang. “Employees are happier without the need to file for manual claims anymore and greatly reduced the workload for our finance team.”

The platform also allowed Alzys Global to monitor usage based on travel reasons, providing insights into spending patterns. Onboarding new employees onto GoCorp is fast with a simple registration.

Companies using GoCorp have seen significant improvements in transport expense management. Gojek reports that nine in 10 clients experience more efficient processes and an 87 per cent increase in visibility of business expenditures.

After switching to GoCorp, Alzys Global cut transport and entertainment expenses by 20 per cent with better visibility and competitive prices on Gojek rides.

Business solutions done right

With over 3,000 businesses across Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam on the platform, GoCorp serves myriad customers for their transportation needs, from enterprise sales teams meeting clients to healthcare workers going home after their night shift.

Companies that prefer credit term billing enjoy a first-year fee waiver and no minimum spend, allowing them to improve their cash flow at zero cost.

GoCorp’s concierge feature allows companies to book rides for guests or important personnel without needing the Gojek app. This is useful for hosting events or welcoming overseas visitors. By streamlining the process, GoCorp ensures that guests have a seamless experience without having to navigate unfamiliar transportation systems.

GoCorp users can also generate Gojek voucher codes for any denomination, occasion, date or time. These vouchers have various uses, from employee benefits to marketing giveaways or office events. By setting parameters like values and validity periods, companies can create delightful user experiences while managing transport expenses.

Huang values GoCorp’s excellent client servicing, where each customer is assigned a dedicated account manager. Even with automation, she appreciates the human touch and personalised support.

“Our account manager is always quick to respond and resolve any issues we face,” she says. “It’s really nice to have a single point of contact to directly reach out to if we need any help.”