Smart Move °3 by Nexus Communication

MARCH 2019 Nexus Communication - SMART MOVE #3 - Deposit Office Liege X

Boost your Business Travel

The Smart City called Vienna Gamification and AI for fleet optimisation at IBM

Choose change A decade ago, I would have predicted that fleet and travel management would have merged by today. For at least that long, we’ve been talking about how similar the two categories are: non-core activities that support employee productivity, are subject to cost-efficiency drives and fall under the header ‘mobility’. With that in mind, a growing number of companies are placing responsibility for both categories with one and the same person – but operationally, they’re typically still separate. There are differences, of course. Fleet management is contract-based, which means decisions are mostly taken for longer periods. Travel management is more ad-hoc. Nevertheless, the similarities outweigh the differences – especially since the benefits in terms of cost reduction and employee satisfaction are huge. So why don’t we see the two competences merged and managed from one IT platform? One of the reasons, I think, is our general aversion to change. People resist change, as it can bring complexity and uncertainty – not in the least about our own place in the greater scheme. But that’s a glass-half-empty approach. It’s actually half full: a unified mobility category will reinforce the position of the fleet/travel manager as a crucial influencer within the corporate structure. Steven Schoefs

Drive Tips for fleet electrification

The rise of flat rate mobility

8 13

The insurance question

Disruption 4

How smart is Vienna IBM, where fleet meets tech

Appy parking, seamless parking

Strategy The new identity of the fleet manager 6 13

The city shaping the car

Travel The best business airports in Europe 9 Maximising your business trip

COLOPHON This magazine is realised with the expertise of

Contributors: Tim Harrup, Yves Helven, Frank Jacobs, Jonathan Manning, Dieter Quartier, Benjamin Uyttebroeck, Fien Van den Steen

Published by Nexus Communication SA, Parc Artisanal 11-13, B-4671 Barchon (Belgium) contact@nexuscommunication.be

Lay out: Cible - www.cible.be and Push-UP Communication (Cover illustration)

This publication is registered and copyrighted trademark, reproduction rights reserved for all countries. Received documents will not be returned. By submitting them, the author implicitly authorises their publication.

DRIVE

SMART MOVE

Plug by example Now that the middle segment is being populated with more affordable vehicles, the time has come for companies to integrate electric mobility. But how do you go about? Starting with a roadmap, we asked one of the pioneering e-fleets in Europe, EnBW, and their Head of Electromobility, Marc Burgstahler, about their own experience.

Already in 1988 did Energie BadenWürtemberg (EnBW) adopt its very first electric vehicle: the then rather experimental E-Golf. Three decades later, the German utility company not only operates hundreds of EVs and infrastructure, it also helps other companies and municipalities to plan and implement their own e-fleet solutions.

It is important to get everyone on board. Did the EnBW staff need convincing? “Since June 2018 we have 180 of our colleagues driving a BMW i3 EnBW special edition – while having received more than 450 applications for this offer. This illustrates the huge interest in e-mobility within our staff”.

Make sure all the tools & rules are there. “We are always seeking for new opportunities in this area and even develop proprietary solutions such as a flexible charge point usage for several parking lots. Plus, we listen to our customers’ and our colleagues’ interest in e-mobility and electric cars. This led to our own leasing offer for our subsidiary company Yello”.

CONVINCE THE STAKEHOLDERS.

Not every driver is an ideal EV candidate. How did EnBW know which conventional vehicles could be replaced by EVs? “Our vehicles are mostly needed for short distances only and are returned to the company overnight, which is optimal for the use of electric cars. This distance can be easily driven with a fully charged BMW i3”.

Start small and learn from the experience. “After a two-year test phase with 500 e-bikes we then ran the first-generation electric Smart Fortwo in our fleet in 2011. Since then we rolled out many e-mobility solutions all over the organisation including 50 EVs for our subsidiary company Netze BW”.

DRIVER PROFILING.

DO THE MATHS. There is the purchasing price, but also residual value and fuel cost. How did the TCO comparison work out? “Nowadays, you can lease electric cars at prices comparable to those of ICE vehicles. And the costs for a full charge are even lower than for a full tank – compared to 2018’s average petrol and diesel prices in Germany”.

ORGANISE A PILOT.

PUT THINGS INTO PLACE.

SMART MOVE

DISRUPTION

Vienna, the smartest smart city Vienna, capital of Austria has a mission - becoming the smartest of all smart cities. As a result, Vienna regularly appears in various smart city indexes as one of the most liveable cities. In 2018 Vienna even ousted Melbourne as the winner of the Global Liveability Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

GENERAL GOALS

MODAL SHIFT IN %

1993

2016

WALKING

CYCLING

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

PRIVATE MOTOR TRAFFIC

CO2 Reduce GHG emissions by

80% 2050 by

40% 2030

renewable energy by

SHARED TRANSPORT Public and private bike sharing:

YES

Scooter sharing:

YES

Car-sharing:

Ride hailing:

YES

TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

of cycle paths and lanes through lowtraffic zones

A green belt of

19,000

subway lines

along the city centre to walk and cycle

stations

hectares

28 & 128 = 850 km 1 billion

tram routes

109 83 km

230

bus routes

length and

of track

EV CHARGING: extra charging points and

fast charging stations in 2018

passengers in 2017

GOALS Decrease of motorised individual traffic (MIT) to

20% 2025 by

15% 2030 by

Less than

15% 2050 by

2050

, all MIT within the municipal boundaries has to be zero-emission

MaaS APP The WienMobil, the mobility app from Wiener Linien, combines the offerings of various mobility providers in a single app, including public transport, shared mobility, taxi, pedestrian and cycling routes. The app allows you to plan, book and pay tickets. The app even displays the environmental impact and the price on various routes.

A smart city within the smart city Since 2009 Vienna has been developing a smart city within the bigger city with a focus on sustainability and the goal to reduce energy consumption while improving energy efficiency. The project needs to be finished by 2028. • Around the Aspern Urban Lakeside • 240 hectares • 10,500 residential apartments, school campus, research centre, industrial park, shopping streets • Underground metro and trams which will cut down travel time to city centre by 25 minutes • 15 minutes from Vienna airport; 28 minutes from Bratislava’s central station • Includes city data centre with the focus on providing solutions for big data management, in order to create smart city • From 2019 two autonomous shuttles will connect the Aspern inhabitants with the metro; free of charge

SMART MOVE

1,379

SMART MOVE

S T R AT E GY

Welcome to the new fleet manager As the vehicle fleet ecosystem is changing from individual and permanent to shared and ondemand, fleet management has started its transition to the brave new world of mobility.

From a historic perspective, the job of the corporate fleet manager has forged a hybrid position within either the finance, human resources or facilities functions. Depending on the fleet size and corporate organisation, fleet managers are usually responsible for additional categories on top of their fleet duties.

The most common combinations are fleet plus (compensation and) benefits, fleet plus facilities, fleet plus travel and procurement plus fleet. Dedicated fleet managers usually take care of logistics rather than company cars or manage regional or global large size fleets. The hybrid model has positively contributed to Fleet Management: procurement experience has pushed the supply chain to maturity, HR impact has added the driver experience to the fleet equation. Nevertheless, it has also weakened the position of the fleet managers, abandoning them on middle management level with insufficient leverage. Ultimately, the hybrid model has worked against innovation and progressive initiatives.

Tensions: travel and procurement

Corporate digitisation

Travel and Fleet are in essence complementary; only distance or means of transportation distinguish both. Functions that combine Fleet and Travel do a better job integrating last mile solutions, such as short-term rental and agreements with taxi companies or ride hailers. These agreements land in the intersection between both categories.

Mobility is not the only factor that will change Fleet Management; digitisation will have an even greater impact on the need for mobility.

When Fleet meets Procurement, commoditisation of fleet takes place; RFPs and RFQs as well as e-auctioning most often focus on upfront pricing and tend to pay less attention to intermediate cost generators, such as recalculations and end of contract cost generators, such as damages and mileage adjustments. Both examples demonstrate that hybrid Fleet Management models have a built-in tension zone that needs to be solved via process or policy.

A good example is the pharmaceutical sector, traditionally owners of the largest corporate fleets. In the recent past, Medical Representatives (MRs) drove around the country to meet doctors, visit hospitals and convince wholesale agents to inform them and push the product. Digitisation however is transforming the marketing model of pharmaceutical companies and solving the issues linked to the decentralisation of the medical profession. Informing medical professionals today is done digitally and remotely. In addition, the complexity of the medical profession allows less time for MRs to come and visit. As a result, the mobility needs of a pharmaceutical company have decreased. This trend is not only noticeable in pharma, it is spreading across all industries. Eventually, the need for dedicated vehicles will fade away.

The new conflicts Mobility looks at transportation from a different angle; the one-employee-one-car model disappears to be replaced by on-demand solutions, going from pool cars, pool bicycles, taxi services and ride hailing, car sharing to public transport. New potential functional conflicts arise: • Sourcing becomes fully commodifiable: service requirements and pricing of mobility solutions are transparent. The hourly rate of e.g. a shared bicycle can be easily compared between various suppliers, which is the core job of Procurement specialists • Employee benefits can be reduced to a mobility budget that the employee is free to fill in with a range of available solutions. HR owns compensation and benefits and will determine the value of the benefit • Travel is mobility plus air and hotel. There are very few reasons left to compartmentalise both categories • Split between private and corporate mobility will fade away. The need for specialised functions within a company will be taken over by aggregators, platforms that allow for multiple mobility solutions to be consolidated on one application

Saving the fleet manager Regardless of a dystopic vision that annihilates the fleet manager, there is a window of opportunity for the fleet professional, but it requires a significant change of mindset and the learning of a new skillset. The future fleet manager will be: • An Influencer: the hybrid position of today’s fleet managers can be exploited at their advantage: being on the crossroad of functions allows them to consider the company’s needs from different angles. • A Moderniser: keeping an eye open for evolutions and technology developments are part of the fleet manager’s nature. • A Contributor: where the fleet manager can truly excel is in translating the changes in business models into actionable recommendations for employee transport. All in all, the job of the fleet managers is not over yet, but they will have to demonstrate understanding of the mobility ecosystem, changes within their own companies and formulate recommendations that will contribute to the company’s goals.

SMART MOVE

Sixt Flat Rate • Flat rental rate instead of company car • Business and private use • Latest generation models at all times • Return to any Sixt station • Single invoice to employer

DRIVE

Flat rates, the latest addition to MaaS The concept of flexible mobility is now taking hold among forward thinking companies. With it comes the rising development of ever more user-friendly offerings.

A genuine mobility budget is fitted to individual needs, boosting employee motivation and helping attract new employees. Employees can directly book the different options on one platform, and the costs are booked straight to the company, often with excess costs (outside of the agreed budget/formulas) billed straight to the employee. The growing popularity of mobility budgets and their role in the MaaS concept arises from the ability to choose alternatives to the ‘company car only’ model. Public transport, a smaller car plus public transport or an e-scooter… The secret of success lies in the combination of user-friendliness, ondemand flexibility and cost transparency.

Flat rate mobility enhances employee satisfaction: • A broad range of cars in every category provides the right model for every taste and need • Seasonal variations in weather may mean that employees want one type of car in summer and another in winter… no problem • Weekend car use by employees also adds to the attractiveness of the employer • ‘Unlimited’ means you can have a car for a day or a few weeks, wherever you may be, for the same flat rate • Mobilflex included: every time the user either wants to change the vehicle type or simply doesn’t need to use a car for any period he simply switches or returns the car

ALTERNATIVE

BENEFITS

Looking at rental car flat rates, whereby an employee may need to take a car from different locations, on business or privately, and this is all billed to the company at a single flat rate. The employee has opted to take a flat rate rental package instead of a company car. They then simply pick up a rental car wherever they may be, during the week or at the weekend. At the end of the requirement the car is returned and the employee picks up another one at the next destination. Once back home another car is taken for private use. The rate contracted between the rental company and the client company is invoiced.

When it comes to mobility really being a flexible service, other offerings within the domain of cars now include the ability to change vehicle types – from a sedan to an SUV, even an LCV, as circumstances demand and at no extra cost. For fleet managers, there is comfort not only in the ease of service and reduced costs, but also from a CSR point of view: knowing drivers are always in the latest models with elements such as winter tyres in winter automatically included.

SWEDEN

TRAVEL

Top 5 business airports in Europe

FINLAND

SWITZERLAND

ZURICH AIRPORT (SWITZERLAND)***** • Flight connections: national and international hub • Working: great wifi, 2 hours for free • For longer stopovers: bicycle and inlineskate rentals to the city centre • City travel: public transport (train, bus and tram connections at the airport), car rental (Sixt, National, Hertz, Europcar, Enterprise, Dollar Thrifty, Budget, Avis, Alamo), taxi and limousine services (Talixo, Blacklane), ride hailing (Uber, MyTaxi) • Passengers: 29+ million (2017)

STOCKHOLM ARLANDA AIRPORT (SWEDEN)**** • Flight connections: hub for SAS Scandinavian Airlines, easy connections to major US and European airports and cities • Working: abundant sockets and great wifi, 3 hours for free • For longer stopovers: terminals are cosy and practical • City travel: public transport (train (20 minutes to centre), bus (35-45 minutes), commuter train (43 minutes)), Flixbus and Netbus, taxi service (Note that taxi fares are not regulated in Sweden), Ride hailing (Uber, MyTaxi for ride sharing),

Limo service (Blacklane, Talixo), Supershuttle • Passengers: 26+ million (2017)

HELSINKI VANTAA AIRPORT (FINLAND)***** • Flight connections: customs and immigration are well-organised, connections to most European cities • Working: free wifi • For longer stopovers: sleep pods, seats that can be converted into a bed with a pull-up cover to block out noise from the terminal, inside Airport Park • City travel: public transport (train (30 minutes), Bus), taxi service, ride hailing (Uber), Limo service (Blacklane, Talixo), car rental (Sixt, Hertz, Europcar, Avis, Budget), car sharing service of the city has designated parking area in the airport • Passengers: 19 million (2017)

AMSTERDAM SCHIPHOL AIRPORT (NETHERLANDS)***** • Flight connections: main hub for KLM, Transavia and Delta • Working: airside library, free wifi, and dedicated internet lounge, possibility to buy premium wifi service for higher capacity

GERMANY

• For longer stopovers: easy navigation and comfortable couches in the terminal • City travel: public transport (train, bus. Good to know: buy an Amsterdam Travel ticket to make unlimited use of train and bus to and from Schiphol, and all trams, metros and buses in the city centre for up to 24 hours), bike parking, taxi service, car rental (Sixt, Hertz, Europcar, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Avis Budget), car sharing (Car2Go), ride hailing (Uber), limo services (Blacklane), SuperShuttle • Passengers: 63+ million passengers (2016)

MUNICH (MUC) (GERMANY)***** • Flight connections: hub for Lufthansa, Air Dolomiti and Condor, serves most US and European cities. Most transits can be performed at under 45 minutes • For longer stopovers: showers and sleeping pods • Working: free wifi • City travel: public transport (bus, train), car rental (Sixt, Enterprise, National, Hertz, Thrifty, Flizzr, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar) taxi service, Limo service (Blacklane, Talixo), ride sharing (MyTaxi), ride hailing (Uber, Lyft), car sharing (Car2Go, DriveNow, Flinkster) • Passengers: 44+ million (2017)

Airport Munich (MUC), Germany.

SMART MOVE

NETHERLANDS

SMART MOVE

DISRUPTION

IBM’s gamification model to reward responsible drivers At the end of 2018, Ferenc Hegedus won the International Fleet Innovation Award for IBM’s Pricing IQ Tool, a system that adds a layer of augmented intelligence that standardises and normalises vehicle data. This year, Mr Hegedus would like to introduce two new innovations.

Dealing with tremendous amounts of data, something your typical fleet manager often has to do, can be challenging. “Date formats or country names are good examples,” said Mr Hegedus. They refer to a simple reality but can be written in many different formats, which is a problem for computers. That’s where IBM’s IQ Pricing Tool comes in. It standardises and normalises data, analyses it and runs scripts on it. Subsequently, a layer of augmented intelligence performs predictive analysis models.

VEHICLE CONFIGURATOR Mr Hegedus isn’t one to rest on his laurels after one innovation. In the near future, he aims to introduce new ways to facilitate his job as a fleet manager. As IBM is in the process of rolling out SAP Ariba, an end-to-end ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, Mr Hegedus saw an opportunity to streamline fleet management processes. Together with the leasing companies IBM works with, he thought of a way to simplify the process to configure and order new vehicles. At this moment, ordering a new

SMART MOVE

IBM • IBM produces and sells computer hardware, middleware and software and provides hosting and consulting services. The company is an innovation leader and has a history of focusing on the most profitable markets. • IBM spun off printer manufacturer Lexmark (1991) and sold its personal computers (2005) and servers (2014) divisions to Lenovo. • Worldwide, IBM employs just under 400,000 people.

Ferenc Hegedus • Joined IBM in 2010 • 2017: Global Category Lead, Car Lease, Rental and Ground Transportation • Manages IBM’s global fleet of more than 20,000 vehicles • Winner of the 2018 International Fleet Innovation Award

IBM Corporate Headquarters, Armonk, New York.

lease car is quite a convoluted process, that involves going to an OEM or logging into the leasing company website to request a quote, entering it into the system to get a purchase order, sending the purchase order to the leasing company. Mr Hegedus believes this can be simplified. Under the new system, SAP Ariba becomes a platform that connects the dots. The leasing company or companies send their quote and SAP Ariba automatically selects the cheapest one and generates a purchase order. The whole process would be almost entirely automated and offers a much more detailed view of all the parameters.

“WE CAN DO BETTER” “I think we can do better,” said Mr Hegedus when asked about IBM’s powertrain mix. “In the past year, we have tripled our alternative powertrain sources to between 2 and 3% of the IBM fleet. We must aspire to increase that share.” IBM is developing an artificial management and measurement system that would have CO2 and NOx as key factors but will also include other particles. “I’m currently liaising with leasing companies to see how we can do that,” said Mr Hegedus.

In this sense, we would like to introduce a gamification model. This could help to reduce IBM’s environmental footprint and improve maintenance costs like the number of tyre sets used by one particular driver. Overall, the environment would benefit but it would also generate savings. “We’re in the early implementation stages but have full HR support and hope to launch it in the near future,” said Mr Hegedus. 2019 looks set to be another year filled with innovations for IBM, and maybe with more fleet management prizes for Mr Hegedus.

SMART MOVE

DISRUPTION

Space invaders Intelligent mobility includes smart parking. These apps save drivers time when looking for a parking space and offer neat payment solutions.

APCOA CONNECT

PARKME

PARKOPEDIA

From: APCOA

From: INRIX

From: Parkopedia

What does it do? Drivers no longer need to scrabble for coins to feed a Pay & Display parking ticket machine, thanks to APCOA Connect. The app allows drivers to pay via their smartphones, and receive VAT receipts.

What does it do? Minimise time wasted searching for a parking space with this app. It identifies the cheapest and closest places to park, and then provides directions to the car park.

What does it do? The brains behind parking services for several OEMs, this app cuts the stress out of searching for a parking bay, by locating the closest space and telling drivers how much it costs and whether it’s available. It also includes a pre-booking and payment facility.

When is it available? Live.

CAR FINDER AR

YOUR PARKING SPACE

ZENPARK

From: Hexter Labs Software

From: YourParkingSpace

From: Zenpark

What does it do? Can’t remember where you parked? This locator app syncs via Bluetooth with a car, and activates automatically the moment the ignition is turned off, recording the coordinates of the parking space. The app then navigates drivers back to their cars.

What does it do? Escape the high fees of official car parks by using this peer-to-peer, Airbnb-style app that lets private individuals let out their driveway or parking space. It’s ideal for short-term stays, as well as long-term regular use, such as commuters parking near a train station.

What does it do? Find a space in under utilised private car parks (at hotels, businesses and residential addresses) with this app that offers parking by the hour, day, week or even monthly subscription. It’s available in France and Belgium.

When is it available? Live.

S T R AT E GY

As cities are becoming smarter, the car manufacturers are bending over backwards to keep an obsolete marketing model alive rather than embracing a bright new future.

It’s about time cities and OEMs start working together and understand that their objectives are not conflicting. It’s true that cities want less cars and manufacturers want to sell more cars, but this is a simplistic assessment.

and demand for mobility. In the ideal world, public transport should absorb the gap, but Europe is not Singapore, and public transport is perceived as being uncomfortable, unsafe and insufficient.

SAY YES, TO COLLABORATION

This is the space where OEMs and cities should collaborate. By sharing data and city strategies, cities can incentivise OEMs to accelerate the new profitable models, such as ride hailing and car sharing, first with a driver but ultimately, autonomous.

Cities are using their regulatory power to solve congestion and emission issues (diesel bans, congestion charges), but in reality, they are creating an additional problem: a gap between offer

DRIVE

Self-insurance ≠ comprehensive cover More expensive repair costs and higher personal injury claims are pushing up fleet insurance premiums, so is it time for fleets to self-insure?

SELF-INSURANCE

COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE

Advantages • Significantly reduces insurance premium tax (most self-insurance plans still include third-party cover with a high excess) • Minimises commission paid to broker and profit margin paid to insurer • Provides a solution for higher risk fleets, eg taxis and couriers, that find it harder to find insurance

Advantages • Insulates fleets against the cost of individual claims, making budgeting easier • Saves in-house fleet management time as the insurer manages the repair process and claims handling • Insurers provide expert analysis of claims history to help fleets target risk management strategies

Disadvantages • Requires comprehensive risk management to minimise the frequency and severity of claims and keep costs under control • Absorbs management time and resource in arranging vehicle repairs and handling third-party claims • A series of vehicle write-offs in a short period of time could leave a large hole in a fleet budget

Disadvantages • Premiums incur insurance premium tax, which can be as high as 33% in France, 24% in Finland and 19% in Germany • Premiums are rising and fewer insurers are offering fleet cover, leaving fleets vulnerable to sharp price increases • Comprehensive cover removes some of the incentives for fleets to address their risk profile

SMART MOVE

Your city, your car

SMART MOVE

TRAVEL

How to get the most out of your business trip Business trips are inspiring, necessary and can boost your company, but they can be even more rewarding if you do it in a way that is smart, efficient and well-balanced. 10 tips.

This sounds like an easy one, but sleep is underestimated when it comes to productivity, especially when there’s a jet lag risk. Jet lag cannot be overcome by sheer willpower, but there are some tricks to reduce its impact significantly. The first one is sleep. You are more vulnerable to jetlag if you are exhausted before undertaking the trip. Make sure you get enough sleep in the days leading up to your trip.

A second trick to diminish the effects of jet lag is one that’s easy to put into practice: hydrate. Being dehydrated results in more fatigue and it can worsen the effects of jet lag. Dry air in planes dehydrate you faster, so you should drink even more when up in the air, preferably water or even drinks containing electrolyte, like sports drinks.

The third killer for jet lag is food. When we’re tired, our body longs for food with high sugar or fat content, but this kind of food can worsen the effects of jet lag. Make sure you have well-balanced meals during your trip, preferably at regular meal times so you don’t confuse your body too much, since the time difference will affect your digestion.

ENOUGH SLEEP BEFORE THE TRIP.

DRINK ENOUGH DURING THE TRIP.

EAT WELL DURING THE TRIP.

A market on the move

15 SMART MOVE

Business travel contributed $1.23 trillion in 2017, up from $1.15 in 2016. This amount is forecast to grow by 7% in 2019. Still, business travellers expected the global airfare costs to rise by around 3.5% in 2018, according to Statista.com, with Eastern and Western Europe expecting the largest increase. There is a shift in focus with the US as the primary business trip location shifting towards China as the new number one.

KEEP ON MOVING. Flying has a bad effect on blood circulation, due to the pressurised aeroplane cabin and the confined space you are sitting in. Both increase the risk of blood clots. Keep on moving during the flight, make small movements with your legs while seated or get up regularly and perform some stretching. This will keep you fit and prevent fatigue and blood clots. You could also wear support stockings.

HIGH PROFILE. If you fly a lot, the first four principles may sound easy but they are no waste of time, they are a must. If possible, consider flying business class, where you will get better sleep during the flight, with more space to move about and even to stretch, with decent meals and more drinks. At the end of the day, frequent flyers will earn their upgrade back since these miles offer more rewards and the upgrade will pay off in terms of health. Many airlines offer corporate frequent flyer programmes.

TIME MANAGEMENT BEFORE THE FLIGHT. Pick your flight times wisely. Make sure you can arrive and leave the airport outside the rush hours, saving you valuable

time and money. If you have to schedule differently, head to the airport earlier or stay longer and use the time to work at the airport to avoid stress and time wasted in traffic jams. You will use your time more efficiently and be more productive.

LOCATION MANAGEMENT. Pick the location of your stopover wisely. It can be useful to pinpoint the various meetings, events, and locations on a map and choose a central location, so you save time and money on transportation, and be more productive. Dedicated applications, such as Trooptravel, can help you.

TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT. Avoid hassle on arriving and decide beforehand how you will get from the airport to your destination. Take into consideration your time of arrival. Rush hour? Go for public transit. Check which ride-hailing companies operate in the area and download the application beforehand. Renting a car? Check whether the car rental company offers a smart and seamless system, such as the Sixt app, that allows you to simply walk up to the car and access it with a tap on your smartphone. Or use another mobility app of Sixt, such as Sixt Ride or Mydriver, to find the mobility solution you are looking for, from

airport transportation, over taxi service to limousine service. In the latter you reserve the driver and car for a certain time span, regardless the amount of destinations you have to visit, perfect for when having a scheduled variety of appointments in a short time.

TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT (2). Pick your airport of arrival wisely. Some airlines offer cheaper flights to the same destination, but the cheaper option will often be further from your destination. In Belgium for instance, Brussels Airport is at only 15km from the city centre, but Brussels South Charleroi is at 70km, which can take up to one hour. Sounds straightforward, but it is less so for airports you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fly to frequently.

BE INSPIRED AND INSPIRE. Last but not least. Besides taking the aforementioned tips into account, get the most out of your business trip by being inspired and by inspiring. Use the time on the road to prepare yourself. With modern technology everybody can find what suits them most, from audiobooks and podcasts, over films and documentaries, to e-books and digital documents. Light and smart, they are your best travel companion.

RENT? SHARE? RIDE? APP!

SIXT rent, SIXT share, SIXT ride in one APP. Download now.