A rapidly evolving business travel landscape has been the catalyst for award-winning global travel management company FCM to transform its brand identity and take a fresh approach to developing a new tech platform.
With the global pandemic causing a seismic shift in the business travel industry, FCM has made it a priority to address customers’ pain points and their travel programmes by investing in new technology, rapid implementation, enhanced account management and sustainable and secure travel.
FCM’s bold new look is designed to showcase the brands’ distinctively flexible and unconventional approach to providing agile travel management services to its customers globally and locally. The end-to-end rebrand has been launched in 97 countries across all websites, customer communications and social media platforms.
A core component of the announcement is that FCM is forging ahead with development of a ground-breaking proprietary technology that directly targets customers’ pain points with current and legacy corporate travel technology. The in-house platform is an omnichannel offering that is being developed following extensive research globally among customers to understand the different concerns of their bookers, travellers and managers. Findings of this research revealed customers need an all-encompassing platform that is consistent across all markets, but also fully flexible with a positive user experience and simple user interface.
FCM’s Global Chief Technology Officer Adrian Lopez said the vision for the platform is based on addressing six key pillars: a globally consistent booking experience; always available travel assistance; traveller safety and wellbeing support; sustainability; AI powered reporting and savings, and flexible integration capabilities.
“The development of FCM Platform’s core experience is already well advanced, including a new proprietary online booking solution planned for key markets and integration of AI enhanced chatbot tool Sam as the digital ‘avatar’, providing live chat and real-time assistance across all of the platform’s channels,” said Lopez.
With powered-up features like AI powered reporting, allowing a search experience similar to that of Google for actionability of data, customers in several regions around the globe have a lot to look forward to as they begin testing the FCM Platform prior to the first phase of onboarding later this year.
“Top 3 Travel are very excited to unveil FCM’s new brand and also to reveal that 2021 will be a landmark year with the launch of FCM’s ground-breaking proprietary technology platform,” said Edward Papps, Director, FCM Malta & Libya.
Michal Gatt (Director – FCM Malta & Libya) also added that “Our customers tell us that FCM is unlike any other TMC, that we have a flexible approach and don’t box them into solutions. Our DNA is very different and we have always prided ourselves on having an alternative mindset. But that wasn’t historically reflected in our brand identity. It was time for FCM to stand out in the market as a true alternative to the traditional service offering of large global TMCs, or the digital-only business travel offering of the tech disruptors.”