New Brand Introduces New Capabilities and Enhanced Services Providing a Local and Flexible Approach to Travel, Expense and Cash Flow Management
American Express Canada today announced the launch of aXcentis, a comprehensive travel management program that is local in its delivery and flexible in its design. The newly branded and enhanced offering addresses the needs of small to mid-sized companies who previously may not have had access to travel management programs. aXcentis is able to deliver tailored service with local relevance and global travel management expertise, 24 hours a day.
"aXcentis is part of an enhanced suite of services and new capabilities designed to address the evolution of small to mid-sized companies that need a sophisticated managed travel program at a reasonable cost," said Lyell Farquharson, Vice President and General Manager, Business Travel Canada, American Express. "We have a strong history of working with small and mid-sized firms, but many of our capabilities have been hidden. It was important to launch aXcentis as a way to demonstrate our commitment to these companies and raise the awareness for our services to help them get their travellers back on the road and growing their business."
Because business travel can have a positive impact on growing revenue, and companies with a managed travel program can achieve a greater return, aXcentis has been designed to ensure companies do not under-invest or overspend as their need for travel increases in line with economic revival.
Farquharson continued, "A challenge of companies is that many do not have a dedicated travel department internally, and with the economic downturn, most businesses were forced to cut back on resources and spending decked against travel services. Now, in what we see as the new normal, companies will begin travelling again but there is an opportunity to do so wisely in what will likely remain a cash-constrained environment in the foreseeable future."
Transcending the basic tools and practices traditionally employed by small and mid-sized businesses, aXcentis manages 100 per cent of total travel and expense spending with a focus on:
- Program Strategy - aXcentis applies proprietary methodology to evaluate a company's current travel and expense process, identifies areas of improvement and matches a comprehensive, business goal- driven program with clearly defined measurements for return on travel investment.
- Cash Flow Management/Spend Recycling - aXcentis employs a system to manage budget spent on unused travel so these resources can be applied to future trips, which can free up cash to invest in other business areas.
- Insight and benchmarking - aXcentis uses the world's largest travel and expenses database to deliver business intelligence that informs sourcing and spend efforts and provides the basis benchmarking and performance measurement.
Ongoing program management is handled through a local and dedicated aXcentis client management team that will work with companies to optimize their program and provide counsel to help them realize the greatest return on travel spending. Clients also have access to experienced travel counsellors who understand the needs of companies and are available 24 hours a day.
Additional benefits of aXcentis include:
- Access to exclusive negotiated deals with suppliers and the lowest total trip costs
- An automated travel manager suite, including a pre-trip auditor and authorization tools, which support travel policy both on and offline. Additionally, traveller tracking tools are included to help companies identify where their travellers are at all times
- A meetings management package that includes a self-service booking tool for smaller meetings and access to a meetings desk of experts to assist with larger meetings.
- Tools to calculate potential savings, recover unused airline tickets automatically, and manage expenses online.
Including Canada, aXcentis is being rolled out in six key markets: US, Australia, France, UK, and Nordics.
