Moving forward

Published on 2 March 2015

Relocating the Mobility Industry – from offline to online and beyond

The mobility industry generally still operates according to the work processes and procedures set half a century ago. IT has become much more important, but the core way of service delivery hasn’t changed that dramatically yet. The mobility industry is organized with a few global networks and a lot of localized service providers which operate in their area. No new big entries have been made with either new global companies or new strong regional players in the last 20 years. We foresee a big change globally in the next 5 years in both the way service is delivered as well as who is delivering these services.

Personal touch is the future

Voerman Group strongly keeps its eyes open to service industries close to the mobility industry. What happened in industries like taxi services (Uber), hotels (booking.com & AirBnb) or airlines (SouthWest & online ticketing) is a view of the future for our industry.

These services all offer a more personal touch to a traditional industry. The central theme is efficiency in booking process & meeting new people, creating new experiences and sharing with others.

IT is what brings users in contact with those who have services to offer.

Assignee more and more self-reliant

We expect that the trend will be that assignees will start arranging their own relocation around the globe. The same as booking a car, hotel or airline ticket. At the same time assignees want the service they require where they need it and when they want it. Technology is becoming more sophisticated, and all of the required services can be found online in a fully transparent way.

Mobility industry, the next 5 years

What does this mean for us? Voerman Group has invested a significant part of its earnings back in R&D over the last 5 years and will accelerate this program in the next 5 years. Platforms are being tested, mobility apps rolled out and new ways of service delivery are being discovered. This is still in the early days, but we expect 2015 to be a decisive year on this change towards the corporate market. We see a growing demand from our corporate clients for managed budgets, more cost effective ways of service delivery & real time service delivery in a 24/7 global environment.

This is the first in a series of blogs on the future and innovation of the mobility industry. The change will come with cooperation and dialogue with our clients & partners. We want to reach out to our clients, prospective clients and the market at large. Can we engage you in the discussion moving forward?

Wiebe van Bockel

Chief Commercial Officer – Voerman Group