In this first post in the series, we take a quick look at RideInbox – our new order consolidation application for in-destination transport services.
If you work in travel, you probably already know why there’s a need for a tool like this, but for the uninitiated, let me add some context.
Behind the glossy websites and smart apps promoting services like airport transfers there is … well, not that much going on. Unlike the hotel and flight sectors, there isn’t an established software ecosystem of channel managers, global distribution systems (GDS) or property management systems (PMS).
This lack of sector-specific software forces ground transportation companies to make do with email, spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups. No business should be run this way, let alone a high volume, low margin service such as airport transfers.
RideInbox brings order to the chaos. Transport service providers can systematically import new transport service orders, and these are automatically validated whether received by phone, email, CSV file, XML attachment or carrier pigeon – ok, ok, our sector isn’t quite that bad!
The application also processes changes and cancellations, ensuring admin staff can keep on top of bookings. This is crucial as, although drivers get a bad rap, fewer than 10% of complaints are attributable to drivers. More than 90% are due to administrative errors, which is hardly surprising given that staff spend all day manually copying and pasting names, addresses and flight numbers between emails and spreadsheets.
But using regex, python and AI to ingest orders is just a sticking plaster solution.We’re integrating with travel brands who have built supply-side APIs and we’re helping drag those which haven’t into the 21st century. Order consolidation should be fully automated, and copy-paste needs to stop. What’s more, email was invented back in 1971 – it’s just not appropriate for this type of task.
We’ll be covering the full order lifecycle throughout next week, so follow us on LinkedIn to receive other posts in this series, plus our latest news and announcements.
