Business travel spending in China is reaching USD 300 billion in scale in 2016, surpassing the US market.
BEIJING – Baoku Online Inc., a business travel and expense management company headquartered in Beijing, China, has recently received series-A funding from Matrix Partners China, following an earlier strategic investment in 2014 from CBC Capital and Asiainfo-Linkage.
With nearly a decade of experience in business travel management, Baoku revolutionizes the way business travel has been traditionally (and inadequately) managed by launching a cloud-based SaaS solution platform that weaves together enterprises’ internal process and suppliers’ (and intermediaries’) reservation processes.
Enterprises have long been challenged by a disjointed internal travel process by having to deal with various suppliers’ (airlines, hotels, etc.) different processes and systems (reservation, payment, etc.). As a result, among other issues, enterprises lack the complete data needed to manage their internal processes as well as their suppliers. User experience (of the whole travel process) for their business travelers has also long been a source of employee dissatisfaction.
Unlike other solution providers who strive to resolve parts of the challenge, Baoku offers its enterprise clients a one-stop, end-to-end SaaS solution on demand, covering internal process management, supply chain management, booking and reservation, payment and clearing services, data services, and a shared service center for business travelers.
Using Baoku, a business traveler can initiate a request for travel, receive his/her manager’s approval, make reservations, claim expenses, receive approval, and more, all through one system. Finance and Support departments can monitor suppliers’ performance, collect complete data, improve payment efficiency and perform analysis that helps to improve the quality of future travel-related decisions.
Baoku was able to achieve this because of its vision and ability to combine its deep insight in business travel gained over the years with technologies offered by the Internet. Over the years, Baoku has developed application software for major Chinese airlines and TMCs including Air China, Shenzhen Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, and Sichuan Airlines.
“Business travel spending in China is reaching USD 300 billion in scale in 2016, surpassing the US market,” said Michael Zuo, Partner, Matrix Partners China. “Baoku Online has been leading the industry to transform and grow in the past 8 years. We believe that Baoku has the potential to become a world-class player.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
