Runzheimer International plans to maintain ProcureApp's Flex tool as a distinct offering "at least in the short term" following its acquisition of the travel management technology supplier, Runzheimer president and CEO Greg Harper told Business Travel News.
Harper said the major shift with Flex, which applies corporate discounts and aggregates data when travelers book directly on supplier websites, would be in its marketing. Runzheimer typically sells directly to corporate buyers, and expects to similarly position ProcureApp's offerings, he said.
"As time goes on, you will probably see us meld the product more into B-to-B, but we will not make a lot of changes with the direction they already were headed," Harper said. "You'll see more versions and more applications of the same technology."
Runzheimer completed the ProcureApp acquisition on July 1 and announced it this week. Harper added the tool falls in line with the direction Runzheimer already was heading with SmartTrip, a web-based system that estimates trip costs with industry benchmarks and compares against actual trip costs when travelers book. Runzheimer also develops tools for companies that wish to allow travelers to book by their preferred methods rather than through a corporate booking tool.