SOCAR Accelerates International Expansion with NetSuite

Car Sharing Startup Scales Its Business with Successful Launch in Malaysia

SOCAR, a South Korean car sharing startup, has implemented Oracle NetSuite to support its rapid growth and international expansion. With NetSuite, SOCAR has been able to successfully launch its service in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and scale its business to support rapidly growing demand that has seen 72,000 new members added in just five months at the end of January this year. SOCAR has also seen over 24,000 usage hours recorded on its platform per month from Malaysia to date.

First launched in South Korea in 2011, SOCAR is an on-demand, keyless car sharing service that offers customers the convenience of a car without the commitment of ownership. With the SOCAR mobile app, customers can book a car, from anywhere and at any time, and then use it to meet their individual transport needs. After signing up more than 3.4 million members in South Korea and offering over 8,200 cars in 3,200 zones throughout the country, SOCAR decided to launch its service in Kuala Lumpur in January 2018. By partnering with the local government to strategically place cars at major public transport hubs, SOCAR has grown rapidly. To manage this growth and the complex requirements of its business model, SOCAR selected NetSuite.

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“The car sharing market is rapidly growing and by reducing car ownership, it can help us live in cities with cleaner air, less traffic and more accessible parks, gyms and schools,” said Leon Foong, CEO, SOCAR. “Our business has grown rapidly in South Korea and we are seeing huge demand in Malaysia. We plan to have more than 1,000 cars available in Malaysia by the end of this year, which is a big increase from the 240 cars we started off with, and NetSuite is playing a huge role in supporting that growth.”

With NetSuite, SOCAR has been able to drive efficiencies, improve decision-making and successfully scale its business. By replacing a manual, Excel-driven process for reconciling and tracking financial transactions, NetSuite has enabled SOCAR to achieve a complete view into critical business information and efficiently manage its high volume of expenses, revenue and sales transaction data. As a result, the SOCAR accounting and finance teams now have accurate cash flow data and access to the general ledger at any time and from anywhere, which is crucial for any business to grow.

“The car sharing market will experience exponential growth in the future, with 35 million users expected to sign up for 25 million hours of driving time each month by 2021,” said Ronen Naishtein, general manager, Asia, HK and TW, Oracle NetSuite. “SOCAR is perfectly positioned to ride that growth and with NetSuite, the SOCAR team has a flexible and integrated approach to support its changing business requirements and expand into overseas markets quicker.”

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