GUEST BLOG: TMC challenges and opportunities in 2015

As travel management specialists for the oil, gas and marine sectors, Wings starts 2015 heavily focused on helping clients reduce their costs further to meet the challenge of the rapid decline in the cost of oil, whilst, at the same time, capitalising on technological developments which can assist the journey of the business traveller. 

The current downturn in the oil price is reflected by producers having to cut their costs or mothball certain projects, to reduce their operating costs and the impact flows down to all service providers, including travel management companies. It’s a cyclical event and will eventually recover but, for now, everyone is tightening their belts and holding on for a rough ride. Getting value for money from business travel is even more vital. Specially negotiated airline rates designed for the oil, gas and marine industries reflect the specific needs of these travellers and offer the best value.

Traveller tracking has always been a critical element of travel management for the oil and gas industry and it is no surprise that safety and security is paramount to every business traveller now. The advance in technology continues to benefit travellers; be it from simple travel apps for service updates and check-in, to safety devices that monitor passengers throughout the journey, using real time traveller tracking based on a single technology platform to ensure accuracy. New advances using GPRS on smart phones, travel coordinators can send a controlled message to their travellers to confirm they are okay.

Launching soon is a new breed of intuitive, self-service and mobile-enabled business intelligence tools, so that clients can measure and improve the performance of their travel programmes and perform comprehensive analytics, transforming their data into valuable insights for more informed, decision making.

In the oil sector technological progress has expanded the boundaries of exploration in emerging markets, some of them with limited infrastructure and challenging safety and geopolitical concerns. The key destinations over the next five to ten years will depend on the political and environmental landscape that the global leaders follow – interesting times ahead.

This blog post was written by Paul East, COO UK, Europe and Americas, Wings Travel Management. Wings is exhibiting at the Business Travel Show, 25-26 February 2015, Olympia Grand, London. Register for a free visitor pass now at www.businesstravelshow.com.