Sometimes it
seems like the ‘global giants’ take all the focus in the business travel
industry.
The industry as a
whole is laser-focused on large multinational clients who spend USD 100M+
across multiple global markets. Client panels at industry events mainly feature
managers of these more substantial programmes, where it's hard to know what
applies to you as a midmarket client.
So what's a
mid-market travel programme manager to do? Where do you start when looking at
global consolidation? Where should your key focus areas be, and which elements
are more relevant to the ‘global giants’?
What is a mid-sized global client?
Generally, the
industry categorises mid-market clients
as companies spending between 20M - 60M USD on global transient business travel
in 3+ markets, usually with meetings and events as an additional spend line.
Where should your focus be?
When we look at
mid-market global consolidation at Radius Travel, we focus on three key areas:
1) The user experience
User experience
is vital to driving internal adoption and ensuring users make the right choices
for the business.
Here’s what to
consider:
- The user journey – your process should make life easier for bookers
- Presenting bookers with not only the best options but also the right options, in line with company policy
- Addressing security needs, such as traveller tracking
- Rates and products sourced covering all requirements
- Everything in one place: offline/online capabilities and technology that is supported by a 24-hour team
With an enjoyable
user experience, travellers will come on board willingly, stay within policy
and make good choices for the business.
Consider
stakeholder engagement. Needs across all the departments and people connected
to a global travel programme are often varied and specific to each area. Bookers,
the procurement team, regional
departmental heads, human resources and finance (to name a few!) will all
require the system to work for them and solve their specific needs.
By actively
encouraging early stakeholder engagement through discovery sessions, you can understand
the pain points of each area, whilst also
making sure the business understands the overall aims of implementing a centralised system. If you get this right, you
can hugely increase policy compliance and adoption rates across your organisation.
2) Global
leverage
Consider the
return of investment of your programme. Does your TMC have:
- expert rate sourcing capabilities
- global reach
- a vision to grow and incorporate value-added services when the time is right (such as integrating meetings & events)
If your TMC has
global leverage, they will tick all of these boxes, and ensure you are
investing with a TMC with the resource, scale and expertise to maximise your
global opportunity.
Savings optimisation
and value add statements should provide you with a clear picture of where the
return will be driven from for your organisation. Be sure you have a clear
overview of the value you will gain, and that the programme is not only ready
for current requirements but is also ‘future-proofed’.
3) Overall
programme costs
There is a lot of
choice out there when determining a travel programme, so take the time to
understand which solution best fits your needs. Your TMC should provide a clear
picture of the pros and cons of industry technology, payment forms, and travel
management interaction.
Ask yourself the
following questions when determining what will fit best for your organisation:
- What are you investing in?
- Which online booking tool suits your needs?
- Are you better suited with a best-in-market solution or a more standardised system?
Reporting is
often one of the first requirements on a global consolidator’s list. Reporting
tools should provide both a snapshot of your global business spend, but also a
more in-depth overview for more informed business decisions.
A dedicated
global account manager will be vital to analysing your data and providing recommendations.
Once you have the basics right, you can look at additional technology such as repricing
tools and data analytics, which will provide further opportunities to optimise
a travel programme.
Overall, these
three key areas will provide you with a strong foundation to implement a travel
programme that drives value and grants transparency, and allow you to focus on
driving meaningful actions, avoiding cost, and managing traveller behaviour.
This blog was posted by Greg
Mannix, Director of Global Sales, EMEA for Radius Travel, who are exhibiting at
the Business Travel Show next week in BTS Hub D. Please register for your free
visitor pass at www.businesstravelshow.com.
