European discount retailer improves savings, duty of care and traveler experiences with consolidated travel program
Challenge
Travelers in 17 countries worked with separate local travel agencies or no agency at all, resulting in fragmented travel data. In the absence of a travel strategy, travelers booked trips when and where they wanted, driving up costs and making it hard to trace people’s whereabouts.
Approach
To unify processes, BCD Travel implemented SAP Concur Travel integrated with TripSource® hotel content, so all markets have access to the same online booking tool and hotel offering. BCD also introduced its proprietary DecisionSource® analytics platform for better insights in travel spend.
Results
With Concur, TripSource and DecisionSource, the client now has a consolidated travel program that provides
a centralized view on travel spend, drives savings, improves duty of care and enhances the traveler experience, while providing the technology and support that serves everyone’s needs.
The client is a European chain of discount apparel and household shops, with over 26,000 employees in 17 countries across Europe.
Previously, each country worked with a different local travel agency or no agency at all, resulting in fragmented travel data. As the company was rapidly growing and expanding into other markets, they urgently needed to consolidate their travel program as soon as possible.
After a competitive bid process with multiple travel management companies (TMCs), they chose BCD as their single provider for business travel services.
Challenge
The company didn’t have a travel strategy and travelers booked trips when and where they wanted, making it
hard to trace people’s whereabouts. The company needed a consolidated travel program to:
savings
Approach
The client’s purchasing department partnered with BCD on a consolidation strategy based on a hub concept. BCD’s centralized service hub provides one point of contact who understands the client’s needs and requirements. Global travel is consolidated into one program that aligns travel policies and booking procedures for all markets. To unify processes even further, BCD assigned a single Regional Program Manager, instead of a different program manager per country.
BCD implemented SAP Concur Travel, a powerful online booking tool (OBT), integrated with TripSource hotel content, so all markets now have access to the same OBT. It’s not only easier and cheaper to have one setup compared to individual configurations per country, it also creates a unified experience for the company’s travelers.
The platform integration between Concur and TripSource enables travelers to shop across a great mix of hotel properties and competitive rates, while staying within company policy.
BCD also implemented its proprietary business and intelligence platform DecisionSource, allowing the client to capture all essential booking data and gain better insights into the number of travelers, travel spend, spend categories and hotel leakage.
It also provides real-time travel and risk data, allowing their travel manager to monitor and respond to risk or emergency events quickly.
Results
With Concur, TripSource and DecisionSource, the company now has a consolidated travel program that provides a centralized view on travel spend, enabling the company to drive savings, improve duty of care and enhance the traveler experience, while providing the technology and support that serves everyone’s needs.
All employees have access to the same OBT. Online adoption increased from 20% one month after implementation to 65% nine months later and continues to increase. Although there is no strict policy, most employees book the lowest logical fare, which leads to significant savings.
As travel demand grows, the consolidated travel program will help the company to:
Have a consistent travel policy and process across all markets Easily book air, hotel and car, using one online booking tool Make policy compliance easy for employees Give employees the freedom to book travel on their own Enhance the employee experience and improve productivity Track traveling employees to meet duty of care Gain actionable insights to drive savings
