Pharma Co. Finds Policy Cure

After years of outsourcing, mega pharmaceutical supplier Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Ridgefield, Conn., last year implemented a new corporate meetings policy that mandated the use of a small, centralized meetings department and implemented a comprehensive meetings technology system to track data and increase efficiencies. The initiative already has produced significant cost savings, said the company's travel and meetings manager, and has been driven by the internal procurement department—which also has taken over management of the transient travel program.

Susan Owens, manager of travel and meeting services for Boehringer, said the department follows a 25-25-25 rule—events that require 25 or more room nights, $25,000 in contracted spend or have at least 25 attendees—to determine which meetings must be sourced through the department. During the past year, the department has focused on tracking expenditures and volume. Owens estimated "99 percent" of the company's meetings that meet the threshold requirements are passing through the department. This year, more than 200 programs are scheduled, she said, with budgets ranging from "small to over $1 million."

Standardization and centralization have been the program's biggest accomplishments to date, in addition to unspecified cost savings, she said. A standard contract addendum for hotel contracts has been drafted with the aid of the company's legal department.

"Once we had the addendum we realized to that we needed two addenda: one for small meetings of less than 100 room nights and then one for over 100 room nights," Owens said.

The addenda are focused on ensuring the company planners are consistent when negotiating with hotels, Owens said, and all ask for the same concessions.

"It's one of my goals to have standard contracts with my preferred hotel vendors," she said.

Prior to 2004, Boehringer outsourced meetings management to American Express, but decided to create an internal department that year after a review of the cost and services of the program. The company in 2004 also adopted meetings management technology from Philadelphia-based StarCite. The policy was implemented in 2005.

"I wanted a system that was going to grow, and grow with my business," Owens said. "I'm not looking to make my department large—I think lean and mean is good—but I wanted a tool that is user-friendly for them and would have greater capabilities. Now that we're a year into it, I want to report more on our purchasing success and how we budget."

Boehringer in March rolled out corporate meeting cards issued by Citibank. Event sponsors are advised to open a separate credit account for each event to better track expenditures.

There are still a few kinks to work out in the program, Owens said, and short lead times present a challenge.

"I tell [stakeholders] that the hotels don't need us anymore. No one is calling me and begging me for my business. When I see hot dates now it is literally is a hot date in August and July," she said.

Though the department has advised meeting sponsors that they can benefit from longer lead times, most events still are planned at the last minute.

"We work in such a short turnaround. Our challenge is always responding to their urgency without it becoming chaos," she said.

The department of six meeting planners works to educate Boehringer employees on the benefits of using the approved process. Meeting sponsors submit a wish list of meeting requirements and two or three preferred destinations, Owens said, and then the company planners draft budget estimates.

"My planners really know properties. I'm a firm believer in product knowledge. They know the property, location of the property, distance from the airport, time of year—that all comes into play," she said.

The department does not overrule a sponsor's site selection, but Owens said budget estimates usually make the right choice easy to see. The department then offers other services to encourage adoption, such as building custom attendee registration Web sites through the StarCite tool.

"We try to guide them through the process and counsel them. We'll tell them why Atlanta is more cost- effective than San Francisco. I tell them New York City is like gas prices now," Owens said.

Boehringer on July 1 switched its travel agency to Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Owens said. The company's travel department has also been brought under procurement, and Owens manages both departments. The company also has a contract with Sabre's GetThere for online booking and Owens said she hopes to have a group air booking function incorporated with the StarCite tool some time next year.

"I need to build transient online adoption and then aim to get it seamless for groups," she said. "The good thing about groups is that when you're having attendees register on a Web site it will actually be more natural, because then they can complete the transaction. Right now, they have to wait for an agent to contact them. I think they'll be empowered."

The meetings department recently held a travel fair to introduce Carlson to employees and show the various functions of the StarCite system, Owens said. Most information on the meetings policy and program is on the company's intranet site.

"What makes the meeting I planned different than one planned by a marketing person? We demonstrate that there is a difference. We demonstrate how we go in, and it's all one-stop shopping," she said.

Owens has worked at Boehringer for more than four years, initially in the company's medical education department, where she planned events. With no formal meetings department, most events either were planned by individual departments our outsourced to the company's travel agency.

Owens said her department was used as a successful example for other divisions after senior management reviewed their business practices.

"Our area was doing well and they saw that we had an actual process," she said. "It was myself and two other planners doing our own little meetings department."