Siemens Rolls Out National Link

<B> Siemens Rolls Out National Link</B>

By Lynn Woods

Two weeks ago, Siemens Corp. rolled out a direct link to its preferred car rental supplier, National Car Rental, on its corporate intranet. The launch of the link, which bypasses the CRS to enable the reservation to go directly to National's inventory, is the first to be announced between a corporation and the car rental company.

"We have a big need for people to get to the preferred car rental supplier," said Hanna Murphy, Siemens' director of travel and fleet services. Plus, "this is more than a booking system, it's a whole information system, where our travelers can read updated information about National."

Siemens, which spends about $94 million on T&E in the United States and has 200,000 travelers, first approached National more than a year ago about a direct link, but National didn't want to develop the technology until its new Odyssey automated system--launched late last year--was put in place. "They said it didn't make sense to create a link with the old res system," which would have had to be rebuilt to fit the new system, said Stephen Meyer-Ewald, Siemens' manager of IT tools.

While the link is located on National's server, Siemens customized its corporate intranet, which also has direct connections to Siemens' other preferred suppliers, although each is separate.

Travelers, all of whom are Emerald Aisle Club members, input their Emerald Aisle number, as well as date, time, and pickup and dropoff location. The system automatically fills in Siemens' negotiated rate. Users also can cancel or modify existing reservations. Since all travelers are required to bill car rentals on the corporate card and have their card number included in their Emerald Aisle profile, they don't have to input any billing information on the link.

At the back end, National validates the IP as a way to ensure that the user is a Siemens employee. While the system was designed for North American travelers, Murphy said because the company's intranet is global, a few overseas employees also were using the link to book cars in the United States--an unexpected development. "It's interesting to see people abroad noticing it. Many of them want to test it, " she said. Siemens had to supply National with additional IP validation gateways to account for these overseas bookings.

Meyer-Ewald said Siemens basically was pleased with the link, although he said the process could be further fine-tuned. "There are still too many steps," he said. Currently, for example, booking a car through the link entails scrolling through a page specifying special equipment--a step that slows down the process, since most employees don't require this. "We'd like them to have the option to click on the function, but it doesn't have to be a necessary part of the reservation," he said.

Before the companywide rollout, Siemens had implemented a pilot of the link with 45 employees. The process was much slower in the test, and glitches--subsequently fixed by National--included the appearance of different rates on the screen.

The link is designed to serve employees who are booking a car separately from air and hotel. Travelers who need to book a car in conjunction with their air and hotel have the option of calling an agent at Siemens' Carlson Wagonlit travel center in Dallas. Booking through the link "would obviously help National save on CRS fees, but we don't want to push it too hard until we get more feedback," Meyer-Ewald said.

Next on Siemens' agenda is online booking. The company now is shopping for a comprehensive online booking system, which, ideally, will include the National link, enabling car rentals to be attached to the passenger name record as Oracle E-Travel now offers Hertz (see story).

National president Bob Briggs said several other corporate clients were lining up for the link. Within the next year, National also is planning to offer electronic billing, he said.

Siemens also is partnering with National in the use of its smart card, which includes other preferred vendors as well, such as Starwood's Sheraton brand. Murphy noted that 3,000 employees are using the card for National rentals booked in certain cities. The card's chip incorporates the holder's Emerald Aisle information, eliminating the need to show the desk agent the Emerald Aisle card.

Murphy said the smart card was particularly useful for a select group of employees working on high-tech projects who often have to rent a car at a moment's notice. The smart card enables them to "show up at the counter without having to make a reservation," she said.