Case Study: Traveler Profiling

SCANIA: SNAPSHOT

• 58,000 employees
• 100 countries
• 17,000 travelers

TRAVEL PROGRAM GOALS

• Centralize and standardize the travel program across 20+ markets to cover 85% of travel spend
• Establish a global policy
• Improve visibility of and control over spend and behavior
• Elevate the travel function to a more strategic level
• Build a future-proof program with the traveler at the center

When Scania embarked on an ambitious overhaul of its global travel program, the Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer was not simply looking to update its technology stack or consolidate suppliers.

Instead, the company set out to answer a much bigger question: What would a travel program look like if it were designed entirely around the needs of travelers rather than the limitations of legacy systems?

What ensued was an 18-month transformation project that replaced a fragmented, decentralized program with a travel ecosystem centered upon the traveler profile—the foundation upon which everything else would sit.

For Mia Andersson, head of global travel management at Scania, the traveler profile became the program's "holy grail."

"This was not just a tech replacement project," Andersson says. "We needed to centralize, yes, but we needed to make sure that the traveler was at the center of every decision that we made. We weren't interested in replacing one bad technology with a more modern one and then moving on. This was a true business transformation."

The transformed program has been operational for 18 months. It has already delivered a 20 percent reduction in travel spend and significantly improved traveler satisfaction and productivity. More importantly, it has created a future-ready platform that gives Scania ownership of its travel ecosystem and the flexibility to evolve as its business and traveler needs change.

Laying a New Foundation

When Andersson joined Scania in 2022, she inherited a travel program that reflected years of decentralized decision-making.

Travel was managed differently across markets, with only ‘travel guidelines’—no policy—visibility of spend was limited and traveler data sat in multiple disconnected systems. There was no automated flow of information between HR and travel systems, meaning traveler profiles frequently became outdated. In some cases, traveler records remained active even after employees had left the company.

The program lacked consistency, control and a clear understanding of traveler needs.

Rather than immediately launching an RFP or selecting new technology providers, Andersson began with an extensive listening exercise involving travelers, bookers, stakeholders and senior leaders.

"We needed to understand what was working well today, what wasn't working, what gaps we needed to close immediately and what would be nice to have in the longer term. We wanted travelers and stakeholders to actually feel the change," she said.

At the same time, Scania's leadership team challenged the travel function to deliver significant savings. Andersson recognized that meeting those expectations would require investment rather than cost-cutting alone.

"When I first presented to senior management, they basically said, 'Can you save us this amount of money?'" she recalls. "I said, 'Yes, I can do that, and I can actually deliver more if you're interested.' But to do that I need investment in technology, and I need the right resources to help us through the transformation."

Executive support followed, along with funding for new technology and specialist expertise. A travel steering committee provided governance, removed barriers and ensured business priorities remained aligned with travel program objectives.

Finding the Grail

Andersson and her team worked closely with travel management consultancy Festive Road to map the future travel ecosystem. In doing so, they realized that the traditional model—where traveler profiles are embedded inside booking tools, TMC systems or expense platforms—would ultimately limit Scania's flexibility.

Instead, they chose to create an independent profile layer through TravlrID. The platform receives traveler information directly from Scania's HR systems via an API integration and acts as the program's single source of truth. Rather than storing traveler data across multiple supplier platforms, information resides in one place and is shared only when required and only with traveler consent.

"The profile is the holy grail," according to Andersson. "TravlrID is an enabler for everything to connect. My data is provided to the airline or hotel only when it's needed for that trip. It isn't just lying around in different systems."

The approach fundamentally changed the architecture of the program: with the traveler at the core, and suppliers functioning as connected service providers operating around it.

"Owning that single source of truth gives us flexibility for the future," Andersson added. "It enables us to build an even more interconnected program. We can connect new suppliers, new services and new business requirements without having to rebuild everything. We are a future-proof program today because of that."

Building a Connected Ecosystem

After establishing the profile layer, Scania introduced a select mix of suppliers, each responsible for a specific capability within the program.

TravlrID became the central profile management platform. Cytric in Microsoft Teams became the primary booking environment, while incumbent agency BCD Travel remained the primary TMC partner, responsible for 15 global markets, and ATG overseeing seven markets. Scania introduced HRS Pay to automate hotel payments and remove the need for many expense claims. Clarasight now provides visibility of emissions data, while GardaWorld strengthens traveler tracking and duty of care.

The implementation required intensive collaboration between travel, procurement, IT, data privacy and security teams.

"Instead of saying, 'such and such supplier would be a good fit, let's bring it in,' we asked ourselves what we needed from end to end," says Andersson. "It was a much bigger review."

Festive Road’s Ami Taylor worked as an outsourced tech experience manager, but operated as an internal Scania team member. Taylor brought an “outside-in perspective” to Scania that helped formulate the program’s tech strategy.

"Every travel program should have some form of travel technology expert," Andersson said. "I know travel and meetings programs inside and out, but I'm not a tech expert. Ami was able to challenge us, challenge our suppliers and speak the language of our internal IT teams."

Although the core transformation project is now complete, Andersson says the travel team continues to work closely with Scania’s internal IT resources, keeping them engaged and “up to speed” with the travel program with regular calls—something that had not previously taken place. 

The TMC's Role

The traveler-centered ecosystem raised questions about the role of the TMC. Initially, some suppliers questioned why Scania needed a separate profile management platform at all.

"We heard resistance at the beginning," said Andersson. "The question was always, 'Why do you need TravlrID when we already provide profiles?'"

In Scania's redesigned travel ecosystem, rather than acting as the owner of traveler data, the TMC would become one specialist service provider among several connected partners. Traveler profiles would flow into the TMC environment when required, enabling agents to deliver services without becoming custodians of the data itself.

Andersson believes the model is beneficial for both sides. "It has actually simplified things for them as well because they know the right data is coming in," she said.

Now the TMC focuses on complex bookings, which currently make up 25 percent of Scania’s total booking volume. Meanwhile, simple point-to-point bookings increasingly are handled online through Cytric’s Teams integration.

"We will pay for a TMC if they give us value," said Andersson. "The value is in the complex bookings, traveler support and specialist expertise."

At the same time, the profile-led architecture has simplified traveler onboarding and supplier transitions. As Scania moves toward a single global TMC strategy, the company can migrate travelers far more efficiently because profile ownership remains independent of any individual provider.

Improved Experience, Better Outcomes

Scania’s global travel program now incorporates 85 percent of the company’s travel spend, up from 60 percent, and supports some 17,000 travelers on around 57,000 trips annually.

Travel spend has fallen by 20 percent, while average ticket prices have decreased by 10 percent. Online adoption has risen to 67 percent and continues to move toward Scania's target of 75 percent.

Perhaps most importantly, travelers themselves report significant improvements.

"Sixty-seven percent of our frequent travelers say they are more efficient now," says Andersson. "That's from booking until they come home and complete their expenses. The whole journey is simpler."

Traveler profiles are now fully automated, eliminating manual profile creation and reducing finance and reporting errors.

Scania has even introduced a "no profile, no booking" policy, which was recently extended to guest travelers, and is strictly enforced with its TMC.  

"A year ago we couldn't have done that," says Andersson. "Today we can because we have such an efficient automated process."

“We now have a purposeful travel program that allows Scania to manage, influence and control travel according to our shifting needs,” she adds. “We built a platform to encourage travelers to make the right choice, ensure they travel for the right reason, in the right way and at the right cost.”

The booking experience itself has also become significantly more user-friendly. Cytric's integration with Microsoft Teams has delivered a “much-needed” mobile booking capability, while a ‘Share My Trip’ feature went down particularly well with travelers.

“Our travelers are more satisfied, our program is more effective, and employee feedback indicates increased productivity and efficiency,” says Andersson, who says the transformation has also strengthened Scania’s culture of collaboration and innovation.

What's Next?

Andersson views the program as a constantly evolving platform. Her focus now is on increasing adoption, integrating additional capabilities and exploring new opportunities for artificial intelligence.

Scania is also evaluating how the profile-centered architecture could support adjacent functions such as meetings and events and global mobility.

"The transformation isn't finished," said Andersson. "It's about continuous improvement."

While most buyers still rely on suppliers to provide the architectural backbone of their travel programs, Scania has demonstrated the value of a ‘build-your-own ecosystem’ approach—one that is centered on traveler outcomes rather than supplier capabilities.

"The traveler experience was the game changer," Andersson says. "Everything starts there."