If you talk to industry experts and progressive buyers, they'll tell you tomorrow's buyer needs to be virtual, responsible, mobile and social to enable tomorrow's travelers to follow suit. According to this study, travel managers to this point have nailed the first two and failed on the latter pair.
Of course, these are not the only aspects in which travel procurement and management roles will evolve during the coming decade. Since long before social media, but not dating back to the emergence of travel management following U.S. airline deregulation in the late 1970s, industry consultants have recommended that buyers become more analytical of data, critical of supplier proposals and sensible about the balance between cost and service. This will continue, and it already has resulted in increased suitability of another adjective: professional.
But nothing is complete in this job. To be finished is to be smug--or unemployed. The travel industry is too unpredictable and corporate travel management too vital for closure. Travel procurement and management pros can have pretty interesting jobs, but they are sometimes under-appreciated at the C-level. How does one ensure continued relevance?
Part of it is taking on new things, proving one's indispensability and, let's face it, covering your ass. Data, savings and internal champions are the nuts and bolts of CYA. But another element, depending on your corporate culture, is versatility.
Attendees at September's The Beat Liveconference witnessed eye-opening talks by a number of speakers, but the presentation that attendees rated highest was delivered by a 20-something tech developer whose résumé says little about travel management.
"If travel managers and their agencies want to be in the game at all, they are going to need to find ways to effectively support their travelers with the right tools," argued FlightCaster co-founder Evan Konwiser in a follow-up exchange. Procurement.travel's survey "raises a big flag about a travel manager's ability (and perhaps willingness) to get involved in technology acquisition decisions at their companies, even when that technology (or the lack thereof) can have a profound impact on the travel program."
So, are they feeling vulnerable?
"I don't get the sense of that particularly," said PricewaterhouseCoopers head of business services Mark Avery. "In the last couple years, the procurement and travel role has been quite center stage because there have been some big opportunities and big savings to be made, and therefore people are feeling quite positive in their roles. But when the market is strong and buoyant, you get less of that opportunity. [Before the recession] there were some people saying, 'Perhaps I do need to get on board with this more, because I might be sidelined since this is where things are going.' " Avery was speaking about virtual conferencing, but the commentary applies to any emerging area.
"You have those who are advanced in that respect, in thinking that way; and others who are still maybe a little trapped," Avery said. "But technology for me is just another way of making those savings, giving people alternatives and changing behavior. The use of technology shouldn't be frowned on--it's part of the toolkit."