There is no denying the value of measurement, even in a time of favorable negotiating conditions and high compliance with corporate travel policy. Measuring the return on the company's investment in travel, focusing attention on key travel performance indicators and service levels, reducing travel through videoconferencing and pre-trip reporting, and focusing on communications and data management have helped drive savings and support business requirements. Year-over-year comparisons can provide useful information for judging performance and making decisions, and yet they must be seen in the context of market conditions and long-term trends to fully grasp what the data mean.
Business Travel News appreciates the responses and support that allowed us to generate these findings.
For this fourth annual examination of the use of procurement practices in managing travel,
Business Travel News again gives thanks for the participation of its readers, American Express Business Travel procurement customers and Institute for Supply Management members for providing data.
BTN also thanks Equation Research for securing and processing the results and American Express Business Travel for making this research possible through its support.
Download a PDF of the full study here, including all data, charts, stories and a roundtable discussion of three practitioners fluent in marrying procurement with travel.
Click the headlines below to read each article online.
Ebbing Of Procurement TideCorporate purchasing and travel executive use of procurement practices to manage travel is ebbing this year, following the rising tide that surged in so many organizations during the past few years and spectacularly last year. Rather than continue to ebb, last year's huge swell in adoption of procurement practices more likely was the crest before another wave of adoption by more companies.
Reining In Disciplinary MeasuresArmed with newfound support to curb travel costs within every level of the organization, procurement professionals this year are relying less on punitive mechanisms to control traveler behavior and instead are turning to the fundamentals of communication and data availability to empower division leaders, mid-level managers and corporate travelers to regulate errant spend.
Managing Demand And StructureMany travel procurement executives this year are ratcheting up use of such demand management practices as remote conferencing and more restrictive pre-trip approval processes after a year of trimming double-digit percentages from their travel budgets.
Plying Evolving Service MetricsPushing past the traditional targets and metrics for widely expected service deliverables, travel buyers and procurement professionals are shifting their focus to key performance indicators and service-level agreements that impact cost and reflect intricate service elements.
Evaluating 2010's Travel OutlookThe majority of procurement professionals expect travel spending to increase or stay the same this year compared with last, as fewer than one-quarter of Procurement Practices survey respondents said they would further reduce travel spending in 2010.
Roundtable Discussion: Negotiating Procurement's RoleTommy Hilfiger director of purchasing John Ingegneri, Becton, Dickinson and Co. vice president of global procurement Chris Shanahan and Johnson & Johnson global manager of meeting services Christopher Wall last month met with Business Travel News editors to discuss the impact of the recession on integrated procurement and travel practices, internal communication strategies, the proliferation of service-level agreements and the challenge of measuring return on investment for travel.