Two years into the use of a comprehensive meetings technology system, Hewlett-Packard Co. still does not know exactly how much money it spends on corporate events and meetings. It does know, however, that in 2005 the use of its "SmartMeetings" tool saved the decentralized company more than $3 million, and is expected to save at least an additional $18 million during the next two years.
Deborah Matarazzo, leader of the project and head of HP's data and spend consolidation and meetings management department, said the company turned to technology after it became clear that it could not accurately estimate meetings expenditures. Previously, meetings expenditures were estimated as 20 percent to 25 percent of overall travel and entertainment spend—equaling about $170 million. "We knew numbers were being buried," she said. "It was really hard to track what our spend was." The true amount of HP's meetings spend is still unknown, but that has not come as a surprise, Matarazzo said."This is a huge mountain that we're chipping away at," she said.
Philadelphia-based StarCite Inc. powers the technology system—which already has paid for its investment through savings—incorporating its OneForm, RegWeb and RFP Marketplace tools and Outtask's Cliqbook online booking tool. HP does not have a centralized meetings process, but the system provides a central repository for its meeting spend
(Meetings Today, July 18, 2005).The tool guides employees through an approved sourcing and payment process, including payment with American Express meeting cards. HP has had a meeting service bureau since 2003, which helped employees with group air booking and hotel sourcing. Expenditures were previously tracked through spreadsheets.
The meetings department has drafted a policy on use of the tool, currently under review by senior management, and the program may be mandated in August of this year.
"There are so many meetings that every day we find someone who doesn't know what to do. I think we would need the mandate," she said. "They don't realize that by going outside the system, we don't collect information."
Matarazzo said the company currently is 79 percent ahead of its savings goals. All of HP's 80,000 U.S. employees have access to the system. "Once people started using it and realized the benefits—not just that it streamlined their process but also helped them work within their own budget—they started telling other people and we grew from there," she said.
Other companies may find it easier to implement comprehensive meetings tools, she said, based on the sheer size and decentralized nature of HP. Securing buy-in and building success stories were crucial. Matarazzo's department worked with the procurement group in marketing to comply with a companywide initiative to consolidate vendors.
"If we had not had that alignment, we would not have what we have today. We have the approved event agencies working through SmartMeetings and sourcing hotels through the tool. We're now collecting data through the event agencies which used to sit outside the system," Matarazzo said.
The department also created a seven-minute video, distributed to every employee, to explain the tool's benefits, Matarazzo said. "We aligned ourselves with the marketing department early on, because if you get the buy-in from marketing, then the rest comes easy. If we started the opposite way, and then went to marketing, they would not have had faith that we were robust enough for them. "
HP expects eventually to roll out SmartMeetings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, she said, with Asia/Pacific operations following. Despite being ahead of schedule, Matarazzo takes a long-term view of the program. Industry peers have said that after five years, HP may find it is actually spending double what it expected on meetings, she said. "Be patient," Matarazzo said. "The opportunities for cost savings and efficiency are all there, it just takes being patient."