Accelya has launched an interactive assessment tool designed to help corporate travel buyers assess how prepared their programs are for modern airline retailing, the technology company announced Monday at the Global Business Travel Association convention in Chicago.
The assessment, dubbed the Modern Retailing Readiness Score, evaluates a program across multiple areas, including:
- Strategy and governance
- Technology and content access
- Processes and operational readiness
- Supplier collaboration and ecosystem alignment
- Data, reporting and value measurement
- Change management and organizational alignment
After completing the assessment, buyers will receive their readiness score, maturity profile, estimated value opportunities and recommendations for next steps, according to the company.
Accelya developed the tool with insights from Temoji Consulting and interviews with more than 20 corporate travel programs representing in total more than $2.3 billion in annual air spend.
The impetus behind the assessment was the uneven adoption of modern retailing channels, such as New Distribution Capability.
"Buyers told us they understand the direction of travel but need a clearer way to assess their own readiness and that of their value chain," Temoji Consulting founder Paul Tilstone said. "MRRS turns those buyer insights into a practical framework. It helps organizations see where they are today, where they may be underprepared, and what they can do to move from adoption to value capture."
Individual company results will remain confidential, according to Accelya. As participation grows, the company plans to use "anonymized and aggregated results to develop benchmark insights showing how corporate travel programs are progressing, where common gaps remain, and which capabilities are most closely linked to value capture."
At the same time, Accelya has introduced an AI-powered servicing capability tool, named SPRK Assist, that is built into SPRK, the company's NDC booking and servicing portal for travel sellers.
The tool is designed to assist agents service NDC booking-related requests faster and by combining AI with Accelya's airline-servicing experience, according to the company. SPRK Assist currently is in pilot activity with "a select group of travel sellers," one of which is BCD Travel, and is planned to be more widely available later in 2026.