Editors Name Ericsson's Ringdahl Business Travel News International Travel Manager Of The Year
Munich - BTN last week announced as its International Travel Manager of the Year a veteran who has sailed her travel program through the choppy waters of 2002 with calm, authority and intelligence. The Association of Corporate Travel Executives global conference here provided the forum to honor Ericsson director of corporate travel management Brigitte Ringdahl not only for achievements within her own company, but also as a symbol of the spirit of buyers who have battled corporate economic adversity.
When the ill winds of downturn blew early in 2001, Stockholm-based Ericsson was among the first to feel the chill as a leading player in the mobile telecommunications sector. Ericsson, after a half-decade of unprecedented growth, rapidly switched its focus from sales expansion to tackling its cost base, aiming to find $3.2 billion in savings in the past two years.
The problem for Ringdahl was that she already ran a tight ship. Air travel was in economy class and supplier deals were strong, buoyed by excellent levels of compliance with preferred supplier policy. Ringdahl's achievement since then has been to dig even deeper and find new ways of saving money on travel. Her strategy fell into two parts. One was cost-avoidance by reducing the number of trips taken by employees, mainly by moving a huge chunk of internal travel to virtual conferencing. The number of air miles flown by Ericsson travelers accordingly has tumbled by more than 40 percent in the past two years.
For those who continued to fly, Ringdahl and her travel team—who, she said, should take an equal share of the credit for the award—looked again at their negotiated deals and decided they could do even better. A big push toward upfront net fares was accompanied by a strategic decision to sign at least two airlines for each key city pair, a move intended to introduce competition among suppliers. The company's record for policy compliance—85 percent for air, 90 percent for car rental—kept suppliers confident that Ericsson would continue to deliver substantial business.
Another significant but frequently overlooked money-saver was a campaign to slash taxi costs. Ericsson persuaded travelers to take public transport instead, especially on airport transfers in such cities as Stockholm and Dublin.
As a result of these and other initiatives, Ericsson has slashed its travel budget significantly. It is reluctant to divulge precise figures, but from having been probably the largest spender on travel in Scandinavia in 2000, it is now thought to be around number five in the region.
Ringdahl's award from BTN comes one month before she attends a dinner to mark 20 years of service with Ericsson. Originally, she joined one of its largest subsidiaries, Ericsson Radio Systems, as an executive assistant, moving on to assume travel as one of her responsibilities as manager of general services in 1990. She soon realized that there was a need for greater focus on travel within the organization and it was perhaps her experience in sales earlier in her career that helped her convince her employers to give her the position of travel manager full time. "Ericsson was expanding and once I started to work on travel, I realized just how much there was to be done," she said. "The company saw what potential there was through my presentations."
Ringdahl assumed travel full time in 1994, moving on to become travel manager for all of Ericsson Sweden in 1997 and the company's entire world operation in 2001. Her original role was more geared toward service and supplier negotiations. Today, she leaves most of that work to her team, involving herself only in the largest vendor deals. Instead, she concentrates on strategic issues, such as bringing more regions into the travel program, although 40 percent of the spending still originates in Sweden. One of her top priorities in recent months has been joining up the North American and European programs. She also is poised to appoint a travel manager for the Asia/Pacific region.
Next on the list for Ringdahl is the launch of a major travel review in collaboration with Ericsson's finance and sourcing departments. "We want to assess our processes and tools to build a long-term strategy," she said. "We want to look at travel as a total process, from planning to expense reconciliation, and we want to avoid each country investing in this separately." The most likely result of the review will be a comprehensive e-procurement strategy with a consistent plan for such options as online booking, something Ericsson largely has used for hotel reservations only.
With a decade of experience in travel management behind her, Ringdahl has concluded there are three key prerequisites to creating a successful international program. The first is securing local buy-in. "If you make a decision and don't have local support, either you won't succeed or it will be too time-consuming," she said. Next is sensitivity to cultural differences. Finally, she added, "It is important to strike a balance between savings and the needs of your road warriors. We don't always go for the cheapest deals." That is an important reminder for all travel managers at this time of relentless focus on cost-containment.