McCord Turns System Integrator With VIN.net, BTS
<FONT SIZE="+3"><B>McCord Turns Systems Integrator With VIN.net, BTS</B>
<I>Chicago </I>- McCord Travel Management has become a minority investment partner in Value Integrated Network through a non-exclusive agreement that will bring the tech developer's automated travel expense management systems to the agency and its clients, and cast McCord in the roles of beta-site and product-enhancement developer.
Following the announcement of a similar pact with Sabre's Business Travel Solutions in August, the move underscores the super-regional agency's intent to play systems integrator.
McCord will offer the VIN.net expense reporting product to its clients as either an individual applications piece or as part of the Sabre end-to-end solution, and also will incorporate the system into its own operations. VIN.net's system is one of seven that Sabre is suggesting as an expense reporting module for BTS, which is expected to be completely rolled out by year's end.
McCord president Bruce Black said he expected the system to drive significant savings over manual and paper processing systems.
"Industry data on per-process costs for T&E expense reports ranges from $18 to $50," said Black. "The VIN.net pricing to our customers is somewhere in the range of $2.50 per transaction per finished report. The cost differential is clearly huge."
VIN.net offers the stand-alone product in both licensed and service bureau configurations. By using a service bureau application, where VIN.net takes on all of the administration, upgrading and centralizing of the corporate database, up-front costs remain low, Black said. "The return on investment is immediate because the start-up costs are generally under $10,000, and it's a pay-per-use program," Black said.
<B>Huge Savings Seen</B>
Pamela Furey, vice president and COO of Barrington, Ill.-based VIN.net, claimed that on average the year-old product has saved corporations between 75 percent and 85 percent of their overhead costs.
"If you look at a company that has about 500 employees and does 34 reports per employee per year, that's 17,000 reports," she said. "Multiply that by the industry low of $18 per report process, and that company is spending $310,000 a year. With us they would spend $42,000."
Savings come out of shorter processing cycles, tighter controls and data capture, and enhanced cash flow. Card data capture already is running with American Express and GE MasterCard, and discussions are under way with First Bank Visa and Citicorp Diners Club.
Furey said the agency is helping develop product enhancements to the system and funding refinements that will be provided to McCord's clients. McCord will serve as a beta site for select enhancements "where appropriate," said Black.
One of the enhancements already completed allows for the nationwide electronic rollout of the product; the T&E software can be downloaded via modem to clients. "Integrating software on the desktops or laptops of every traveler is a huge administrative cost for a company, and it's one of the things that delays implementation of process improvement programs," Black said. "Electronic transfer or rollout removes a lot of the administrative burden from the clients."
In addition, McCord and VIN.net are working to launch an Internet-based version of the tech company's T&E management system by the end of this year. It is expected to incorporate report submission, management review and corporate administration functions.
According to McCord communications manager Tom Stack, until BTS rolls out it would be difficult to predict how many clients would sign on for both the BTS and VIN.net products. A spokesperson for Sabre BTS noted its launch partner might have a better scope beginning this month, after implementation begins on its travel planner and policy manager piece of the end-to-end solution.
Art Clausen, the company's vice president of strategic alliances, said 12 McCord clients, including some "very large corporations," have made inquiries about the VIN.net system.
-Stefani C.