New Travel Manager Gets Perrier Program Flowing

<H1> New Travel Manager Gets Perrier Program Flowing</H1>By Cheryl Rosen

<I>Greenwich, Conn. </I>- In just three months on the job, Perrier Group of America's first-ever travel manager, Kathleen Frey, already has things, well, bubbling.

Under her belt are the implementation of the company's first-ever consolidation, from 21 agencies to Carlson Wagonlit; a new systemwide discount from American Airlines; and the first companywide corporate card program. In the pipeline are a hotel program and two technology initiatives: an internally built system that will download Visa charges directly into the general ledger, and a beta test of Carlson's SoloAct automated booking system, scheduled for a full rollout in the first quarter of 1997.

Overall, a sizable body of accomplished missions-especially given the fact that this is Frey's first position as a travel manager. But she is not altogether new to travel; she came to the position from Carlson Wagonlit, where she was the account executive who worked on-and eventually won-the Perrier bid.

Frey said her work on the Perrier account and the rapport she had developed with Perrier decision makers certainly helped her get off to a running start. After nine months of regular meetings with the Perrier executive team, "I knew so much about the company I felt like I worked for them already," she said-although she did not express interest in the new travel management position until after the contract with Carlson was formally signed.

Motivation also came from the extra incentive of a bonus for meeting four specific performance objectives: the travel agency and corporate card consolidations, the hotel program and the automated booking system.

Perrier, which is owned by Swiss chocolatier Nestle, never had its own travel program. But about 18 months ago, a new CFO, Richard Croarkin, arrived from Pepsi, which had consolidated its $200 million travel and corporate card accounts. "He felt that Perrier was behind in managing its travel," Frey said. Four vice presidents and Croarkin formed an executive committee to look at the T&E process.

Frey began rolling out the consolidation on July 1; by Aug. 5, "everyone was aboard," she said.

The Carlson contract includes a flat transaction fee and a systemwide point-of-sale discount tiered to the firm's market share with American Airlines, she said.

One reason the company signed with Carlson Wagonlit is that it is partnered with American Airlines, while Rosenbluth, the other bidding finalist, is partnered with United, Frey said. "Perrier decided to go with American based on its city pairs," she said.

Acknowledging that the vendors were interested both in Perrier's $6 million air-volume account and in getting "a foot in the door" to Nestle's $25-to-$30-million volume, Frey said both the agency and the airline offered "aggressive bids."

The second item on Frey's agenda, the card program, will launch at headquarters on Oct. 1 and companywide in January. The pilot program involves a central pay system to First Bank Visa, accompanied by monthly statements that function as travelers' expense reports. The system will break down Visa charges by SIC codes into air, hotel, meals and entertainment, car and "other" categories, and "drop them into the right buckets on the expense report," Frey said.

The Visa contract, piggybacked on an existing contract with Nestle USA, offers a rebate based on a percentage of total charges.

With an internal team of Perrier's IS and A/P staffers at work on the expense reporting system, Frey has turned her attention to the hotel program. She is collecting usage data from Perrier's offices around the country, and "taking advantage of local deals and then contacting the properties and improving on them."

Filling out the rest of 1996, Frey plans to use Perrier's IS department to pilot Carlson's SoloAct booking system.