Company: Westinghouse Electric Co.
Headquarters: Monroeville, Pa.
2007 U.S. Booked Air Volume: $30 millionWestinghouse Electric Co.'s travel program has doubled in size in just two years, triggered by business growth and sparking a multinational agency consolidation, new technology implementations and the introduction of international traveler services.
In the two years since supplier relations manager for corporate travel Dan Cooper joined the Monroeville, Pa.-based nuclear services company, its U.S. booked air volume doubled to $30 million and he organized an agency consolidation with American Express Business Travel, which now handles most company transactions, except in Spain and some new markets.
In addition, Westinghouse transitioned to a new online booking tool, launched new travel supplier programs and reconfigured its agency service configuration to better serve the needs of 3,500 profiled travelers.
In May, Westinghouse implemented the American Express Intelligent Online Marketplace booking tool in the United States. The company has achieved nearly 80 percent online booking adoption without a mandate. That success has enabled Cooper to promote the ancillary booking services offered in the procurement platform.
Cooper noted a considerable increase in the use of such booking capabilities as off-airport parking, dining reservations and ground transportation services.
"People have embraced the idea of the nontraditional concierge services, and we're hoping to parlay that adoption rate and awareness to people even further," said Cooper.
This month, Westinghouse took Axiom's capabilities even further with the internal launch of the American Express Anywhere mobile application. Cooper attributed some of the new technology traction to the "huge influx of young employees," a trend Cooper takes into consideration when developing policy changes and technology implementations.
Part of Westinghouse's efforts to enhance international traveler services include last year's launch of Intranet discussion forums for China travelers. Westinghouse's human resources, IT and travel teams collaborate on administration of these sites, which include such information as directions, local customs and business practices, and serve as a communications vehicle for company policy and procedures
(BTNonline, Feb. 25, 2008).Westinghouse currently manages many long-term power plant builds and service engagements abroad, requiring more oversight over those travel arrangements to keep project costs within budgets. An onsite agent at headquarters handles reservations and fulfillment for such group reservations, which often include non-Westinghouse contract employees without profiles. Other U.S. reservations and European points-of-sale are handled in call centers.
This year, Cooper plans to deploy Amex's Pre-Trip Auditor tool for international travel, beginning with U.S. outbound travelers to China, to increase compliance. "We don't want to get into a situation where there are bottlenecks," he said. "We aren't trying to reduce trips companywide. We just want our travelers to make smarter decisions when they are flying over to China. We want to keep it dynamic where we can turn it up or turn it down based on the project needs."
Energy demand has Westinghouse acquiring companies and traveling to new markets. Transactions increased 40 percent last year, according to Cooper, and Westinghouse is rolling out in the next several months a travel risk management program with IJet Intelligent Risk Systems.
Although Cooper admits "it's a challenge to keep up," he plans to leverage the increased expenditure to develop new supplier programs, including a pan-European air agreement.