Even before the economic meltdown, the roles, responsibilities and reporting structures for most managed travel buyers had shifted from just a few years prior.
Online booking adoption, supplier consolidation, globalization and the influence of procurement have helped to reshape the travel buyer's job. In the past 24 months, buyers were forced to slash travel expenditures, eliminate staff, relentlessly renegotiate with preferred suppliers as market conditions worsened, figure out how best to communicate options to travelers, adopt travel alternatives and manage travel demand.
But how rapidly have buyers embraced some of the latest innovations, and just what is their role today? Procurement.travelthis fall set out to answer these questions in a survey to complement our January 2009 " State Of The Practice" study. Beyond today, we wanted to learn more about the emerging demands likely to influence the role in coming years (see Emerging Areas, including sections on Mobile, Responsible, Socialand Virtual, and New Categories). Guided by 294 travel decision-makers who responded to the survey and supplemented by buyers, suppliers and consultants who shared their insights, "The Buyer" details travel management roles and responsibilities today and into the next decade.
We asked buyers about their reporting structures, number of direct reports, as well as their experience in travel, with suppliers and in their current positions. To capture a view of today's buyers, their responsibilities and their insights on how their roles might continue to evolve, we asked what they managed, who negotiated with suppliers (see Procurement Trends), technologies they relied upon (see Travel Technology), if they set policies, budgets and expense reduction tactics (see Travel Policy/Expense Reduction/ROI), with which aspects of meetings they were involved (see Meetings), if they managed payment and expense reimbursement (see Payment/Expense) and much more.
The picture that emerged is one of an experienced buyer, most likely in her position for more than a decade, perhaps after an industry start working as a supplier. Yes, the majority of travel buyer respondents (64 percent) were female. What also emerged is the skill set required to manage the complex job that is sourcer, negotiator, supply chain management expert, consultant, behavioral management and policy czar, data collector and analyst, communicator, technology whiz and multi-tasker to keep all the programs in check.
What They Managed
Travel buyers overwhelmingly managed travel, but also sourced or contracted travel suppliers, according to 81 percent of the respondents who listed those responsibilities more than setting travel policies, recommending business travel suppliers or planning/arranging travel for individuals.
Respondents were asked to identify the departments in which they worked as well as to which they reported. About one-third worked in procurement/purchasing/sourcing, 18 percent in dedicated travel departments, 16 percent in executive offices, 12 percent in finance, 4 percent each in administration and human resources, and 14 percent in other.
Within dedicated travel departments, 93 percent of respondents listed managing travel, followed by sourcing (91 percent), and planning/arranging travel for individuals (36 percent) among their primary responsibilities. Within procurement/purchasing/sourcing, 99 percent of respondents listed as top priorities sourcing or contracting of travel suppliers, followed by managing corporate travel and recommending travel suppliers.
A little more than one-quarter of respondents spent 100 percent of their time managing travel. For those who worked in dedicated travel departments, three of five worked full time on travel. Across all respondents, one-quarter said travel represented less than 20 percent of their responsibilities. The mean of all respondents was more than 55 percent of time spent managing travel.
What else did they manage? Facilities, operations, sustainability, risk management, indirect/infrastructure categories, foodservice or cafeterias, print, audiovisual, graphics, mail, event registration, contingent labor, promotional products, human resources, marketing and, according to one respondent, "everything related to purchasing to run the company."
Titles They Held
More than half of respondents held the titles of travel manager/director/supervisor/vice president or procurement/purchasing director/vice president. Respondents with titles of director/vice president of procurement/purchasing most often worked in the pharma sector, followed by manufacturing, or for a company with annual travel and entertainment spend of $60 million-plus or $30 million-$59.9 million. Respondents whose titles were travel manager/director/supervisor/vice president most often (87 percent) worked in dedicated travel departments or in finance (61 percent), versus procurement (28 percent) or executive offices (11 percent). One-quarter of the travel manager/director/supervisor/vice president contingency reported to procurement. About one-third of the directors/vice presidents of procurement/purchasing reported to procurement.
Prior Life As A Supplier
Nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said they had worked as travel suppliers. About one-third had experience working for a travel management company, 17 percent for an airline, 12 percent for a hotel company and 5 percent each for car rental firms and global distribution system providers. Sixty percent of respondents who worked in dedicated travel offices had prior experience at TMCs. More than half of buyers at companies with more than $60 million in annual T&E worked at TMCs and 27 percent of such buyers worked for airlines, 10 percent for hotel companies, 7 percent for car rental firms and 5 percent each for GDSs or other related categories. Buyers spent a mean of seven years as suppliers. One-quarter of such respondents spent more than 10 years at airlines.
Few Were Certified
Despite the preponderance of basic and advanced certification programs for travel and meetings professionals, 76 percent held no certifications. Of the 24 percent who earned such credentials, 8 percent held the National Business Travel Association's Certified Corporate Travel Executive designation, 7 percent held NBTA's Corporate Travel Expert certificate and 6 percent received the Institute of Supply Management's Certified Purchasing Manager certification. NBTA's advanced Global Leadership Program certification was cited by less than 4 percent of respondents, most often by those employed by high-tech companies with $5 million to $29.9 million in annual T&E. Of those who reported to executive offices, 90 percent held no industry certifications.
We did not enquire about job satisfaction, salaries or promotions. However, based on the longevity in current positions and in the industry in general, we presume that buyers enjoy the ever-changing complexity of their roles. We look forward to tracking the continued evolution of the role.