Effectively aggregating and applying corporate travel data is key to reducing business travel and entertainment costs and streamlining travel management process, according to Aberdeen Group researchers who recently published a study on T&E technology. Such data, Aberdeen said, can help companies monitor travel program compliance, dissect spending versus budgets and better negotiate with suppliers, though the report suggested that use of data analytics tools is not as prevalent as it could be.
Aberdeen surveyed 435 primarily North America-based enterprises with an average annual T&E spend of $12 million. After analyzing the results and sorting responding companies into "best in class," "average" and "laggard" groupings, researchers concluded that 73 percent of "best in class" companies have a consolidated travel management program (compared with 50 percent of the entire survey base) and 84 percent use enterprise-wide T&E policies, procedures and tools. As Aberdeen saw it, best in class companies also achieve average overall travel program compliance of 89 percent, with an 85 percent average adoption of the preferred travel management company or online booking tool. Such firms also are "more than three times as likely" to use an expense management solution, as compared with those enterprises deemed as "laggards."
Aberdeen also examined usage of corporate card programs and other travel technology solutions. "Enterprises are looking largely to technology for not only efficiency, cost reduction and visibility, but also employee convenience and productivity," its study stated. Such technology can help managers better use corporate travel data, which is "key to monitoring compliance to policies which, in effect, drives negotiations and better deals with travel suppliers."
Fifty-four percent of survey respondents cited data as "essential" for tracking policy compliance, more than any other T&E related management activity listed. Other activities for which data was seen as essential included monitoring spending trends (52 percent) and auditing (48 percent). Only 19 percent said data is essential for improving their corporate travelers' experience.
To obtain corporate travel data, travel management professionals can use one or more sources. Fifty-one percent of survey respondents said their companies' expense management system is an "essential" source of T&E data, followed by corporate card programs (47 percent), travel management companies (39 percent), travel data reporting tools (37 percent) and online booking systems (34 percent). Data generated by expense reporting systems provides "arguably the most comprehensive and accurate actual data because it includes both expenses charged to the corporate card, as well as those paid for through other methods," according to the study. Aberdeen also suggested that integrating data from multiple tools "can add significant value. For example, integrating a corporate card feed with an expense management solution to pre-populate expenses."
The study characterized current usage of data reporting applications--45 percent of responding companies--as "surprisingly low," which "reflects the somewhat lagging nature of analytics in the corporate travel world. Enterprises are looking for more dynamic tools that enable the interpretation of complex data and metrics into simple (visual) messages, while also offering the capability to dig into a more detailed level of data."
Aberdeen offered various recommendations on travel data management to companies of all levels of sophistication. Laggards, it said, should deploy online booking and expense management solutions, create corporate card programs, consider reporting applications and then work to integrate the data extracted from each. "Average" companies should strive for higher compliance of such tools and programs, request more detailed data from corporate card providers and use that data for analysis and vendor negotiations. Even at best in class companies, Aberdeen said, "there is still room for improvement." For example, those enterprises should perform scenario analyses for strategic planning and use dashboards to create "consumable" intelligence that can allow executives to track spending versus budgets and monitor key performance metrics.
The May 2007 Aberdeen report was underwritten by Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Gelco Expense Management, MasterCard Worldwide, Spendvision.com and TRX.