The Challenge
The client was faced with increasing travel expenses, fragmented booking processes, and limited visibility of their overall travel programme. Despite having a travel policy in place, compliance was inconsistent, leading to frequent last-minute bookings which resulted in increased travel costs. Additionally, the company lacked the necessary expertise to analyse their travel data effectively, making it difficult to identify opportunities for improvement and cost reduction.
The Solution
EFR Corporate Travel conducted a comprehensive audit of the client’s existing travel programme. This included reviewing the existing travel policy, analysing booking and travel patterns, a thorough review of supplier contracts, and assessing travel policy compliance. EFR Corporate Travel identified several areas of concern, including an outdated travel policy, poor or no supplier contracted rates, lack of compliance to a travel policy, limited planning during the booking process.
Findings
Based on the findings, EFR Corporate Travel implemented a multi-pronged approach to address and rectify the identified areas of concern. This approach included: the release of an updated travel policy document, targeted supplier negotiations and the introduction of advanced technology solutions to support compliance. Finally, a detailed communication plan was developed to ensure that travellers and bookers had a clear understanding of the travel policy and procedures to apply when arranging travel.
Supplier Negotiations
EFR Corporate Travel applied its industry expertise and leveraged its strong relationships with airlines, hotels, and car rental companies to negotiate more favourable rates for the client. By consolidating travel bookings with preferred suppliers and negotiating volume discounts, EFR Corporate Travel was able to secure rates that were significantly lower than those the client had previously accessed. These negotiations alone resulted in substantial cost savings, particularly on frequently travelled routes and with preferred accommodation partners.
Technology Integration
To further enhance efficiency and control, EFR Corporate Travel implemented an integrated travel management platform tailored to the client's objectives. This platform provided a centralised system for booking, tracking, and managing all aspects of corporate travel. With automated policy compliance features, the platform ensured that all bookings adhered to the client's travel policy. Additionally, with real-time expense tracking and the platform’s data analytics tools the client gained valuable insights into their travel programme, identifying trends, non-compliance to policy and inefficiencies that could be addressed to drive further savings.
The Results
Within the first year of partnering with EFR Corporate Travel, the client achieved a direct cost saving of over 20%. The updated travel policy, and negotiated supplier rates, combined with the efficiencies gained from deployments of the new technology platform, resulted in a significant reduction in overall travel expenses. Moreover, the improved visibility into travel data enabled the client to refine their travel policy and make better-informed decisions, leading to sustainable gains.
Conclusion
By appointing EFR Corporate Travel, the client not only reduced their travel costs by over 20% they also gained a more streamlined, compliant, efficient and effective travel programme. This case demonstrates the tangible benefits of partnering with EFR Corporate Travel who offer both proven industry expertise and cutting-edge technology solutions.
