10.1.2003 72% of Corporations want Improved Travel Information Reporting Source: Runzheimer Survey Findings 2

78% of Corporations Rate Accuracy of Travel Reports 10.1.2003 72% of Corporations Want Improved Travel Information Reporting 78% of Corporations Rate Accuracy of Travel Reports 72% of Corporations Want Improved Travel Information Reporting as an Important or Very Important Factor in Choosing a Travel Agency 3

72% of Corporations Want Improved Travel Information Reporting 10.1.2003 72% of Corporations Want Improved Travel Information Reporting 60% of Corporations are Dissatisfied with the Accuracy of Current Management Reporting Source: Runzheimer Survey Findings

10.1.2003 45% of Corporations Cite the Need for Better Reports as their Primary Reason for Switching Travel Agencies Recently a mid-sized travel management company brought on a new Director.

It’s Not About the Reports! 10.1.2003 Contrary to what you just heard, it’s not about the reports

Data Consolidation “All our data in one place” 10.1.2003 Data Consolidation “All our data in one place” “All our data in the same format” “All our data easily accessible” “All our data in real time”

That’s Not The Issue Either 10.1.2003 That’s Not The Issue Either If that’s what it’s not, than what is it? Why do people keep talking about reports and data consolidation? Well, I believe the answer lies in one of the more pronounced recent industry trends and that’s the increasing influence of finance and procurement in the once mysterious world of travel. Moving from the realm of a “soft” discipline like HR to a hard discipline like Finance has forced corporate travel managers to get acquainted with the financial implications of what they’re overseeing and the only way they know how to express it is by asking for reports. They may not know exactly what they’re asking for but they can sure tell you when it’s not right.  

Stewardship & Accountability 10.1.2003 Stewardship & Accountability As I’ve spent time diagnosing these issues with corporate travel managers and finance and procurement execs what I’ve ultimately concluded is that it’s not about report, what it’s about is stewardship and accountability. After all, finance and procurement are guardians of the corporate purse.

Legal Operational Regulatory Reporting 10.1.2003 Legal Operational Regulatory Reporting For legal (SOX), operational, Regulatory (investor scrutiny) and reporting reasons corporate travel managers need a solid grasp on where and how corporate funds are spent and whether or not they are being spent responsibly.

10.1.2003 Key Obstacles That said, corporate travel managers are in a bit of a bind because there are a few substantial obstacles in the way of good stewardship and accountability Insufficient immediate direct access to complete and accurate travel information

Difficulty interpreting travel information in a procurement context 10.1.2003 Key Obstacles Difficulty interpreting travel information in a procurement context

10.1.2003 Key Obstacles Inability to disseminate this information to the people and systems that need it to perform their functions

Current Business Realities 10.1.2003 Current Business Realities Multiple suppliers and intermediaries Travel is purchased inside and outside of the established managed supply chain Significant amount of spend buried in card purchases Filtration affect These obstacles are rooted in the very messy way business travel happens today. There are lots of reasons for the messiness so I’ll share a few common themes from my many conversations. So, all this said, there’s a tension at play in these realities – in the stuff you deal with every day – and in the objective of stewardship and accountability. Given that the influence of procurement is not going to go away, what’s developing are two competing visions of the future.

Competing Visions of the Future: 10.1.2003 Competing Visions of the Future: Data Independence Travel Agencies That Get It What exactly do we mean by the agency that gets it? What I mean by getting it is understanding the fact that reporting isn’t about just putting numbers on paper; it’s about delivering information that drives strategic and tactical outcomes that enable corporate travel managers to be good stewards of the resources they oversee.   So, that brings us back to the idea of creating winning reports. What’s important is that, whatever reports are produced, you need to begin with the end in mind – that end being the outcomes, both strategic and tactical. That said let me share a few thoughts on the outcomes I hear corporations saying they need from their agency

Desired Tactical Outcomes 10.1.2003 Desired Tactical Outcomes Clean data Standard reports available on-time Flexibility to do ad-hoc reporting Interactive dashboards Data movement between systems

Desired Tactical Outcomes 10.1.2003 Desired Tactical Outcomes Breakdowns by corporate structure Unused ticket management Reporting on key initiatives (e.g. online adoption, etc) Hotel reporting capabilities

Desired Outcomes Strategic 10.1.2003 Desired Outcomes Strategic Consolidated spend information Increased leverage with suppliers Maximize financial benefits of contracts Ability to enrich data – card, supplier direct, etc.

The Outcome You Should Be Worried About 10.1.2003 The Outcome You Should Be Worried About My challenge to you is to take a look at what you’re providing today and engage your customer in a discussion on what they need to be good stewards of their corporations resources. The list we went through might be a good basis for that conversation. If you do that, you just might avoid the need for the last outcome I frequently hear: The ability to switch TMC’s without losing accumulated historical data