WHEN it comes to saving money, as consumers we are constantly advised to shop around, use multiple suppliers, don’t put all our eggs in one basket - and in many cases this is sound advice. However, when it comes to corporate travel it is far more advantageous to work with just one Travel Management Company (TMC) - in fact using multiple channels might actually be costing you more money!
Here are just some of the ways consolidating your business travel can save your company time and money:
One - Duty of care & emergency situations
When the unforeseen happens it is essential you are able to react immediately and effectively. In the event of an emergency you need to know exactly where your people are, and who is affected. If you are working with multiple suppliers this is going to prove challenging. These situations are stressful enough, but by channelling all of your travel through just one TMC a single call is all it takes to get an accurate and up to date report on all involved. You will also have a single point of contact to make all of the necessary arrangements to get your people home quickly and safely.
Two - Value & cost saving Initiatives
When it comes to buying power the more you spend the more power you have. If you are booking through multiple suppliers that spend is being diluted and therefore your buying power decreases. By consolidating your spend through a single travel management company they may be able to negotiate exclusive deals on your behalf. Your buying power combined with theirs could unlock preferential rates that would never ordinarily be available to you. By shopping around to save a little bit here, and a little bit there, you might be missing out on those deals – resulting in a massive annual overspend.
Three - Maintaining an effective travel policy
If you have multiple bookers using more than one channel, managing your corporate travel policy will prove difficult. To maximise cost saving opportunities regular amendments and improvements need to be made to your existing travel policy. These changes need to be communicated to ALL of the travel companies you work with and pretty much simultaneously to avoid situations where some transactions are compliant and others aren’t. By using a single TMC you will only need to send out one update—a good travel management company will be able to implement the changes immediately, or within 24hs.
Four - Reports and accounting
The three points above should already go some way to expelling the myth that using multiple suppliers can save you time or money. The only way to know for sure would be to take a look at your overall travel costs, but that won’t be easy if you are using multiple booking agents. Not unless you have the time to spend collating lots of invoices and receipts from various sources. By working with a single TMC you will have one accurate report detailing every transaction, outlining your total travel spend to the nearest penny, saving your accounts team valuable time, resources and numerous headaches!
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