The world of business travel is evolving at a rapid clip, as more and more enterprises experience higher travel budgets, more complex processes within the expense management framework, and new, myriad booking options for business travelers. As organizations begin to think more strategically about this complex spend category, it becomes imperative to drive superior visibility into the finances attached to business travel no matter the frequency or booking source.
Prior travel / expense-related content here at CPO Rising revolved around both the capabilities and the technologies that were helping enterprises better manage this category of spend. Today’s article takes the 20,000-foot view of the space and asks: what are the three goals that every travel and expense management program must achieve?
The following goals and objectives should be top-of-mind for any procurement or finance executive that is looking to gain visibility into this area of spend, eliminate menial processes, and drive more efficiencies around travel and expense management:
- Linked capabilities that can capture all booking options. The concept of “open booking” is often perceived as scary…but it’s becoming an accepted component of the business travel world. Options such as Airbnb and Uber will always fall outside of preferred supplier programs, yet they remain cost-effective booking tools, albeit in a non-traditional platform. Contemporary travel and expense management programs must include linked capabilities (analytics, spend management, etc.) that can accurately capture all booking options, even non-traditional sites and mobile applications. This goal has a direct link to achieving total business travel visibility.
- Pure alignment between the travel / expense management program and both procurement and finance objectives. Travel and expense management often sits somewhere in the finance world, with only some cross-functional touches to the procurement unit. It is critical in today’s business environment that this category is not only viewed as strategic, but stays clear of simple, back-office goals. Cost savings, compliance, and cash management ramifications are all real objectives for those travel and expense management programs seeking to add value to the greater enterprise.
- Seamless, repeatable processes that result in “straight-through” expense-processing and the ultimate elimination of manual intervention. Taking a cue from the accounts payable world, the more seamless that expense-processing capabilities are, the greater the efficiencies and cost reductions. All enterprises should seek a “straight-through” process that entails full automation from expense creation, submission, approval workflow, reimbursement scheduling, and reimbursement. These repeatable processes will ensure that expenses are centralized, managed in a near-error-free fashion, and avoid manual intervention. The notion of “straight-through” expense-processing also helps to provide real-time access to valuable travel and expense-related spend data, assisting financial management executives gain a clearer picture of the greater organization’s total cash flow.
The contemporary travel and expense management program must achieve more than sticking to a predetermined budget. Compliance risks, processing gaps and total spend capture are all aspects that can plague the typical enterprise. Those companies that can effectively develop travel and expense management processes that drive strategic value from this classic function will find that this complex spend arena isn’t just an unfortunate cost of conducting business…it’s a value-added program.
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