T&E MANAGEMENT: DRIVING SAVINGS THROUGH BETTER TECHNOLOGY

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Joan Rose
6 years ago
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1 T&E MANAGEMENT: DRIVING SAVINGS THROUGH BETTER TECHNOLOGY

2 Introduction As travel and expense (T&E) management solutions have improved, the expectations of the end user are higher than ever before. Business travellers want a seamless experience and you want better visibility, increased compliance, and reduced spend. The research Aberdeen conducted research into T&E best practices by surveying 85 T&E decision makers from a variety of industries. Are you a Leader or a Follower? Our research identified two types of people Leaders and Followers. Leaders have most of their spending under management, have increased compliance to company policies and approve expense reports more quickly. Followers are lagging behind. Table 1: Leaders vs. Followers Performance Matrix Percentage of business travel spending 71% 39% Leaders Followers under management Percentage rate of compliance to corporate T&E policies 84% 55% Number of days it takes for an expense report to be approved for reimbursement Where do companies focus first? In this ebook, we will examine how Leaders leverage their T&E solution to meet business objectives while keeping travellers happy. While this is no easy task, finding a balance can benefit the entire company. 2

3 Improving T&E Management Visibility, compliance, cost reduction, and automation all top the list of pressures that companies are facing with T&E management. Leaders who embrace new T&E technology are 54% more likely to have spend visibility across the organisation compared to Followers. Visibility eliminates doubt, unwelcome surprises and improves cash flow accuracy. Figure 1: Management Performance Visibility into aggregate T&E spend across the enterprise 49% 75% Ability to track and monitor compliance against corporate travel policies 40% 74% End-to-end reporting and total trip cost visibility 50% 63% Real-time views of travel spend against corporate budgets 20% 47% Leveraging travel / expense intelligence in supplier negotiations 20% 42% Leaders Followers Leaders are 84% more likely to track and monitor compliance. Non-compliant behaviour is more readily identified for correction as a result. End-to-end reporting and cost visibility allows businesses to reveal patterns in employee behaviour. They can then identify common issues to correct and improve their T&E process or policy. Depending on available budget, businesses can also approve or delay trips as necessary. Better still, Leaders can leverage actual travel and expense data in supplier negotiations. Leaders are twice as likely to have this ability in place compared to Followers. Leaders are 110% more likely to leverage T&E data in supplier negotiations 3

4 Maturity Matrix Leaders have 71% of their spend under management, whereas Followers only have 39% under management. The 84% rate of compliance for Leaders is also an indicator of policy enforcement and employee adoption of the T&E solution. Lastly, Leaders approve expense reports more quickly making life easier for the business travellers. Three days versus two business weeks is a significant difference for reimbursement. Table 2 provides key additional KPIs that show superior performance for Leaders in a number of areas. Table 2: KPI Matrix Expenses executed within budget 75% 50% 50% greater Leaders Followers Difference Percentage of your company s overall annual budget that is attributed to travel or T&E expenses 6.5% 8.1% 20% less Annual savings realised 14.8% 6.8% 114% greater Table 2 shows that Leaders are twice as likely to have expenses within budget and have 20% less travel spend overall. By adopting T&E technology, Leaders achieve annual savings of 14.8% compared to Followers at just 6.8%. Leaders have 250%+ ROI reported Leaders see 84% compliance to corporate T&E policies 4

5 Reducing Complexity The key to increased cost savings and compliance is the simplification of processes. Having a connected T&E platform eliminates muddled data and provides one version of the truth for reporting. Leaders are 84% more likely to have an end-to-end solution in place and operate on a connected platform that is easy to use for complete spend visibility. Figure 2 below shows how Leaders have simplified their internal processes and are reaping the benefits of a connected T&E system. Figure 2: Streamlining the Process 76% 55% 51% 47% Leader Follower 29% 30% 38% 32% Ease-of-use via fully-connected platform (payment travel, & expense management) End-to-end T&E expense management solution Linkage between travel-booking processes & expense management processes Ability to create / enter expenses via mobile app (smartphone or tablet) n = 85 Linking travel booking and expense management tools makes reporting easier - Leaders are 37% more likely to have this in place. To increase adoption, give business travellers mobile functionality so they can manage T&E on the move. This will improve employee productivity while giving the business earlier spend visibility. Leaders are 76% more likely to use an end-to-end T&E solution 5

6 The User Experience The easier you make it for business travellers to book compliant options and submit expenses, the sooner you will have access to actionable and reliable T&E data. Figure 3 outlines how Leaders are simplifing the traveller s experience through technology. Figure 3: Simplifying the Traveller Experience 100% Leader 69% 78% 56% 78% 56% Follower 42% 33% Photograph / digitally attach receipts Submit expense reports for approval Mobile approval of expenses Ability to book flights, transportation, or rentals via mobile device n = 85 The ability to approve expenses on mobile devices is one of the reasons Leaders can move expense reports from submission to reimbursement in 3.2 days. Another huge timesaver comes with the ability to book accommodation and transport on mobile devices. This puts a consumer feel back into a corporate process, increasing adoption and compliance. 78% of Leaders can review and approve expenses on mobile devices 100% of Leaders photograph or digitally attach receipts to their expense claims 6

7 Summary T&E solutions need to drive measurable improvements to the bottom line. With the right tools, anyone can become a T&E leader with increased visibility, compliance, and cost savings. An integrated, end-to-end T&E solution, which eliminates disparate systems, offers significant benefits for businesses and their travellers. Aberdeen recommends following the Leaders in their adoption of T&E technologies The Aberdeen Group Created by Aberdeen Group. Brought to you by Concur. 7

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