Producing savings and plans for cost avoidance is just one of the key ways in which a TMC can provide its clients with value but, in the eyes of the travel buyer, it’s certainly one of the most significant. No matter where a stakeholder finds themselves in the decision-making process, there’s always a route back to the bottom line, back to the overall cost of corporate travel and back to how this is going to be reduced.
So, how do TMC’s create these savings for their clients?
Travel trends
A TMC will analyse your organisation’s travel data to identify travel trends which will then be used to enable more strategic purchasing. For example, if travellers frequently stay at a certain hotel or book a particular route, a TMC will use this frequency in their negotiations with suppliers to secure lower corporate rates. Identifying travel trends can also highlight patterns in out-of-policy behaviour, as well as showing how self-booking processes can be improved – all contributing to reductions in spend.
Benchmarking
Although benchmarking exercises don’t provide a definitive picture of what your organisation should be paying for its travel, they do act as a useful guide to where savings can be achieved, as well as bolstering the supplier negotiation process.
Negotiations
Using their experience and industry relationships, combined with their knowledge of your organisation’s corporate travel needs, a TMC will negotiate with travel suppliers on your behalf to secure competitive rates. They will be wellversed in how best to do this depending on supplier and circumstance – for example, they might combine travel spend across your office to make for a more compelling negotiation.
Creative ticketing and technology
TMCs can often reduce the price of a journey, especially when it comes to more complex trips, by deploying creative ticketing techniques. A good TMC will also develop technologies to help pass the best fares and biggest savings on to you.
By analysing travel trends, benchmarking, negotiating with suppliers, and leveraging creative ticketing methods and technology, TMCs make a substantial impact on reducing travel-related expenses. Ultimately, the tangible savings generated by a TMC enhance the financial performance of the organization and underline the significance of their role in the corporate travel ecosystem.
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