Optimise travel and expense management

THE RIGHT TIMING: WHEN TO OPTIMISE TRAVEL AND EXPENSE MANAGEMENT?

We are still struggling with pandemic constraints - is now the right time to look at travel and expense management? Now is a good time, not only because we cannot wait to travel any longer: Once business travel is in demand again, there will be a much higher demand for up-to-date information among your employees than before the pandemic. Another reason to think about it: More transparency in travel and expense management will make it easier to cut costs.

It will take some time for travel to be as carefree as we knew it before the pandemic.

When we travel for business again, we will probably want to be more prudent and have a higher need for information and security. We want to be able to react to travel changes, and we want to be flexible.

How can we use SAP Concur to provide our employees with more information and guidance? Support during travel preparation and, of course, during the trip is vital. Viewing safety ratings, flight delays, or maintaining direct contact with staff while on the road are understandable requests.
Uncertainties can relate, for example, to the hygiene and safety measures of airlines, car rental companies or hotels. Confidence in travel is enhanced by having this information available - if you as a company ensure that this information is easily accessible in one place, in an app, you simultaneously strengthen confidence in the company's management.

Securely managed travel planning has a very positive impact on employees' willingness to travel. If you provide clear guidelines and understandably communicate them and provide insurance in case of illness, you let your employees travelling on business take control and make travelling "easy".

Communicate clearly and understandably.

A travel booking system for your employees that is uniform and consistent is ideal for communicating your policies clearly and understandably. Imagine using the same technology to approve or book travel, having a single TMC (Traffic Message Channel), and being able to update your employees at any time via an app.

Crucial and fundamental to your business management is also the option to save costs: With an app for your employees, you can pre-select offers and options. Travelling employees have the choice, of course - and you can suggest alternatives, highlight and specify important and unimportant details.

A holistic approach simplifies the process and is less prone to error.

With SAP Concur, organizations meet compliance guidelines and manage all information and receipts transparently: the entire process is unified. This allows travelers to view policies, request, and book travel, manage bookings, and get support and assistance when changes occur - all in one app.

Final note: My focus on Travel and Expense Management is on quick implementation and high user-friendliness. What is important for me is more agility in terms of regional and global policies and, of course, your financial goals.

In the next article, I will write about making expense management more manageable and more consistent with SAP Concur: Errors and delays can be reduced to a great extent through automation.

Written by:
Martin Pedersen






Further information on travel and expense management can be found here: