Overview

The client, one of the UK’s largest retailers, spends approximately £23m on travel annually and is serviced by CTM in 10 countries.

CTM completes over 156,000 transactions a year, with more than 100,000 delivered in the UK.

Objectives

The main objective was to conduct an intensive review of the client’s current travel programme and identify opportunities for savings without compromising on employee satisfaction.

The key objectives were to:

• Review and identify savings opportunities across the travel programme
• Improve booking efficiency and accuracy by increasing the use of online booking
• Achieve greater employee satisfaction when booking travel

Challenges

Being such a large account, the challenge lay in collecting and consolidating the travel data across all regions in a timely and efficient manner. During this time, the client also introduced a new financial system that impacted every reservation completed, and every profile CTM held.

CTM had to work closely with the Change Management team to ensure its success.

Solutions

User-friendly Online Booking Solution: CTM provided its proprietary solution, Lightning, integrated with Trainline and Conferma for a complete end-to-end booking solution.

Unique Account Management Model: A dedicated account manager, hotel account manager and an executive assistant were implemented to manage all aspects of the global travel programme including general account management, reporting, hotel programme, reviews, consultancy, supplier negotiations, savings and improvement initiatives.

Agent Team: A dedicated team of 9 UK consultants service over 9,600 travellers for all air, hotel, car, rail and ancillary services. There is also a dedicated VIP agent and 24-hour service team.

Event Management: CTM’s in-house event management division, ETM, deliver over £3m of venue sourcing and group services annually and work in partnership with the transient travel teams to maximise on economies of scale and efficiencies.

Results

The client achieved over £760,000 savings after the first year through increased online adoption, venue sourcing and groups negotiations, hotel RFP, air savings, waivers and favours amongst others.

CTM also identified saving opportunities on a key international route, delivering £630,000 with a single change in Travel Policy. Working with the client to achieve greater savings, there were cost avoidance opportunities of £677,000.

Achieved 87% traveller happiness in our latest customer thermometer survey

Over 79,000 transactions made online annually, an adoption level of 67%

Compliance increased from 68% to 78% and from 83% to 95% for hotel rate caps