Overview

Wesfarmers is one of Australia’s largest ASX-listed companies with 11 operating divisions including: department stores; home improvement and office supplies; coal mining; chemicals, energy and fertilisers; and industrial and safety products.

The company employs more than 300 travel bookers to manage the travel requirements of 5000+ travellers.

Objectives

On being appointed to the role of travel management company for Wesfarmers, CTM’s implementation objectives were to:

• Achieve a smooth and efficient transition from the incumbent travel management company (TMC) to CTM within three months.
• Establish a dedicated service model for each division.
• Perform face-to-face training with all 300 travel bookers to ensure complete confidence in the transition to CTM.

Challenges

The size and diversity of the Wesfarmers group of businesses posed a number of logistical and operational challenges which would need to be overcome in order to achieve a smooth and effective transition to CTM.

These included:

• The terms of transition (including timeframe) being stipulated by contractual arrangements with the incumbent TMC.
• The scale and diversity of the business being split across 11 divisions, each operating on different systems and with different travel policies.
• The client’s geographical spread across five states, requiring regionalised training programmes.

Solutions

CTM appointed a dedicated project team with expertise in large-scale implementation projects to manage the process from start to finish. These expert resources enabled a smooth and efficient transition by:

• Establishing an implementation timeframe and setting periodic milestones throughout the three month transition period to maintain momentum and recognise attainable goals.
• Holding implementation meetings with each division to establish their unique business needs, operational goals and objectives, and establishing a communication plan for all stakeholders.
• conducting a four week national training ‘road show’, including face-to-face training with all 300 travel bookers to ensure maximum knowledge and confidence in CTM systems and processes while providing an opportunity for staff engagement and team building.

Results

CTM successfully established and implemented a range of tailored travel policies across the group’s multi-faceted businesses, utilising CTM systems and best practice procedures.

Full implementation completed within 3 months

Travel policies tailored to business needs

300 travel bookers fully trained within three months and confidently utilising CTM systems and procedures.