Automation is currently one of the most prominent trends in corporate travel management. A surge is being noted in the number of companies and startups automating the complex business travel process by leveraging new-age technologies. However, process automation strategies differ across organizations.
Some organizations implement special-purpose application software to automate specific tasks like business travel booking and travel expense management. At the same time, many organizations automate the process completely by implementing a travel management system.
Travel management solutions facilitate corporate travel management features by providing built-in features and tools. Also, they modernize the process using cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics.
Your organization can increase the ROI of corporate travel in several ways by implementing the right travel management solution. We are making it easier for you to automate an important business process by discussing some of the major advantages of implementing a travel management software.
12 Major Advantages of Implementing a Travel Management System
1. Policy Implementation and Communication
Your employees can use the travel management system to access organization travel and expense policies before, during, and after a business trip. You can make it easier for them to understand relevant rules and guidelines by implementing granular policies. Travel policy implementation and communication help your organization save money by preventing travel policy violations.
2. Travel Policy Compliance
In addition to enhancing travel policy compliance, the software helps your organization ensure travel policy compliance in several ways. Firstly, it shows and recommends travel products to each employee according to predefined policies. Secondly, it sends automated notifications whenever an employee violates preset travel policies while booking a business trip or submitting travel expense reports.
3. Faster Business Travel Approval
Employees often escalate costs by booking business trips without getting relevant approvals. The travel management system helps you control costs by allowing employees to start business travel booking only after getting the required approvals.
At the same time, it enables employees to send requests to the appropriate approvers according to the multilevel approval hierarchy defined by you. It further streamlines the process by sending regular notifications to the employees and approvers.
4. Simplified Business Travel Booking
Implementation of a travel management system helps you streamline the most crucial step in corporate travel management – business travel booking. The corporate travel booking tool provided by the software enables your employees to book their choice of flights, accommodations, car rentals, and other business travel products.
In addition to supporting multiple currencies and payment methods, the software enables employees to access a diverse inventory customized according to organization travel policies. Hence, employees can book their preferred travel products at negotiated rates without violating travel policies.
5. Travel Booking Management
Several studies suggest that work travelers cancel and reschedule travel bookings frequently. They have to visit multiple supplier websites to cancel or reschedule travel bookings individually. Also, the cancellation fees charged by suppliers increase the overall business travel costs.
Your employees can use the travel management system to cancel and reschedule bookings without visiting multiple websites. At the same time, some travel management solutions enable them to change travel bookings without paying additional fees.
6. Travel Risk Management
No employee can accomplish business travel goals without managing a variety of travel risks effectively. The travel management system helps work travelers manage common business travel risks by delivering real-time information like flight status and the latest travel regulations.
At the same time, employees can answer questions and resolve issues by contacting the customer support team deployed by the providers. Leading travel management companies provide travel assistance to business travelers by supporting 24/7 customer support across communication channels.
7. Duty of Care
The duty-of-care solution featured by a travel management system helps your company meet legal and moral responsibility. The feature keeps your employees safe and stress-free across destinations by ensuring emergency assistance. Your organization can ensure the safety and security of international work travelers by opting for a provider who works with global health and security risk management firms.
8. Expense Reporting Automation
Employees often experience stress due to delays in business travel reimbursements. A travel management system enables them to generate and submit digital expense reports in minutes. Also, they can use the software to generate automated expense reports simply by scanning various invoices, receipts, and bills.
Automated expense reports eliminate major shortcomings of paper-based expense reporting, like human errors and expense fraud. At the same time, they help your finance team reduce the time required to review, process, and reimburse travel expenses incurred by employees.
9. Real-Time Travel Spend Visibility
A unified travel and expense management system comes with a built-in expense dashboard. Your finance team can use the dashboard to monitor and review travel expenses incurred by employees in real time. The travel spend visibility helps them track unpaid travel expenses and speed up reimbursements.
Further, they can generate and schedule a variety of custom reports based on real-time travel and expense data. Custom reports help analyze travel expenses related to a department, project, employee, or destination. Also, the finance team can use the reports to make budgets and manage cash flow accurately.
10. Data-Driven Insights
A travel management system stores the travel and expense data of all employees in a centralized location. Also, it analyzes the data using advanced data analytics tools. The data analytics tool makes the software effective in detecting various trends and patterns in travel expenses. Decision-makers can leverage the data-driven insights provided by the software to increase the ROI of corporate travel by increasing employee experiences and controlling costs.
11. Average Business Trip Reduction
The automation of corporate travel management helps your organization reduce human resource costs significantly. Your finance team can use the software to manage an increase in the number of travel expense claims. At the same time, you can opt for the software provided by leading travel management companies to help employees save money while booking business travel products and managing travel bookings.
Conclusion
A travel management system helps your company increase the ROI of travel management in several ways. But you should automate the corporate travel management process end-to-end by implementing a unified travel and expense management system.
While making a process automation strategy, you should focus on implementing software that meets your organization’s needs over a longer period of time. In addition to evaluating the features and tools provided by the software, you should focus on leveraging various Industry 4.0 technologies.
