These days, it seems there is much ado about the travel programs of small and medium enterprises. Recently SME travel has become all the rage, and that raises some questions. What is the value to suppliers, to the enterprise and to its travel stakeholders? And perhaps most important, what’s in it for the corporation’s travelers? Is there any profit in these programs?
In this issue, we introduce a new series that looks at building travel programs in the SME market. The series delves into how travel buyers can leverage even the smallest of spend and deliver amazing value to their stakeholders. We investigate how suppliers see the SME space and why travel management companies are turning their attention from the longstanding focus on mammoth global programs to explore the unique opportunities to be found in small and medium size programs.
As we embark on this journey there a few things to consider. First of all, what constitutes an SME program? Is it spend? Geographical footprint? Number of travelers? Honestly, it is any – and maybe all – of the above. For the purposes of this series, we will focus on programs that sit around the $50 million mark and under in total spend, that may be global or not, and have any type of traveler mix. Being flexible in our approach to these programs is critically important because while they all may face similar challenges, small and medium enterprises are unique in their approach to how they integrate travel into culture, how they define overall program value, how they work with suppliers and what they are willing to pay.
We have seen a shift in everything from supplier contracting to TMC offerings that are tailored to be more attractive to smaller programs. One driving factor is that today’s small limited program could be tomorrow large global program. Thus partnering with the right suppliers from the beginning kickstarts the success of a program that needs to scale and often scale quickly. So how do we continue to right-size the program? As we take a deeper dive into buyer-supplier relationships we seek to uncover what suppliers are thinking and what is driving this increased focus on the SME space. These conversations and insight are going to be fun!
Travelers Front & Center
Of course, we can’t forget the travelers. Managing traveler expectations within programs that are growing can be tough. Freedom one day, then – bam! – structure and policy the next. Nothing like trying to herd cats. Buyers managing an SME program are faced with both considerable challenges and fantastic opportunities to build something great.
Getting closer to the traveling population, trying new technologies, bringing your suppliers into the loop with your travelers and so much more – these are all aspects of building a managed travel program that can deliver more value for this unique and flourishing market. Scaling up a program isn’t just about the conversations we have with suppliers; more than that, it’s about how we manage traveler’s expectations and get them to understand the overall value of the managed travel program. Our new series will take a peek at the managed travel program from the perspective of the actual traveler and have them tell us how they think it should work and why. Because why not?
For any managed travel program, we know that we want to deliver savings, service, safety and a productive experience to our travelers. But for the SME market, checking all these boxes can look very different. Our goal is to look at all of these components and break them down, build them back up for the SME space and deliver amazing value for these organizations. Because size doesn’t matter anymore.
Whether you are a startup with $100,000 in spend or growing program a $40 million program in 20 countries, this SME series is designed to guide you on your journey. We will face the tough challenges, the difficult conversations, the golden opportunities and discover together how we as an industry can enhance the status of the SME managed travel program. Come join us on this educational and inspirational journey.
We are going to kick off this in-depth series next issue by getting into the weeds with the travelers of SME programs – what they want, need and care about. And how you the buyer can leverage this to your program’s advantage, not only for your travelers but for your suppliers, and your enterprise.
Let’s do it!
Jennifer Steinke is Director, Travel, Meetings and Fleet at Moderna, and an industry thought leader with over 30 years experience managing corporate travel. She holds an MBA plus Certified Corporate Travel Executive (CCTE) and Global Travel Professional (GTP) certifications from GBTA. Jennifer strives to deliver innovative and thought provoking ideas to the corporate travel industry.
