The Phat Data strategy you build now can be a powerful tool to deliver value when travel returns
There is no doubt that COVID-19 has taken us to places we never thought the travel industry would ever have to go. It is certainly dark times for our suppliers, and buyers are trying to find their way and keep their travelers safe. While times are extremely tough right now, there are also positive opportunities for both buyers and suppliers. And Phat Data can help. Buyers, if you haven’t used these past few months to renew and refresh your travel program, now is the time.
We say this in at least one issue of Phat Data every year, and here it goes again! Do you have a Phat Data strategy? If not, this is the perfect time to implement one. A Phat Data strategy consists of getting to wisdom – talking to your stakeholders, and understanding their needs and objectives. And these days, trust me, they certainly have a new outlook on travel and getting their business done.
Next take inventory of your current reporting and analytics, then determine if it still aligns with your stakeholders needs. Do a supplier time-out; analyze your supplier mix to see if it’s still right for your business. Determine what technologies you have and what you need to support the delivery of your data and analytics.
Finally, don’t stop. This process never ends. If there’s a lesson we can take from the pandemic, it’s that business objectives change, the landscape of your travelers changes and you always need to refresh and renew. This is one of the best opportunities for buyers to get in front of their stakeholders and deliver an entirely new value proposition for a travel program using data.
One really important area of the strategy’s focus during these times should be the review of the supplier base. Buyers should take a deep look at their supplier agreements and start forecasting if and how they will be able to support those agreements moving forward.
Gloomy ForecastsA return to 2019 levels of travel is taking by far longer than most of us thought when the pandemic first hit. Many buyers thought we would see a couple months of not traveling, but now predictions are it will be years before we see those levels again. Modeling volumes that could be a drop of 50 percent or more from when you entered into your supplier agreements is going to impact the supplier’s ability to continue to offer the discounts, waivers, favors and the like. Buyers need to prepare for that now.
Additionally, your program’s footprint on the market is going to be smaller, so you should review the ability to support the current number of suppliers. The most important thing to remember is to use the data at hand to help support those supplier decisions. Start by understanding who is traveling and when, then analyze what that reduced spend looks like and how it impacts your suppliers. And most importantly be transparent with your suppliers.
Another area of opportunity to review is the relationship with your travel management company. Some buyers have decided to go out to bid for a new TMC; whether now is the best time for that is hard to say. TMCs are scrambling to figure out everything from what their service offering are going to look like to new pricing models, or if they can even survive.
Buyers should have a seat at the “virtual” table with the TMC community. Just deciding to add a fee for this or that isn’t the answer, and buyers aren’t going to tolerate that for long. Instead of taking a short-term approach, buyers and TMCs should come together, use the facts and data, and reinvent the service model and the fee model. These conversations are fed through a good Phat Data strategy, because everything a buyer does within their strategy can affect the TMC. The time for open dialogue and transparency is now.
Feel the Pain
The list of opportunities for buyers in the time of this pandemic is huge, but there is one that more than likely addresses every aspect of the managed travel program: The pain points. Taking the time to identify the pain points within your program and analyzing through the data how to solve them is an amazing opportunity for buyers.
Since we were just speaking of TMCs, one pain point for them might be the never-ending calls for copies of itineraries and invoices. Instead of charging a fee for that phone call, why not automate the retrieval of invoices? Another example; if there is a pain point in your travel policy (which you may have identified when talking to stakeholders during your strategy build out) then address that by figuring out what data you have that would support a potential policy change.
Although I will say, most buyers should already be reviewing their travel policy as it’s bound to look different thanks to the pandemic. Just start white-boarding all the areas that create “pain” for you as the buyer and for your travelers. Use available data to support the stories for change. And then tell the stories.
Never did any of us think that we would be in the predicament that we are in right now. As an industry, now the time to come together like never before and reinvent ourselves. In order to do that, we have to face the facts.
The facts, and the data that comes from facts, will lead us to a brighter future.
Jennifer Steinke is Global Head of Travel for PPD, Inc., 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.