While the conditions outside in the Northeast may still represent the throes of winter, it’s never too late to look forward to the sunnier (and warmer!) days of spring. CPO Rising and Payables Place are excited to launch a series of articles that take a fun look at specific spend management functions through the prism of America’s favorite pastime. Every baseball team undergoes a month-plus of conditioning, practice, and general preparations for the upcoming season (in warm weather, of course); the question is: what would spring training look like for supply management programs?
Every business executive realizes just how much business travel (and its associated expenses) affects the greater enterprise’s overall budget. In the times since the economic downturn hit the globe, business travel budgets have not only been reinstated to pre-downturn levels, they’ve slowly increased in size and scope. As enterprise seek new and exciting means to spark business development, it is often the tried-and-true outlet of personal outreach that can drive revenues and improve customer relationships.
Consequently, the world of expense management has been growing in strategic value as more and more financial (and procurement!) professionals realize the value of enhancing this internal series of processes to drive visibility and intelligence for superior long-term planning, budgeting, and forecasting.
With this in mind, now is an interesting time to ask: if the typical travel and expense management were a baseball team, who’s the “can’t miss” prospect? The grizzled veteran that continues to drive value? Or how about the Most Valuable Player?
The “Can’t Miss” Prospect: New Business Travel Sources … and the Value They Bring to Business Travelers
During any team’s spring training period, various reporters and beat writers often write and speak about the “can’t miss” prospect that may make it to the big club when the games finally start to matter. Typically, these prospects have been toiling away in the farm system and gaining attention through their inspired play and performance.
How does this translate to the world of travel and expense management? Simple: the most exciting avenue in this industry today is the glut of new travel sources that are available to the modern business traveler, such as Lyft, Uber, and Airbnb. Although these sources present another avenue for finance professionals to have to control in regards to spend management, the bottom-line is that in an age where every dollar is scrutinized, it is important for a category like business travel to have lower-cost alternatives.
The Grizzled Veteran: Travel and Expense Management Automation
Holistic, end-to-end travel and expense management automation is surely the “grizzled veteran” due to its longevity and long-term impact. There’s no cap on the value that these systems bring to enterprises in helping to control travel spending and automating the entire expense management process (from creation and submission to approval and reimbursement), and, as organizations continue to attack this category with a robust approach, this type of automation will be a boon for years to come.
The MVP: Analytics and Reporting
The new age of business travel and expense management is here, and it revolves around the notion of intelligence. Real-time information today leads to better planning tomorrow, and, much like in the world of accounts payable, a once back-office function (expense management) can paint quite the vivid picture of how the company’s spend looks in comparison with other strategic categories.
With the business travel category comprising upwards of 12% (or more) of the average company’s overall budget, it is critical to lean on what will be the Most Valuable Player in the years ahead.
Check out these related articles for more:
What Does 2015 Hold for Travel and Expense Management?
The Future of Travel and Expense Management: The Mobility Perplexity
The Future of Travel and Expense Management: The Visibility Quotient
How Can Enterprises Sustain High Business Traveler Morale?
