Cost reductions for international business travel company

Client: Shipping Brokerage
Project Scope: International Business Travel
Project Target: Cost Reduction
Results: Saving of £158,000 (19%) p.a.

This London-based client has staff brokering the shipment of commodities and commissioning
the new-build of tankers and freight vessels dealing across the world.

Correspondingly, international travel is a large expense, but service levels are also critical. Staff are expected to step off a plane and straight into a meeting where they may be negotiating £multi-million contracts, so budget travel would not provide the service that these
highly valued travellers expect.

Solutions needed to take into account the range of flyers, frequent routes and preferred airlines, and the class of travel that different members of staff would be expected to use. Different rules applied as to who could specify a direct route and who was expected to fly through a hub.
A matrix of options was built, and a new Travel Policy put in place, to make sure staff and the chosen Agent could easily determine the best-match for any given travel plan. The chosen Agent remained the same one as previous, but renegotiation of their fees, by removing costly features from the flight booking process, and re-defining the criteria for different classes of traveller the client gained a better managed service with a demonstrable reduction in cost.

If you feel that there is scope to improve quality, service, management, and visibility of your
processes don’t hesitate to call Phil Edwards of Weald Business Solutions on 01825 761890 and ask for advice.

Sue Edwards
Virtual Assistant Sussex
(01825) 761890