Your supplier partnerships matter
Who your business is partnered with when it comes to high-cost activity matters. Why? Because any partner you invest time and money into, ideally should understand your company’s objectives and goals.
When you partner with a travel management company like FCM, our people take the time to understand not only what your business and people need from a business travel perspective, but also what challenges your industry is facing.
Our understanding of your industry and the hurdles companies may be facing can help to drive travel program strategy.
Head of sales for FCM Australia, Sue McEvoy said her team and the broader FCM travel and account management teams that worked closely with construction clients were well aware of the challenges impacting the construction industry.
“The industry’s challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic,” Sue said. “We know this has disrupted supply chains, delayed projects, and reduced demand for new construction. Having spoken to many construction and engineering clients during the past two or so years we know what companies and clients are going through. And that there’s a handful of challenges affecting the success of this industry.
“Some of these issues we can actually help companies reduce the impact of, with strategically managed travel that’s cost and time efficient.”
How your travel partner can help to alleviate industry problems:
1. Skilled labour shortages
Issue: The industry is facing a significant shortfall of skilled workers, particularly in trades such as carpentry, plumbing and electrical work. This is due to a combination of factors, including an aging workforce, a lack of investment in training and education, and competition from other industries.
Solution: While we can’t jump on the tools for you, we can help you to relocate staff, and efficiently manage travel for your contractors and teams that need to travel to remote or interstate/international sites. We’re talking last minute trips, group travel, FIFO, charters, extremely remote locations – we’ll get your people where they need to go. With our broad portfolio of clients, we can also put you in contact with companies in different industries that can help with everything from recruitment to training.
2. Rising building costs
Issue: With the cost of materials, labour, technology and insurance spiking, construction projects have become increasingly expensive. Add to your P&L the cost of making sure your business can meet increased regulatory requirements and deal with major disruptions to supply chains - the end result can often mean a sizable overrun in costings.
Solution: If cost reduction or cost containment is high on your agenda, this can be factored into your travel program management and forward strategy. FCM is extremely good at driving time and cost efficiencies on your travel. We’ll assess your program and your objectives to see where the cost saving opportunities are across your air, hotel and ground transport to ensure you’re spending your travel dollars wisely.
3. Regulatory requirements
Issue: The domestic construction industry is heavily regulated, with strict requirements around building codes, safety standards, and environmental regulations. Compliance with these regulations can be time-consuming and expensive. The complexity of these regulations can also make it difficult for new entrants to enter the market.
Solution: We help companies manage risk in travel strategically with practical solutions. While we can’t help you manage risks on site we can make sure that your travel arrangements including aspects such as vehicle hire, travel security and travel suppliers support your company’s overall safety regulations and duty of care.
4. Sustainability
Issue: Sustainable construction practices are becoming increasingly important. This includes the use of renewable materials, energy-efficient design, and sustainable building practices. However, these practices can be more expensive and time-consuming, which can make it difficult for some companies to adopt.
Solution: Align your travel program’s sustainability goals with your company’s overall objectives in sustainability with help from technology and program strategy that actively reduces your environmental footprint. Keen to carbon offset your flights? Want your supply chain to be 100% sustainable? Factoring in only electric cars into your ground transport plans? We can help you with all of these and far more.
5. Project delays
Issue: The domestic construction industry is also facing significant delays in project completion. This is due to a range of factors, many which have already been mentioned. Labour and material shortages are two of the biggest hurdles that are disrupting construction projects across the country.
Solution: Always let your travel partner know if there’s a delay forecast for one of your projects. Particularly if it impacts your staff travel schedules. Our skilled travel managers will always find a way to change or update your itineraries with minimal cost and fuss.
Corporate travel like many other areas of your business must be managed strategically. If it’s difficult to control the variables in other areas of your business, lean on your supplier partnerships to maximise the opportunity to achieve efficiencies in the areas you can control, like corporate travel.
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