CASE STUDY

Controlling travel costs through strategy and technology

Background

This financial services company is a leader in the Australian market with operations spanning across all of Australia’s capital cities and major regional centres. The firm has more than 800 mortgage advisors, servicing close to AUS $30 billion in loans for 250,000 customers.

Challenge: keeping up with growth

As the company grew via acquisition, it quickly realised that its travel program was not able to keep pace. The company needed dedicated support and expert advice on cost savings and strategic travel management. They reached out to FCM for help.

The solution: policy, technology, and cost controls

FCM appointed a dedicated account manager to guide the company’s strategic travel program. This account manager leveraged FCM’s broad industry reach and established supplier relationships to improve their negotiations with major hotel and airline partners.

The FCM account manager implemented FCM’s reporting suite, which provided the company with consistent data analysis and robust traveller tracking capabilities.

FCM also helped the company implement a new online booking tool that was easy and engaging for its travellers. It encouraged travel policy compliance using “Best Fare of the Day” and “Best Rate of the Day”. This initiative to find and book the lowest available fares and rates helped the company manage its travel budget more effectively. It ensured that travellers and travel arrangers always booked the most cost-efficient, policy-compliant options.

Results: a lower-cost travel program

FCM’s technology and dedicated account management expertise paid off in the following ways:

Slashed transaction fees from 6.8% to 2.9% of its travel spend (57%)
Decreased the company’s average domestic airfare
Maximised travel policy compliance and leakage prevention via FCM’s online booking tool

FCM’s strategic expertise and smart business travel technology helped improve this leading financial service company’s travel spend visibility and create a corporate travel culture geared towards cost savings.