CASE STUDY

 Reimplementation and consolidation for Babcock International

 

Background 

Babcock International is a multi-national defence organisation, and has partnered with FCM Travel since 2015. Travel requirements are largely project based, and are split between more than 50 entities in the group structure, meaning there’s more than 20,000 travellers. 

When Babcock initially implemented FCM as their travel management company, each legal entity had its own set up, meaning multiple versions of tools, 12 travel policies and dozens of billing instructions. 

After seven years of working together, the engineering company is looking to refresh and consolidate. 

Achievements

92%
Online adoption in three months, up from 60%
59.5%
Decrease in calls, so FCM can focus on complex enquiries
29%
Savings on air travel due to bookings in fewer places
17%
Saved on hotels through a structured hotel programme

Contents

Reimplementation, initiated

After seven years of working together and fostering a brilliant relationship, it was time for a refresh to future proof Babcock’s travel programme. Account Manager Kevin Stump explained the benefits of simplifying the entire travel programme which could be rolled out globally, including:

  • One new global travel policy
  • Restructure travel programme
  • New reporting tool
  • New online tools that include Booking.com content
  • Global HR feed
  • Global hotel programme

Once Babcock agreed, it meant a reimplementation. Calls were held weekly to communicate internally and then with the Babcock team, to track progress and ensure everyone was fully aware of what needed to be done.

“We delivered a structured approach to this reimplementation; it was a great team effort between the client, myself, Kevin and the operations team,” said Greg Fieldgate, Customer Implementation Manager.

Dramatic change in booking habits

With a new travel policy and new technology in place, the results were quick and staggering.

Online adoption increased from 60% to 92% within three months. Where before 5% of travellers were booking travel themselves (instead going through a travel arranger) this swinged to 45% with the reimplementation. This has saved the company more than £21,000 in fees.

The FCM team has reported a 59.5% reduction in telephone calls, and 60% decrease in emails. This has freed up our consultants’ time to focus on the more challenging requests.

“Before the restructure, my team would struggle to understand the various policies and requirements. Now there’s one travel policy and structure, it’s provided more transparency and clarity which means we can answer enquiries much quicker,” said Team Manager Michael Ackroyd.

Results: A globalised, organised new structure

Thanks to the new structure, Babcock’s travel programme is future proofed. It will be much simpler to make changes to the programme moving forward, and the procurement team’s life is easier now there’s fewer policies and tools.

As well as the savings on offline fees, Babcock is seeing the benefits of a globalised hotel programme delivered by FCM Consulting, and all those bookings housed in one place. Collectively, these efforts have seen online adoption improve across all categories:

  • Air – 29%
  • Hotel – 17%
  • Car – 38%
  • Rail – 14%

With everything in one place and FCM's reporting suite, Babcock also has more visibility of its programme than ever. That access to data will help procurement manager Damian Cebo make more informed decisions about the travel programme in the future.