CTM invests in tech

Corporat e Travel Management has long touted the benefits of technology, with CEO Jamie Pherous and other senior executives regularly highlighting the company’s innovative, proprietary and patented systems as a key selling point. Like all TMCS, Corporate Travel Management aims to improve the travel booking and management experience for its clients, at the same time reducing costs - and technology is a key enabler. Last month travelbulletin sat down with CTM’S Chief Technology Officer, Tom Clark, who gave a glimpse into the company’s ongoing push to be at the leading edge. Clark, who is responsible for CTM’S technology strategies, has a strong travel industry heritage, having worked for Andrew and Cinzia Burnes as AOT’S Director of Marketing in the mid-2000s as well as overseeing the development of a major e-commerce travel website. While some of Corporate Travel Management’s offerings are based on Serko systems, the company is also making a concerted push to develop more of its own unique product via its Sydney-based ‘Technology Hub’. The CTM Technology Hub, which accounts for the majority of the company’s capital expenditure, aims to enable its in-house team of whiz-kids to develop the latest and greatest software, both clientfacing and for internal company use to strengthen CTM’S competitive advantage. As well as creating the Corporate Travel Management SMART technology, the team has developed the business-to-consumer system which is the backbone of CTM’S alliance with supermarket giant Coles. The innovative Fly Buys Travel site, powered by “CTM Loyalty Travel,” allows members of the Coles loyalty program to earn and redeem points on a full range of travel product. Corporate Travel Management’s SMART technology ecosystem is a great example of Australian software development being exported to the world as CTM’S global footprint continues its relentless expansion, Clark said. A string of acquisitions has given the company a presence in most major markets, and CTM continues to look at new additions particularly in the USA which it sees as a key growth region. Much of the technology is proprietary and Clark wasn’t able to share specific details, but the product suite includes traveller tracking, real-time risk alerts, an “end-to-end mobile-optimised approval process” and the SMART Portal which centralises access to travel tools. One product often talked about is CTM’S SMART Taxi solution which empowers staff to catch a cab together if they are flying to the same city at a similar time – but that’s just a small example of the offering. CTM describes itself as a leading producer and exporter of technology, with Clark saying the CTM Mobile smartphone app is “Australia’s first locally developed end-to-end corporate mobile booking application”. CTM Mobile enables corporate travellers to book air, hotel and car hire from their personal mobile device, while at the same time remaining within company policy. “CTM Mobile delivers the functionality and booking experience you’ve come to expect from leisure travel apps whilst supporting companies with risk management and cost control strategies,” Clark said. He said the team is “feverishly working on the app’s next release of enhanced features,” with the technology to be rolled out to clients across the globe. While CTM continues to play its technology cards close to its chest, the company does indeed hold a public patent which can be accessed through an IP Australia search. The patent, based on an invention of Tom Clark himself and first filed in 2013, covers a ‘Travel product selection and booking method, device and system’ where fares for a prospective trip are displayed in a “time series graphical display” to allow the user to quickly see how prices vary depending on the date and time of booking.

CTM Mobile delivers the functionality and booking experience you’ve come to expect from leisure travel apps whilst supporting companies with risk management strategies’ and cost control Tom Clark, Chief Technology Officer Corporate Travel Management