Consultants: How expertise can transform your programme

When time and resources are in short supply, it might be time to call in an independent business travel consultant, writes Gillian Upton

Lack of resource and the need for expertise are two main reasons why buyers turn to the services of an independent consultant.

They add gravitas to a project and fill a gap between the buyer and the suits in the boardroom who often have little grasp of what the travel department actually does.

Consultants – who are frequently former buyers themselves – answer questions as diverse as, ’What is my programme like today and what do I need to do to improve it’?, or they will neatly solve a problem and get ahead of a challenge.

“What’s shifted is that consultants were used primarily as a resource and secondly for their expertise, but today it’s primarily for our expertise, which reflects the increasing complexity of the market,” says Louise Miller, Managing Partner of Areka. “They want to know what the likely disruption is of NDC, for example,” she adds.

To this end, Miller says that savings are not necessarily the end goal, but rather that programme improvement is.

Natalie Gardner, Global Travel Manager at computer games company Electronic Arts (EA), had exactly this need. Based in the UK, and with company headquarters in Silicon Valley, she handles travel for 47 office locations in 25 countries.

“It is good to have someone who is out there in the industry to give an independent view,” she says. As such, much of her time is spent with an eye on multiple projects that

Festive Road has undertaken for them. This work includes auditing and rewriting policy after benchmarking against similar-sized companies in a reciprocal information gathering project; reducing the policy document from 25 pages to a more userfriendly three; helping Natalie move forward with a strategic vision by creating four pillars to the company programme; and a gap analysis on EA’s relationship with its TMC to bring consistency across the globe.

“Festive Road has been a wonderful business partner,” she says. “I have been challenged to think differently about our programme and I’ve tweaked and changed it every year to evolve and move forward – but I only got to that point as a result of these conversations.

“I learned what ‘better’ and ‘different’ look like. It helped me with being able to challenge what we do, as by challenging we can innovate.” Gardner continues: “It’s helpful to me as a buyer to articulate direction to our

suppliers and TMCs and that’s made a difference. Festive Road has helped elevate what travel is at EA so it has a higher profile. Now I have no trouble getting 30 minutes with my EVP since having them onboard.”

Gardner’s comments reflect the wideranging assistance and clear benefits consultants provide today, although Chris Pouney of Severnside Consulting recalls a time when they had a more combative role.

“We used to be brought in to fire people but today we have more of an arbitration role,” he says. “Suppliers welcome our arrival and we can coach and mentor buyers, with both parties understanding that we are neutral.”

Pouney advises whether buyers are on the right track, particularly if travel is only part of their remit. “They want to understand what’s coming down the track; what might impact them, and are often fearful of being asked questions from senior management.”

Johanne Young of Opteva concurs. “Buyers want someone independent to review their vendors and ensure they’re getting the best from them. They don’t have the capability and there is so much going on in the marketplace and the industry is complex.”

Most commonly buyers ask Opteva for an initial review of their programme and travel technology so they can understand where there are gaps. They want to know who’s best in class and what the best processes are to drive the optimum traveller behaviours.

These services come at a cost, naturally, and Nina & Pinta’s Jo-Anne Lloyd reckons buyers require a certain amount of spend to demonstrate ROI. “If it’s a spend below £10-15million, their first port of call wouldn’t be a consultant,” she says. That’s when a TMC’s account management team would assume the role of consultant, particularly on any benchmarking exercise as they have sufficient data.

Finding the right TMC is arguably the most important vendor decision a buyer makes and Nina & Pinta commonly take on these sourcing and change management roles. The consultancy also specialises in air programme management as it utilises an air data dashboard that lets buyers make informed decisions about switching market share.

If they’re a good fit, particularly culturally, buyers will often return to the same consultancy over a period of time. ”It’s like hiring back an internal resource,” says Lloyd, who has worked with one client for 15 years.

Chris Reynolds began life as a consultant 13 years ago, undertaking RFPs for TMCs. Today his work tends to focus on more technology-based projects, such as rolling out a global expense tool or credit card. “I have to know more about the clients’ programme than they do,” he says, and agrees with Pouney that his goal is to do himself out of a job.

”I want to leave them in the position that they don’t need me anymore and by having that approach I do get called back.”

Sue Reeves at Data & Detail has created a niche in the marketplace, acting as an outsourced account manager, taking data right down to PNR levels and actuals, and working with TMCs to manage their clients and with clients to manage their TMCs. “I explain travel patterns, highlight departments which need online or policy training and opportunities for savings,” she says.

Raj Sachdave, a former TMC employee and now of Black Box Partnerships, is a relatively new kid on the block. He aims to solve the pain points between TMC and travel buyer by redefining client policy so they can have smarter conversations with their TMC, and also works with TMCs to work out a more defined proposition.

“It may prevent an RFP for a TMC and take the costs down and the value up,“Sachdave explains. “Getting aggregated global data is often a sticking point.“

Caroline Strachan, of Festive Road, refers to consultants’ role as being akin to marriage guidance counselling. “Consultants can highlight the frustrations and if it’s not broken too much, redeem the relationship or, if not, move on.” Either way, consultants will give buyers an invaluable road map to follow.

I have to know more about the client's programme than they do and leave them in a position where they don't need me anymore”