VideoCitibank, in New York, turned to a product from Portable Software Corp., of Redmond, Washington, as part of a two-year pilot project aimed at 500 Citibank employees. "The people who use this love it," says Judy Ervin, project manager for the banking concern's travel reengineering project. "I've had as short a time as 38 hours for reimbursements"; before, the wait was more like two weeks. Citibank has integrated its back-end procedures with an effort to get corporate travelers to plan their own trips using intranet-based software. It employs The Sabre Group's Business Travel Solutions program, allowing employees to search out savings that travel agents might not communicate. Ervin says managers are rewarding the employees who save the most in the new system. Eventually, it will become an intranet program, reaching all 15,000 traveling employees. "When you put the employees in charge," she says, "they tend to take more care in completing the expense report and in exercising their authority wisely."
And what of just cutting out all travel? With more electronic-conferencing choices these days, that's tempting for many. "When companies first look at visual collaboration [videoconferencing], the first question they ask is: How much in travel costs will it displace?" says Steve Chambers, vice president of worldwide marketing for PictureTel Corp., an Andover, Massachusetts, concern that says it has installed videoconferencing systems in 72 of the Fortune 100 companies.
The answer to that question at the Bridgewater, New Jersey, offices of Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. was $8 million in 1997, according to Glenn Miller, director of worldwide video and satellite communications for the global pharmaceuticals concern. What is as important as cost savings, he says, is executive travel days eliminated.
As companies adjust to higher travel costs, Congress and the Clinton Administration are looking into ways to help by regulating what some critics call "predatory pricing" by airlines — although many experts believe such action might not offer much help for businesses, even if new rules take effect.
Whatever happens in Washington, though, experts suggest that a cultural shift is necessary when travel costs are targeted by companies that are used to sending employees hither and yon. After 12 years, that has occurred at Upjohn, where a program it calls "the infrequent-flier club" has caught on, according to Miller. "The idea is to encourage people not to travel if videoconferencing can be an alternative," he says. Among the more-tangible incentives: After holding five videoconferences, a department receives one free trip.
Virtual Travel Companies
Some software products that help shave travel costs.
On the Back End:
- Xpense Management Solution (from Portable Software Corp., Redmond, Wash.; 425-702-8808; www.portablesoftware.com). An enterprisewide solution for managing travel expenses. Automates the entire T&E expense management process.
- NavigatER (from Necho Systems Corp., Mississauga, Ontario, Can.; 800-NECHOSC; www.necho.com). Streamlines both the employee submission and accounting processes with an eye to trimming costs of processing travel reports by integrating internal and external data.
- National Employee Disbursement System (from IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y.; 914-765-1900; www.ibm.com). Automates all financial processes across an enterprise; developed as part of Big Blue's reengineering program.
- Employee Payables (from Captura Software Inc., Bothell, Wash.; 800-547-2223; www.captura.com). Allows modification of corporate travel policy. Automates routing and approval of travel requests, and reports on reimbursements.
On the Front End:
- QualityAgent Online (from World Wide Travel Service Inc., Little Rock; 800-643-3788; www.wwts.com). Using an intranet with a standard browser, it gives a quick overview of available flights, and has a low-fare auto-reserve option.
- ITN Global Manager (from Internet Travel Network, Palo Alto, Calif.; 650-614-6300; www.itn.net). Lets travelers make airline, car, and hotel reservations using corporate guidelines, do low-fare searches, make maps, and adjust itineraries.
- Business Travel Solutions (from The Sabre Group, Fort Worth; 888-722-7328; www.sabrebts.com). Part of a popular airline-reservation system, it allows travel arrangements based on company guidelines and creates expense reports.
- American Express Interactive (from American Express, New York; 800-AXP-1200; www.americanexpress.com/corporateservices). Microsoft-connected system for corporations that use Amex as their travel agent, it lets travelers compare company-negotiated rates with standard rates.
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