Travel management

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With travel management or business travel management , companies refer to the booking and organization of business trips as well as the entire travel booking and billing process. Travel management is the analysis, control and optimization of processes and services that are necessary in connection with the planning, organization, implementation, billing and control of business trips.

tasks

  • the strategic purchase of travel services, e.g. B. train, plane, hotel bookings and rental cars
  • the complete travel expense accounting and travel expense controlling
  • the fleet management and keeping / control of logbooks
  • the organization and implementation of events (meetings, incentives , conferences, congresses and other group trips ) - in connection with tourist offers and other travel-related services
  • the development, implementation and addition of travel management systems to improve travel processes
  • Advising the group companies on all issues relating to business travel management
  • the creation and review of internal company travel guidelines

Processes

Preparatory phase

In the preparation phase, the trip is planned and checked for profitability . In some cases, business trips can be replaced by video or telephone conferences . Usually, the employee plans his trip himself. If necessary, a company car or a company mobility budget is available. But he can also entrust the secretariat or a travel agency with the overall planning. The purpose, time and place are agreed in advance. In some cases, several appointments can be linked together. Business trips often need to be approved by supervisors. The approval process can be handled manually as a paper application or via an integrated workflow system in which the application is automatically forwarded to the responsible approver. Compliance with the travel guidelines is integrated. Various sources are available to the traveler for obtaining information such as means of transport, travel times, departure and arrival times as well as accommodation options. He receives the necessary data, for example via the Internet / Intranet, travel agency and hotel guide. The planning of the trip can be more or less extensive. Duration of the trip, distance (continental / intercontinental) and one or more destinations are decisive factors. It is also important whether the employee is traveling to the destination for the first time or repeatedly. In the case of a repeated or even regular trip, old travel plans can be updated. Business trips of a company are often similar. Then it makes sense to automate and standardize the process with business travel management systems.

Organizational phase

In the organizational phase, travel planning is implemented and the booking process in accordance with the travel guidelines takes place. If this is not the case, the services requested by the traveler must be changed. For example, a cheaper means of transport, hotel or an alternative flight is then booked. The travel agency must ensure that all bookings run through one channel, if possible. This gives the travel management team all relevant travel data for evaluation and control. Employees often book their hotels themselves or choose alternative booking channels, thus avoiding compliance with travel guidelines. The travel agents have stored profiles of all travelers in the system. Personal preferences, participation in bonus programs or existing company cards are automatically taken into account when booking. After receiving the booking confirmation, the traveler receives his travel documents, if necessary. These are now almost exclusively replaced by electronic tickets. There is also the possibility that booked travel services have to be rebooked or canceled, which can change the traveler's entire travel plan. In many companies, employees have the option of booking their trips in person using an Internet Booking Engine (IBE). This option is only possible with uncomplicated point-to-point connections. This continuous process enables high cost savings. For complicated trips, the specialist knowledge of the experts in the travel agency is still required. If the company does not have a credit card (Company and Corporate Card), pre-financing will be requested. This covers all expenses incurred by the tour guides during the trip.

Carrying out the trip

The planned and booked trip takes place. Waiting times at airports or train stations are often used for work. Airports and train stations often offer business lounges that are mostly reserved for frequent flyers or first-class users. Additional travel expenses can be paid by the traveler with the existing corporate card. The debit is initially made from the employee's private account, but is reimbursed via the travel expense report. In the event of irregularities such as delays or failure of means of transport, the traveler must be informed by the travel agent as soon as possible. You can then choose alternative modes of transport, postpone appointments and change travel plans.

Travel Expenses

The total costs are recorded. Media disruptions often arise here because there is no continuous process from travel planning to organization. The travel expense report includes the services booked before the start of the trip, such as means of transport and all services that were incurred during the trip. If all services have been paid for by credit card, all data is recorded in the system and manual entry is unnecessary. Only cash expenses are entered manually. The accounting is then checked and approved by the manager. The employee receives the payment. For the most part uncommon today, but still present in some companies, is the manual process of travel expense accounting. All documents are entered manually into a system here. There are no automated processes. This results in long waiting times and prompt reimbursement is not possible. Payments made using the credit card are automatically recorded and archived. The transfer to the accounting department and the transfer to the traveler are also automatic. The credit card data flow together in the management information system (MIS). These provide travel management with information about the composition of travel costs, frequently visited destinations and use of preferred service providers. The data are used for control after evaluation and analysis. There is also potential for optimization.

Evaluation and controlling

On the one hand, controlling serves to control and monitor business travel processes, travel guidelines and procurement. The data from the MIS and reporting are used for evaluation. It is also checked whether all travel processes have been processed correctly. The travel data illustrate a possible change in the volume of travel. If the determined data correspond to past values, more effective planning is possible than with major changes. The travel manager can now enter into contract negotiations with service providers. It can also be seen how the direct costs are divided between the individual travel services. The travel guidelines may be changed for optimal control. Most of the time, these changes are only made in relation to processes (introduction of credit cards), rarely in relation to structures (changes to approval bodies). To optimize time and costs, transparency is required for the entire business travel process. This also strengthens the position of the travel manager in negotiations with service providers.

Companies

The following companies deal with travel management in the narrower or broader sense:

  • Travel agency chains or individual travel agencies
  • Hotels and restaurants
  • Event and event agencies
  • Incentive specialists
  • Transport service provider
  • Provider of digital travel management systems
  • Travel accounting system provider
  • IT developer with appropriate experience
  • Federal Office of Administration
  • Associations

Profession travel manager

The Worms University of Applied Sciences offers the Department of Tourism / Transportation a Bachelor - and Master -Studiengang Tourism and Travel Management at. Travel Management is taught as part of the Tourism Management course at the universities of Heilbronn , Kempten , Munich , Salzgitter and Wernigerode .

In addition, the Cologne Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been offering exams to become a specialist in business travel and mobility management (IHK) since 2012 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Mobility Manager: “DMM proposal for training now implemented” ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , June 29, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / dmm.travel

literature

  • Gerald Espich: Business travel management: cost-optimized and effective planning, implementation and control of business trips. Expert, Renningen 2001, ISBN 978-3816919247 .
  • Gerd Engelmann: Managing business travel: guidelines for medium-sized companies to review or update existing business travel processes. German Betriebswirte-Verlag, Gernsbach 2000, ISBN 978-3886400911
  • Ewald Brochhausen, Markus Melzer, Hendrik Vordenbäum, Marcus Thurner: SAP Travel Management 2004. SAP PRESS, 2004, ISBN 978-3-89842-407-3
  • Gerd Otto-Rieke: Modern Business Travel Management 2013. Alabasta Verlag 2000, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3938778166
  • Andrea Zimmermann: Effective travel guidelines: from the approval process to billing. Alabasta Verlag 2000, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3980798686

Web links