Republished with permission from The Beat

The Beat ~ a business travel newsletter

New York City

9/17/09 4:15 PM

GUEST: Corporate Buyer Weeks On TMC Globalization

Travel and Transport client, former Association of Corporate Travel Executives president and current Booz & Company director of global sourcing Doug Weeks submitted the following commentary in light of recent coverage here about the role of travel management companies...

For years now, travel management professionals have been resigned to the fact that no single online booking tool (OBT) is best across multiple regions and countries. What works best in North America is not what works best in Europe.  What works best with Sabre does not work best with Amadeus, etc. Currency and language issues also present difficult obstacles to overcome. Travel buyers have developed best-in-class online programs by regionalizing their selection of OBTs.

So why do travel buyers look at procuring travel management partners any differently? Why is it so critical to select one single agency globally?

It's not.

Travel managers should take the same procurement approach with TMCs that they do with OBTs and other technology: Select the best in breed in each region.

The fact of the matter is that there are large regional agency players that can customize travel programs for clients in ways that the large mega global agencies cannot or will not do. What's best in North America is not necessarily best in Europe from both a service and cost perspective.

In today's advanced data collection and technology world, data can be easily consolidated using TRX or another similar solution in a multi-agency environment.

In the IT sourcing environment, there is a term called "single point of failure" which describes a situation IT professionals always try to avoid using redundancy. The same concept can be used with travel agencies. Having multiple agencies can help drive their competitive natures and improve performance in ways that would not be expected in a single-supplier environment. This is in line with most corporate or business assurance efforts; having redundant or contingency solutions ensures continuity of service.

~ Doug Weeks is Booz & Company's director of global sourcing

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