Companies no longer look so closely at travel prices

Forum Business Travel has analyzed the strategies that companies are using in their negotiations with travel suppliers in two conferences held in Barcelona and Madrid on April 21 and 23, respectively. The most notable trend shows that price, although still important, is losing weight compared to the value of the service.

 

 

It could be because of the improved economic situation or because travel managers have learned to buy smarter. The fact is that companies no longer put all the emphasis on price when contracting their trips. In their new strategy, added services, traveler comfort, personalized treatment, security and access to technologies that help them to have greater control over this item are just as important, if not more so.

These conclusions are based on the presentations made by experts from Forum Business Travel, the training platform with nearly 500 member companies, in Madrid and Barcelona to more than a hundred travel managers. According to Esther Benavent, category manager of Indirect Services at GB Foods, negotiations with suppliers are evolving toward value-centric proposals, even though the economic factor remains critical.

The dichotomy between quality and price is very much in line with managers' need to save and optimize resources and with the conditions under which their employees travel, which can have a powerful influence on their performance. The virtue, according to Forum Business Travel, lies in the balance, and the great challenge for travel managers is to satisfy both parties.

As Mayte Sabon, travel manager at Laboratorios Lilly,

Laboratorios Lilly,

the strategic relationship with suppliers is a long-term one; it is like starting a journey together in which risks are shared and, in some cases, investments are made. The goal is for buyer and seller to become partners, mutually benefiting each other, even though, in general, suppliers in Spain are not yet mature for this type of relationship.

In addition, comparative market analysis (benchmarking), cost analysis systems and value measurement techniques based on KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) are gaining special relevance in the purchasing strategy. Companies are also saving on travel with the use of online RFQs, auctions and collaborative consumption, so fashionable today, provided by central purchasing and negotiation groups.

"At American Express Global Business Travel España we find it hard to conceive of a business relationship that is not a win-win. Of course, price is an important factor in a negotiation, as it allows us to cover operating costs, but what is truly fundamental is the value that, as a partner, we can and must generate for our client companies, says Charles de Bonnecorse, Sales Director for Spain.

American Express Global Business Travel Espa ala Charles de Bonnecorse.