| Sound corporate travel management policies and | | | | family welfare (time and distance from family). |
| reductions in global corporate travel expenses are | | | | In 2009, there were over 48,000 business visitors |
| significant challenges facing procurement, corporate | | | | per month to Australia for a variety of commercial |
| travel and senior executive managers. Despite this, | | | | purposes. Be it supplier management, customer |
| travel expenses remain an element of your | | | | meetings, subsidiary checkups or lobbying, the costs |
| overheads that are largely controllable. | | | | of administration, airfares and accommodation are |
| Customer relationship management, business | | | | significant. Considering the Global Financial Crisis |
| development, networking and site management are | | | | eradicated a large proportion of unnecessary travel |
| all more effective with face-to-face contact | | | | (and necessary travel, for that matter), the |
| regardless of technological improvements in global | | | | long-term trend for business travel is up. |
| supply chains and increased globalization. There is no | | | | At between $8000-15000 dollars per trip on business |
| substitution for human interaction - it is far more | | | | airfares alone to Australia from the US, there are |
| constructive than phone calls or web-conferencing. | | | | significant overheads involved in short-term corporate |
| Businesses should therefore not be questioning the | | | | travel – costs that can be drastically minimized |
| need for travel, but rather the frequency or | | | | through outsourcing third party management |
| lavishness. | | | | representation services covering supplier |
| Certainly in initial stages of international growth, | | | | management, customer relationship management and |
| businesses are reluctant to spend excessively on | | | | subsidiary health checks. |
| international travel – which is where a third party | | | | Third party providers can represent your business in |
| provider comes in. Back office functions, customer | | | | a variety of endeavours: |
| service, accounts payable and receivable and | | | | - Service level/KPI reviews with suppliers; |
| knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) are all | | | | - Compliance audits; |
| increasingly outsourced to cheaper providers. Why | | | | - Contract negotiations; |
| not outsource your supplier management or | | | | - Contract renewals; |
| short-term management functions, too? | | | | - Contract disputes; |
| If you can find a provider whom you can trust to | | | | - Instant response to any issues in distant regions; |
| perform the function and report back, there is great | | | | - Represent your business at Government forums, |
| Lean opportunities present in outsourcing such | | | | lobbying, etc.; |
| regional management tasks. Accommodation, airfares | | | | - Health checkups at suppliers and subsidiaries; and |
| and travel expenses are stripped down to potential | | | | - Relationship building visits. |
| domestic travel and cost of service by your provider. | | | | Benefits of outsourcing such functions, besides the |
| The waste involved in long distance flight for | | | | obvious financial savings, are the inherent trust a |
| managers includes not only the direct travel expenses | | | | national will have with the business that a foreign |
| but also the wasted resources on flight time | | | | national cannot build, the cultural knowledge, and the |
| (unproductive time in transit), lost time through time | | | | impartiality that a third party will possess in objective |
| zone difference (different work hours) and loss of | | | | reviews through their separation from internal politics. |