Getting With the Program - Carlson Wagonlit Travel

CWTvIsIon Issue 3 - January 200843) Advance booking: we appealed to employees to book early, at least two weeks inadvance if possible. You cannot be in complete control of compliance here, as meetingssometimes pop up at the last minute. But it does help simply to communicate howmuch people can save by ordering a ticket nine or 16 days in advance.4) Hotel compliance: we knew we could get better rates by leveraging room nightvolume. We therefore required travelers to use our online tool to book exclusivelyat hotels with which Henkel or CWT has a contract.CWT Vision: What processes did you implement to introduce the new policy?Birgit Schenscher: First of all, our updated policy document clearly set out therequirements, including the need to obtain written pre-trip approval by seniormanagement for flights diverging from the corporate standard. We also explained thatwe would be tracking missed savings, in effect measuring the financial impact of noncompliance.We then organized central, “top-down” communications on the policy changes(notably an email from the management board) while working with local purchasingteams and CWT experts to highlight savings opportunities in each country (e.g., potentialsavings through preferred suppliers on a specific route). We also invested heavily intraining employees to use the online booking tool correctly.CWT Vision: What results have you achieved in terms of savings and compliance?Birgit Schenscher: Globally, we have reduced air spend by 8 percent and overall travelspend by 6 percent, saving the company nearly US$6 million (€4 million). To tracksavings, we have mainly measured changes in the average ticket price per route, class oftravel and country. Germany has achieved the highest savings, representing a 10 percentreduction in average ticket price after one year, and the United States has recorded similarresults. More generally, all Henkel countries have reduced their average ticket price.In terms of compliance, we have also noted progress. For example, the advance bookingratio has improved in most countries, from an average of 28 percent worldwide to morethan 40 percent in countries like Germany (see the chart on Page 49). As anotherexample, compliance with the hotel program has risen from an average of 55 percent to66 percent worldwide. In addition, our online booking index rose from an average of 30percent to 80 percent in major countries.CWT Vision: What have been the main challenges?Birgit Schenscher: One of the main challenges initially was raising awareness of ourupdated, global travel policy and then convincing people of the benefits. Before 2006,many employees were not fully aware of global policy content and our clear bookingguidelines. Then all of a sudden, travel was on the agenda of each country’s executivecommittee and that meant that we were under a lot of pressure to deliver savings. Theupside was that country-level management could support us locally on initiatives thatwere not always popular (e.g., enforcing restricted fares).