At SAP Concur Fusion in Orlando, SAP Concur recognized six 2022 Innovation Award winners: Infineon, IDP Education, NTT DATA Philippines, Ocean Network Express, Dover Corporation and The Walt Disney Company. Their projects span travel-compliance risk engines, invoice capture, faster expense reimbursement, global policy consolidation and single-instance deployment.
The article argues that as business travel rises, cost control requires more than low-cost airfare and rideshare programs; documenting a travel expense policy has a major impact on the bottom line. A policy should cover standard categories such as accommodations, travel, food and entertainment with clear rules, simplifying reporting and approvals, lowering per-trip costs and reducing fraud opportunities. A GBTA Foundation and Sabre study found 59% of respondents say a company's travel policy is an important factor when considering a new employer, and 84% say the quality of their business travel experience affects business results.
The article says mileage reimbursement is a common travel and expense line item, and inaccurate or inefficient handling leads to overspending, employee frustration and compliance issues. SAP Concur's Concur Drive uses GPS to automatically log trips, calculate mileage and apply preset reimbursement rates. It offers three best practices: update policies, keep it accurate and make it mobile. Automated mileage tracking can save up to 21 hours per employee per year, and mobile mileage tracking tools can cut personal mileage expenses by 20%-30%.
Global medical devices company Smith & Nephew shifted from an overly compliance-driven approach to an employee-centric focus after management changes, scaling operations across 44 countries. Using focus groups and surveys, it applied AI and Concur Detect to streamline travel and expense processes and ensure compliance, returning over 20,000 productivity hours to employees, with managers no longer approving expenses individually.
The article says healthcare organizations still rely on manual processes, disconnected systems and spreadsheets for accounts payable, limiting visibility into invoices, suppliers and spending. Citing Ardent Partners' Accounts Payable 2026 report, it identifies automation, data management, real-time compliance, fraud prevention and closer AP-treasury alignment as major 2026 forces. An IOFM report found best-in-class AP teams operate at 77% lower invoice-processing costs, process more than twice as many invoices per employee, and need correction on only 7% of transactions.
A SAP Concur blog post, citing the ACFE 2016 Global Fraud Study, notes that the median loss from occupational fraud is $150,000, 23.2% of cases cause losses of $1 million or more, and the typical organization loses 5% of annual revenue to fraud. It argues life sciences firms are especially vulnerable due to complex regulation and fragmented global spend data, and recommends corporate card auto-import, pre-approval, third-party audits and disciplined data entry to strengthen T&E controls.