Fenbeitong's article points out that a travel platform is a control tool, not a magic bullet for cost reduction. Cost reduction requires a combination of policies, platform, and operations. The platform can block non-compliant spending but cannot eliminate reasonable expenses from business growth. Enterprises should focus on data analytics and continuously optimize travel policies.
BCD Travel launched Tripsource Insights this summer as a core capability within the Tripsource platform, integrating data from BCD systems and supplier sources into one interface. It provides corporate travel and finance leaders with a unified, real-time view of travel spend, payment activity, and traveler risk. Using AI and NLP, the platform supports daily program management, helping optimize spend, monitor performance, and ensure compliance.
BCD Travel's research highlights that in hotel sourcing, 86% of buyers prioritize cost control, yet 97% want more flexible cancellation policies and 96% seek enhanced amenities. It suggests measuring utilization, challenging breakfast inclusion assumptions, aligning cancellation policies with behavior, benchmarking beyond discounts, and using data to define value to ensure paying for benefits actually used.
BCD Travel launched Tripsource Insights, an AI and NLP-powered analytics platform that unifies travel, payment, and risk data into a single view with real-time dashboards and natural language queries, helping travel and finance managers optimize spend, compliance, and safety.
SAP Concur highlights the importance of spend visibility in business management. It says companies with deep insight into how, where and why money is spent have a major advantage in controlling costs, and that spend visibility is the foundation of good financial management, helping identify cost-reduction opportunities, optimize budgets and make strategic decisions. Without visibility, organizations may struggle with low-return or redundant spending and, in increasingly complex regulatory environments, face policy violations, audit red flags, financial penalties and reputational damage. The article also notes challenges from fragmented data, inconsistent cross-department categorization, lag…
Amadeus announced a partnership with Microsoft to develop AI integrations for its Hospitality portfolio using OpenAI models on Azure. Two new tools: Amadeus Advisor chat will be integrated into Demand360, enabling customers to instantly produce customized analysis and insights; Email to RFP within MeetingBroker will automatically generate contextual, property-specific RFP responses. Demand360 is based on insights from 44,000 hotels and 35 million short-term rental properties, providing a 12-month forward-looking view of occupancy and market ranking plus two years of retrospective data. Advisor chat was rolled out to Agency360 in 2024, saving some analysts about a day each week. Omni Atlanta…
Scandinavian travel seller network Arrive Agencies extended its long-standing cooperation with Amadeus. The renewed agreement covers NDC-sourced air content, payments, data analytics, and hospitality booking solutions. Arrive Agencies will use tools including Amadeus Productivity Tracker, Outpayce B2B Wallet, and Amadeus Value Hotels. In September 2024, Arrive Agencies became a reseller of Amadeus Cytric Easy.
The third article in the SAP Concur and Financial Times series explores how data-backed financial storytelling can help CFOs fulfill their responsibilities. Citing the SAP Concur CFO Insights report, it notes significant shifts in CFO priorities within a year: 33% of CFOs surveyed in 2023 said their organization was investing in cutting-edge technologies like AI, rising to 63% in 2024; while monitoring market conditions dropped from 57% to 20% as a priority. 57% of CFOs said their company is investing heavily for growth. The article suggests using visuals, AI tools, and tailoring messages to audiences to improve financial communication.
A SAP Concur blog post describes four types of travel analytics—descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive—and how they help optimize costs, enforce policy, reduce risk and improve traveler experience. It recommends tracking KPIs such as total spend, cost per trip, booking rates, preferred vendor compliance and travel policy compliance rate. It also says analytics can support vendor sourcing and negotiation, policy optimization, demand management, experience enhancement and benchmarking.
SAP Concur discusses the use and challenges of data analytics in expense audits. The article says expense audits are essential to control spend and ensure financial health, and integrating data analytics is revolutionizing the task; studies indicate data analytics enhances audit quality by providing deeper insights and identifying potential risks more effectively. It also notes challenges: the need for specialized skills, longer hours spent on analysis, disruption to traditional audit processes, and increased employee workload, exacerbating CPA staffing shortages and raising stress among travel managers. SAP Concur research found 47% of global travel managers say their role is more stressfu…
SAP Concur analyzed U.S.-origin business travel bookings on Concur Travel from November to December 2023. The busiest business travel day in November was November 13, with Dallas and Chicago as the top two destinations. During Thanksgiving (November 17-26), Las Vegas claimed the top spot, with more than three times as many business travelers as Phoenix in tenth place. December 4 was the busiest travel day in December, with Dallas again ranking first. During Christmas and New Year (December 21-January 3), Orlando ranked first, with more than double the number of business travelers compared to Phoenix in second place.
An SAP Concur blog post explains the definition, operations and core value of travel management companies (TMCs). TMCs specialize in corporate travel needs, assisting with booking air travel, hotels, car rentals, train reservations and car services, and providing itinerary management and support throughout the trip. TMCs typically charge on a subscription or fee-for-service basis, offering benefits including streamlined processes, data gathering, 24/7 support, better prices, policy compliance, risk alerts and data analytics.
SAP Concur released a Travel and Expense Performance Benchmark Report based on data from its top 25% best-performing customers worldwide, helping businesses compare metrics such as expense approval time, rejection rates, corporate card usage, and booking channel visibility. Data is broken down by global region and company size (under 1,000 and 1,000+ employees), with a worksheet to help identify gaps and develop improvement plans.
SAP Concur surveyed 220 finance leaders across seven markets and released a CFO Insights report. Findings show four of five top external challenges relate to global economic turmoil; CFOs respond by increasing market monitoring (57%), investing in innovation (40%), and automation and AI (33%); 68% of CFOs see AI as a threat to their position, while 82% believe it will make operations leaner.
SAP Concur's blog publishes a business resilience guide, noting 90% of CFOs agree their top task is preparing for the unexpected. The article offers four ways to future-proof: using a single cloud platform for travel, expense, and invoice data; gaining visibility through advanced analytics; improving employee experience; and measuring progress with benchmark reports.
SAP Concur released an eBook, 'Better Ways from A to B,' outlining five areas of its travel management solutions designed to simplify travel processes and control costs for businesses of all sizes. The areas include booking, travel experience, traveler safety, reporting and analytics, and mileage tracking.
SAP Concur published a blog discussing how its spend management solutions help businesses navigate expansion challenges across multiple regions, currencies, and compliance. The article covers two stages—exploring and embracing expansion—and highlights the importance of automation, data analytics, and compliance tools.
SAP Concur analyzed expense report data from the first half of 2023 and found that business meal and entertainment spending surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Entertainment spending increased 11.86% compared to the first half of 2019, while meal spending rose 9.1%, with SMBs contributing significantly.
SAP Concur article emphasizes integrating travel, expense, and invoice management. Through automated compliance checks, mobile access, and comprehensive reporting, businesses can improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance compliance, and leverage data-driven decisions.
SAP Concur explores how to leverage financial data to drive innovation. The article emphasizes the need to consolidate disparate spending data, centralize it through automated spend management systems, and use AI to analyze trends and improve efficiency. Industry benchmarks, leading indicators, and lagging indicators help businesses measure performance and identify innovation opportunities.
According to market intelligence firm IDC, SAP Concur had 54.1% market share in the travel and expense (T&E) management software market in 2019, and the total market grew from $2.0 billion in 2018 to $2.3 billion in 2019. The IDC report noted that public cloud adoption in T&E dominated, accounting for 83.9% of the market. The report also outlined seven key qualities of a modern T&E solution, including enhancing analytics capabilities, prioritizing user experience, and creating intelligent workflows.
A SAP Concur blog post cites an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey of 552 senior executives in 11 countries: 91% say technology-driven expense management systems are key to meeting spend policies and protocols, and 95% agree that real-time data analytics has helped keep spending and operations in line with company goals. The post notes the pandemic is accelerating adoption of cloud, AI, machine learning, and automation to achieve spend visibility, consistency, and compliance.
SAP Concur webinar addressed common business questions during the pandemic. Remote work creates new expenses like monitors, internet, and office supplies, requiring policy updates. Companies stay connected via digital tools and use SAP Qualtrics to assess employee well-being. SAP Concur offers reports and analytics to control spend and optimize cash flow.
Mark Linver, Managing Director of Deloitte Life Sciences Advisory, discusses how life sciences manufacturers can use artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to manage compliance risks. Since it is not feasible to audit all activities involving healthcare professionals (HCPs), compliance organizations use a risk-based approach. A Deloitte survey shows manufacturers want to use AI to monitor financial transactions in real time, implement automatic controls to prevent overspend, automate contract reviews, and more. AI can increase the amount of data reviewed, the frequency of audits, identify anomalies, and prioritize compliance risks. The article also covers knowledg…
The SAP Concur blog discusses challenges in county budget management post-pandemic, emphasizing zero-based budgeting, detailed expense categorization, and data-driven decision-making. Citing McKinsey and Brookings reports, it notes sales tax declines and recommends counties refine budget categories, update policies, and use data to forecast and approve spending.
SAP Concur's Concur Travel offers a single interface for booking flights, hotels, cars, and trains, integrated with expense management to ensure policy compliance. Features include color-coded policy indicators, e-receipts, mobile app, TripLink, TripIt Pro, and analytics, providing spend visibility and control for businesses.
A SAP Concur blog post cites an Oxford Economics study: cost-conscious SMB finance leaders achieve better outcomes while keeping expansion costs in line. The study reports 93% of cost-conscious SMB executives agree they have the right platforms and systems to adapt to their growing organization, versus 79% of less cost-conscious executives. The post notes that as companies grow, discretionary expenses such as travel, expenses, marketing, and office supplies can add up quickly, and intelligent automated technologies can help finance leaders proactively control costs and optimize cash flow.
A SAP Concur blog post highlights three tools for small businesses: Audit Services, which combines human auditors and AI to identify misuse, waste and noncompliant spend; reporting solutions that draw on discretionary spend data held on one platform for easy access and visualization; and App Center connections linking employees to popular enterprise applications, travel brands and rewards programs. The post says these tools help control cash flow, ensure compliance, reduce costs and mitigate fraud risk.
SAP Concur published a guest article discussing how people analytics can help organizations gain new business insights. The article debunks three common myths: people analytics involves more than one type of analytics, does not require expensive technology, and is not only for HR. It notes applications in workspace planning, work design, and automation and employee experience, and highlights that analyzing employee spend data (such as travel expenses) can optimize budgets and improve employee experience.
A SAP Concur blog post describes a global survey of 1,500 finance executives by Oxford Economics and SAP examining what separates leading finance leaders from followers, compiled into the report Effective Spending Management Boosts Performance. The report lists six traits of top finance leaders, including strong influence beyond finance, driving strategic growth, improving efficiency with automation, effectiveness at core finance processes, collaboration with business units and handling regulatory change. The post says 95% of CFOs consider cloud-based applications critically or very important to financial performance.
IDC analyst Kevin Permenter writes on the SAP Concur blog that financial services firms are shifting from cost control to optimizing travel spend. The article emphasizes capabilities like advanced analytics, better reporting, APIs, and data visualization to understand business travel outcomes and drive smarter decisions.
A SAP Concur blog post cites a 2019 IDC survey of 800+ global executives. The survey found that for most companies, 40% to 45% of revenue goes toward spend; 90% of respondents reported room to improve spend control; 95% said they were likely to invest in intelligent spend management platforms in the next two years; and 60% were already talking with a technology vendor.
Concur analyzed $36 billion in travel expenses processed between Q1 2015 and Q1 2017, revealing spending differences between millennials (ages 22-35) and older employees (ages 36-65). The data shows that older employees' total expenses per employee are 66% higher than millennials', but millennials spend slightly more on hotel-related expenses. The article also explores industry and regional differences and suggests companies adapt travel policies to meet millennials' demand for a seamless experience.
A SAP Concur blog post says travel managers are shifting from 'command and control' to 'enlightenment and empowerment' in response to changing employee expectations, emerging technologies and rising global mobility. It recommends five priorities: data and analytics, evaluating new technology, traveler safety, employee satisfaction, and driving value. It cites data that some 37% of hotel reservations and 15% of air bookings are made by employees outside corporate channels, and that supplier-direct bookings can increase costs and keep travel managers from optimizing programs. It also notes that once 5G becomes common, bandwidth speeds will be 10 to 20 times faster, unleashing a new wave of in…
A SAP Concur blog post introduces a travel and expense management maturity model developed with IDC, dividing corporate spend management into five stages: legacy applications, automated point solutions, connected platform ecosystem, integrated application suites, and intelligent/predictive processes. The post notes legacy systems relying on spreadsheets and non-integrated systems risk untimely expenses, inaccurate accruals, and non-compliant spend, while the final stage uses predictive processes, machine learning-based fraud detection, and near real-time data visibility to increase business agility and resilience.
A SAP Concur blog post aims to clarify common misconceptions about spend management solutions. It emphasizes that a true solution should focus on both end-user experience and the experience of finance managers, providing data analysis and compliance support. The post also distinguishes between 'connected' and 'integrated' and notes that reporting and analytics capabilities vary by provider, requiring complete data capture and professional analytical support.
A SAP Concur blog post presents fraud detection strategies shared by Ford Motor Company and CenterPoint Energy in an ACFE webinar: combining p-card data with expense reports to analyze trends; reviewing employee spend in all investigations; and using systems to analyze 100% of transactions and flag risks. In the Ford case, reviewing two years of expense reports uncovered $3,000 in fraudulent spend.
A SAP Concur blog post cites the ACFE's 2018 global report on occupational fraud and abuse: total occupational fraud losses reached $7 billion, with median reported fraud losses of $153,000 for insurance and $110,000 for financial services. The most common schemes in banking and finance were corruption (36%) and cash on hand (23), while insurance saw more corruption (45%) and billing (20%). The report found organizations with internal anti-fraud controls had lower fraud instances, and those proactive with data monitoring and analysis saw 52% lower losses and 58% faster detection.
SAP Concur blog highlights that growing businesses need a single, real-time view of spending to effectively control budgets and drive growth. The article recommends centralized finance teams obtain integrated travel, expense, and invoice data analytics, use role-based dashboards and reports, set up spending alerts, and address challenges like VAT reclaim, mobile spending, and tax compliance.
SAP Concur's blog published a guide to choosing a travel and expense (T&E) solution, citing IDC MarketScape and recommending that enterprises look for workflow automation, advanced analytics, conversational interfaces and APIs, and evaluate modern capabilities such as ecosystem support, data security, advanced payment methods and intelligent automation.