Logistics and Housebuilding Developer

With a rich history spanning 30 years, this logistics and housebuilding developer operates across two dedicated business units throughout England and South Wales, aligned with structural growth trends.

Recognising the need to modernise their travel processes for significant cost savings and to streamline the booking experience for their employees, the client awarded arrangeMY the contract in 2022.

Key Requirements

• Consolidated invoicing for each business unit, categorised by Cost Centres and Project Codes
• Introduction of self-booking functionality to empower employees, reducing reliance on a limited pool of PAs for travel arrangements
• Full bill-back capabilities and a comprehensive review of account procedures
• Complete visibility of travel expenditure
• A one-stop-shop travel solution, including venue sourcing and event management

Our Solution

1. New Travel Policy: We developed a revised travel policy with updated hotel budgets categorised by region across the UK, ensuring caps were effectively implemented for each location.
2. Booking Rules: We established guidelines on the types of flight and rail journeys, including blocking first-class bookings for all but long-haul journeys.
3. Pre-Trip Approval Process: In collaboration with the client, we co-designed a revamped travel policy that includes a pre-trip approval process, ensuring adherence to company guidelines and instilling confidence among employees.
4. Rate Negotiations: We conducted rate negotiations and implemented a comprehensive corporate hotel rate programme in key locations.
5. Visibility Dashboards: We provided full visibility of the travel programme through visual dashboards, enabling better tracking and reporting.
6. Training Seminars: We organised initial and regular best practice training seminars, focusing on aspects such as selecting the best ticket types and incorporating meal allowances to enhance cost-effectiveness.

“The online tool is so much more user-friendly than our previous platform. It’s incredibly convenient to book at the touch of a button, knowing we are compliant with our pre-set booking policies.”

Successes

• Successfully rolled out self-booking functionality across each business unit.
• Increased online adoption rates from 58% to 91% within the first six months, now consistently achieving 98%.
• Achieved 100% adherence to travel policies from the outset, thanks to the integration of policies and approval processes.
• Implemented a corporate hotel programme for key locations.
• Tailored invoicing solutions enabling the client to upload invoices directly into their finance system, Xero.
• Achieved a 10% reduction in total travel spend within the first year.

The client’s primary objective is to maintain exceptional levels of online adoption, aiming for a consistent rate exceeding 95% monthly. This achievement has been upheld for over a year, with a commitment to continue this trend.

In our ongoing efforts to enhance our online booking tool, we actively seek Client Testimonial   to optimise the services we provide. A notable improvement was the integration of UK Rail split ticketing, identified as a critical feature by their Procurement Team. Following this discussion, our software developers successfully incorporated split ticketing functionality into our online booking tool, ensuring its availability to the client.

Client Testimonial

“All staff I have been in touch with are incredibly friendly and helpful – excellent service!”