National Governing Body of England’s Biggest Female Team Sport

Background

Formerly known as the “All England Netball Association,” the client has partnered with arrangeMY since 2020. The Vitality Roses Squad frequently travels globally for tours and international training camps, utilising the arrangeMY Trip online booking portal alongside our offline support team to manage complex point-to-point travel arrangements for large groups. This year, the squad is heading to Australia and New Zealand, with 23 members flying from Heathrow to Perth via Singapore and returning from Queenstown, NZ. Their travel needs include car hire in the UK for airport transfers, a coach in Australia from the airport to the hotel, multiple car hires during their stay, and coaches in New Zealand for transfers from Invercargill to Queenstown. arrangeMY also manages travel for the support team, students, competitors, press, and careers team.

In previous tournaments and events, arrangeMY has organised accommodations, catered to dietary requirements, and arranged meet-and-greets. For example, during the Quad Series, we managed external umpires and international venue sourcing, providing blocks of accommodation, team meeting rooms, physiotherapy rooms, bespoke menus, and laundry services. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, arrangeMY successfully navigated tours, ensuring full compliance with Covid-19 regulations and isolation procedures.

Key Drivers

arrangeMY met with the client’s business administration team in February 2020 to address several key requirements:

• Full Travel Management Assistance: A need for comprehensive support in travel management.
• Cost Reduction: The desire for an easy-to-use online booking tool to reduce expenses.
• Complex Offline Bookings: Significant demand for offline bookings to manage complicated journeys for large groups.
• Comprehensive Billback Facility: The need for a thorough review of accounts due to a complex expense policy.
• Simplified Travel Bookings: A focus on expert knowledge to streamline the booking process.
• Integrated Services: The ability to book additional services such as venue finding, taxis, car hire, and visas.
• Rapid Implementation: A speedy rollout tailored to the specific needs of each department.

Solution

After a successful three-month trial, arrangeMY was awarded the contract. Key initiatives included:

• Budget Revisions: Collaborating with the finance and business administration teams to revise hotel and travel budgets, introducing new guidelines for booker behaviour, particularly for large group bookings.
• Preferred Hotel Review: Conducting a full review of preferred hotel rates (covering 5,000 bed nights) through a Request for Proposal (RFP), allowing previously disregarded hotels the opportunity to participate.
• Accounts Procedure Review: Implementing a complete review of the accounts procedure, establishing a billback system for travel, hotel, and event bookings.
• Bespoke Online Booking Tool: Developing a tailored online booking tool for corporate use, implemented alongside a managed offline service within six weeks. A separate online portal for umpires was also created, incorporating its own travel and authorisation policy.
• Stakeholder Meetings: Engaging with key stakeholders to identify conference meeting and event requirements while introducing new ideas and venues.
• KPIs for Efficiency: Establishing KPIs to increase productivity and enhance cost management for large group bookings.
• Offline Support Function: Designing and implementing a comprehensive offline support function to manage large tours and group bookings.
• Standard Operating Procedures: Delivering a full training SOP to ensure effective use of the new system.
• Operational Team Training: Hosting the client’s operational team at arrangeMY HQ for process rollout.
• Preferred Hotels Database: Loading all preferred hotels into the system for ease of booking.
• Billback Benefits: Implementing billback features to streamline expense management.
• Regular Debriefs: Conducting weekly debrief meetings to ensure transparency on any changes.
• Administrative Efficiency: Reducing staff time spent on administration, allowing the client to focus on other projects.
• Forward Planning: Ensuring favourable rates were secured for future bookings.
• Commercial Rebate Scheme: Introducing a bespoke rebate scheme to enhance contract value.

Successes to Date

• Full Implementation: Successful rollout of the bespoke online tool and offline booking policy.
• Cost Savings: Achieved a 25% reduction in overall spend, including time management.
• Revised Travel Policy: Rolled out an updated travel policy with significantly improved compliance and confidence throughout the organisation.
• Consolidated Invoicing: Introduced consolidated monthly invoicing with new project codes, cost centres, itemised lines, and terms and conditions.
• Pandemic Navigation: Successfully managed the client’s tours during the pandemic, ensuring adherence to all Covid regulations and isolation procedures.
• Comprehensive Review: Conducted a full root-to-branch review of forward bookings and processes.
• Commercial Rebate Scheme: Implemented a commercial rebate scheme to enhance financial efficiency.

Our collaboration highlights arrangeMY’s commitment to providing tailored travel solutions that meet the unique needs of our clients, ensuring their success both on and off the court.