One is a company that is a hundred and ten years old, one of a handful of so-called 'supermajors' that dominate the world of oil and gas. The other is a travel company that was founded a relatively recent 17 years ago.
This week, the two announced that they had signed a deal to work together around the globe.
The first company is BP; the second Egencia and the latter will handle the former's travel programme in 47 countries around the world, admittedly with some help from its Egencia Global Alliance partners.
Alex Thomson, VP of global business services, procurement at BP, said of the agreement, "Egencia's business travel platform is very impressive compared to other offerings in the travel management market. For a business of our size and global scale, having a technology and data-driven solution is crucial to ensuring every traveller in our business has the same great experience from planning to travelling and a safe return home. We are confident that Egencia will help us deliver that great experience."
One of the key points for BP is having a "simple, intuitive and consistent experience for its employees…on any device – anywhere in the world".
Another attraction is data. BP will use Egencia's Analytics Studio, which brings online, mobile, and offline booking data into one central location.
"We're proud to have been selected by BP to modernise their global business travel programme," says Arnaud Le Masne, vice president of worldwide sales at Egencia.
What is interesting about this deal is that it would have been unthinkable a few years ago. Long-established TMCs would regularly dismiss Egencia for its ability to service clients, particularly those that had high-touch, offline requirements.
An account win like this says that blue-chip companies no longer believe that Egencia cannot handle global, complicated programmes.
The reality is that this is not the first global company to entrust its business travel to Egencia. It has many big-name clients that it is not at liberty to disclose because its customers have chosen they do not want the information made public.
The success of newcomers into business travel at raising investment shows that investors believe that companies are willing to look beyond traditional TMCs to manage their programmes. Companies like TravelPerk and Tripactions as well as Egencia are clearly offering something that companies want and it is increasingly driven by the growing expectations of business travellers for a consumer-like experience with the ease of use of, say, a Netflix or a Spotify.
In a month in which a travel company with nearly 180 years of experience — Thomas Cook - went under, it is timely for 'old school' TMCs to think carefully about they way they go about their business.
It is no longer sufficient just to cast aspersions on the ability of these young upstarts to manage business travel. They clearly can.