The thought of change often fills us with dread. Moving house, changing jobs, even swapping mobile phone providers is often avoided at all costs, due to the presumed pain associated with the switch.
For most procurement decision makers, the thought of changing TMCs can be met with blood curdling screams. Millions of lines of transaction data, thousands of traveller profiles, multiple systems and processes all have to be considered. To use the old analogy, leaving your TMC can create a lot of 'baggage'.
Or does it? Is changing TMC really that painful?
Well, it certainly can be, but it doesn't need to be. Your TMC, like any other supplier, is well versed in moving clients in and out of service. However, some TMCs are clever at focusing on just how much upheaval a customer would have to endure by deciding to work with someone else. It's known as 'the pain of disconnect' and some organisations will go out of their way to highlight it, should you be considering moving on. However, there are few remedies to avoid pain in switching travel suppliers, steering clear of the black hole of vendor lock-in.
Pain of change as a motivator to stay
First, it's important to note that organisations across the world change their TMC every day. The process of changing TMCs shouldn't be shrouded in mystery, fraught with stumbling blocks designed to 'make you stay'. After all, unhappy clients often create more pain for the TMC than leaving in the first place. Pain of change should never be a reason to continue working with a travel partner that is not delivering to your needs.
A supplier that 'plays nice'
All TMCs should 'play nice'. Client churn is an inevitable part of travel management and something every TMC is prepared for. Obviously, no TMC wants to lose a valued client, but when clients do move, it is in everyone's interest to make the transfer as painless as possible, as it expedites the process for the customer and allows them to move on, while protecting the TMC's integrity and reputation.
Your TMC should be providing transparency in TUPE, data and profiles, well-kept records and access to clear documentation of process and systems of the existing service.
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Suppliers will give the illusion that changing direction is difficult when it's not ©FabioFilzi/iStock
Understanding how to avoid pain in changing TMCs rests on several key buying motivations and resistors.
Change as an opportunity
Most customers do not change TMCs on a whim; it is a thought-out, carefully calculated decision. Usually, it is driven by value, a better fit for your objectives or an improved experience for travellers, or a combination of those reasons.
While a change may present administrative pains, moving providers can often alleviate pain in other areas, for example the limitations of the booking tool you use now, access to services that fit with your travel needs or a provider with a presence in your expanding markets. In this case, it's worth bearing in mind that any short-term pain should be eclipsed by the longer-term benefits.
Often, the biggest challenge in implementing a TMC's travel programme is gaining buy-in from bookers. Most customers moving TMCs have a cultured travel programme: bookers have already bought into the service concept. Your new TMC should offer an enhanced service, easier booking tools, better workflows and a faster booking time, for example.
Protecting your service throughout transition
Changing suppliers is often associated with a disruption in services, a gap in delivery during transition and an inconvenience to your travellers. How will travellers be supported throughout the transition?
To ensure service continuation you need to challenge old and new, understanding how they will work together to safeguard your travel bookers and travellers in the field. This is an important part of the duty of care for your employees and should set the tone for the on-going supplier relationship. Be bold early on; ask them to be specific and detail what they will do for you in these circumstances.
Supporting your business and objectives
A big motivator to changing providers is simply business growth or contraction. Consider the suitability of any potential TMC for your current and probably future size, scope and speciality. Your travel service should act as an extension of you working as part of the team, so ensuring a TMC is the right fit for your business is vital to delivering your travel management mission.
You need to make sure your organisation will not be deemed unimportant, or too small. Equally, you don't want to be simply too large for your TMC's capabilities, with your provider unable to support you and your travellers effectively.
Don't shy away from awkward questions, for instance the percentage of clients that match your profile. How they answer will provide insight into their true position.
Cost vs. value
Cost is one of the biggest problems both buyers and TMCs face. TMCs often use complex costing models leading to a lack of transparency, resulting in ill-informed buying decisions.
Increasingly, organisations compete on cost, with a race to zero approach whereby buyers are so mesmerised by the figures at the end, they miss the added value in a TMC's offering (eg proprietary software, online adoption, identifying and eliminating leakage etc).
This can create a particular stumbling block for buyers when it comes to their service expectations. Simply put, rock bottom prices often means rock bottom service, with little regard for those hugely relevant factors such as improvement, customisation and support of higher business objectives.
In truth, cost is just a factor of value - it is important, of course, but it needs to be included in a broader review of the whole package. Value is determined by reviewing the business impact vs. the price you pay, to identify if the benefits outweigh the cost. Does your new enhanced service respond to business needs? Does it save you money in the short or long term? Is your existing service costing you and your business in missed opportunities or wastage?
Defining an exit strategy to successfully transition
Ultimately, buyers should think about relieving the pain of change before the first contract is signed. Make sure to ask TMCs about their exit strategy to ensure safe transfer of service, should the time come.
Avoiding pain in changing TMCs is all about planning for the transition. Change needs to be driven by reason rather than emotion and it needs to be completed in partnership between the client and the outgoing and incoming TMC. With this approach, any problems can be identified and rectified without compromising service quality or traveller safety.