A lot of what travel managers hear and read asks everyone to think about collaboration. Buyers particularly are advised to work with travellers, stakeholders, departments and suppliers to really understand company culture and have a programme that fits with it.
Sometimes this teaming up results in unexpected benefits or a new way of thinking that might not necessarily impact the travel programme but changes the processes that ease the pain of certain, occasionally small, tasks.
When putting forward a business case, for example, it would make sense to use the templates that other departments already use. Craig Banikowski, senior manager of global travel operations of Amgen benefits from a standard template across the company.
In the grander scheme of things, there is usually plenty of innovation happening within businesses that buyers may not be taking advantage of. The consumer-facing products that their own companies are producing are, at times, more advanced than those used internally. In technology specifically we know that travellers and travel managers like the user experience of online travel agents and apps but this same quality isn't available in the corporate world.
Microsoft's travel team is making moves to adapt the booking process but benefits from being the owner of technology that most people are familiar with: Outlook and MS Office. The company's Georgie Farmer, group manager, global travel, meetings and expense said it is working to improve hotel attachment to air bookings by recognising text within emails. Have you noticed that when you attempt to send an email that mentions 'see attached' that Outlook will tell you if something hasn't been attached? Well, it will apply the same concept to travel if someone mentions that they need to book a hotel.
There's changes on the supplier side too. Recent acquisitions show where TMCs and travel technology companies are looking at new services and delivery. At GBTA Europe Daniel Fitzgerald, chief product officer at Traveldoo told me he has only now just got access to the technology and knowledge that parent company Expedia uses despite being acquired five years ago.
I have personally benefitted hugely from speaking to other brands or departments within Centaur Media. Sometimes it's just advice but other times I've received Word document templates, heard about a very useful website or applied internally-built technology. It can dramatically help to walk a flight of stairs or two and use the time saved for something much more exciting.