Traveller-centric transformation: How Scania rebuilt its global travel programme

Mia Andersson, Scania's head of global travel management

When Scania embarked on an ambitious overhaul of its global travel programme, the Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer was not simply looking to update its technology stack or consolidate suppliers.

Instead, the company set out to answer a much bigger question: What would a travel programme look like if it were designed entirely around the needs of travellers rather than the limitations of legacy systems?

What ensued was an 18-month transformation project that replaced a fragmented, decentralised programme with a travel ecosystem centred upon the traveller profile – the foundation upon which everything else would sit.

For Mia Andersson, head of global travel management at Scania, the traveller profile became the programme's "holy grail".

"This was not just a tech replacement project," Andersson says. "We needed to centralise, yes, but we needed to make sure that the traveller was at the centre of every decision that we made. We weren't interested in replacing one bad technology with a more modern one and then moving on. This was a true business transformation."

The transformation project was finalised in late 2024 and has been operational for just over a year. It has already delivered a 20 per cent reduction in travel spend and significantly improved traveller satisfaction and productivity. More importantly, it has created a future-ready platform that gives Scania ownership of its travel ecosystem and the flexibility to evolve as its business and traveller needs change.

Laying a new foundation

When Andersson joined Scania in 2022, she inherited a travel programme that reflected years of decentralised decision-making.

Travel was managed differently across markets, with only ‘travel guidelines’ – no policy – visibility of spend was limited and traveller data sat in multiple disconnected systems. There was no automated flow of information between HR and travel systems, meaning traveller profiles frequently became outdated. In some cases, traveller records remained active even after employees had left the company.

The programme lacked consistency, control and a clear understanding of traveller needs.

Rather than immediately launching an RFP or selecting new technology providers, Andersson began with an extensive listening exercise involving travellers, bookers, stakeholders and senior leaders.

"The transformation started by listening," she says. "We needed to understand what was working well today, what wasn't working, what gaps we needed to close immediately and what would be nice to have in the longer term. We wanted travellers and stakeholders to actually feel the change."

At the same time, Scania's leadership team challenged the travel function to deliver significant savings. Andersson recognised that meeting those expectations would require investment rather than cost-cutting alone.

"When I first presented to senior management, they basically said, 'Can you save us this amount of money?'" she recalls. "I said, 'Yes, I can do that, and I can actually deliver more if you're interested.' But to do that I need investment in technology, and I need the right resources to help us through the transformation."

Executive support followed, along with funding for new technology and specialist expertise. A travel steering committee was also established to provide governance, remove barriers and ensure business priorities remained aligned with travel programme objectives.

Finding the holy grail

As Andersson and her team worked closely with travel management consultancy Festive Road to map the future travel ecosystem. In doing so, they realised that the traditional model – where traveller profiles are embedded inside booking tools, TMC systems or expense platforms – would ultimately limit Scania's flexibility.

Instead, they chose to create an independent profile layer through TravlrID. The platform receives traveller information directly from Scania's HR systems via an API integration and acts as the programme's single source of truth. Rather than storing traveller data across multiple supplier platforms, information resides in one place and is shared only when required and only with traveller consent.

"The profile is the holy grail," Andersson says. "TravlrID is an enabler for everything to connect. My data is provided to the airline or hotel only when it's needed for that trip. It isn't just lying around in different systems."

The approach fundamentally changed the architecture of the programme: with the traveller at the core, and suppliers functioning as connected service providers operating around it.

"Owning that single source of truth gives us flexibility for the future," Andersson adds. "It enables us to build an even more interconnected programme. We can connect new suppliers, new services and new business requirements without having to rebuild everything. We are a future-proof programme today because of that."

Building a connected ecosystem

After establishing the profile layer, Scania introduced a carefully selected mix of suppliers, each responsible for a specific capability within the programme.

TravlrID became the central profile management platform. Cytric in Microsoft Teams became the primary booking environment, while incumbent agency BCD Travel remained the primary TMC partner, responsible for 15 global markets, and ATG overseeing seven markets. HRS Pay was introduced to automate hotel payments and remove the need for many expense claims. Clarasight was integrated to provide visibility of emissions data, while GardaWorld was connected to strengthen traveller tracking and duty of care.

The implementation required extensive collaboration between travel, procurement, IT, data privacy and security teams.

"Instead of saying, 'such and such supplier would be a good fit, let's bring it in,' we asked ourselves what we needed from end to end," says Andersson. "It was a much bigger review."

Deep integration with Festive Road was critical to the company’s transformation plans, insists Andersson, and, after transitioning ownership to the internal team, “leave them in a stronger position for long-term success”.

Festive Road’s Ami Taylor was embedded as an outsourced tech experience manager. Operating as an internal Scania team member, Taylor brought an “outside-in perspective” to Scania that helped formulate the programme’s tech strategy.

"Every travel programme should have some form of travel technology expert," says Andersson. "I know travel and meetings programmes inside and out, but I'm not a tech expert. Ami was able to challenge us, challenge our suppliers and speak the language of our internal IT teams."

Although the core transformation project is now complete, Andersson says the travel team continues to work closely with Scania’s internal IT resources, keeping them engaged and “up to speed” with the travel programme with regular calls – something that had not previously taken place.

Redefining the role of the TMC

The emergence of a traveller-centred ecosystem inevitably raised questions about the role of the TMC. Initially, some suppliers questioned why Scania needed a separate profile management platform at all.

"We heard resistance at the beginning," says Andersson. "The question was always, 'Why do you need TravlrID when we already provide profiles?'"

In Scania's redesigned travel ecosystem, rather than acting as the owner of traveller data, the TMC would become one specialist service provider among several connected partners. Traveller profiles would flow into the TMC environment when required, enabling agents to deliver services without becoming custodians of the data itself.

Today, Andersson believes the model is proving beneficial for both sides. "What we're hearing now is that it has actually simplified things for them as well because they know the right data is coming in," she says.

The change has allowed the TMC to focus on servicing complex bookings, which currently make up 25 per cent of Scania’s total booking volume. Meanwhile, simple point-to-point bookings are increasingly handled online through Cytric’s Teams integration.

"We will pay for a TMC if they give us value," says Andersson. "The value is in the complex bookings, traveller support and specialist expertise."

At the same time, the profile-led architecture has simplified traveller onboarding and supplier transitions. As Scania moves towards a single global TMC strategy, the company can migrate travellers far more efficiently because profile ownership remains independent of any individual provider.

"It is a simplification," says Andersson. "They considered it a threat in the beginning, but now they see the benefits."

Improved experience and better outcomes

Scania’s global travel programme now incorporates 85 per cent of the company’s travel spend, up from 60 per cent, and supports some 17,000 travellers on around 57,000 trips annually.

Travel spend has fallen by 20 per cent, while average ticket prices have decreased by 10 per cent. Online adoption has risen to 67 per cent and continues to move towards Scania's target of 75 per cent.

Perhaps most importantly, travellers themselves report significant improvements.

"Sixty-seven per cent of our frequent travellers say they are more efficient now," says Andersson. "That's from booking until they come home and complete their expenses. The whole journey is simpler."

Traveller profiles are now fully automated, eliminating manual profile creation and reducing finance and reporting errors.

Scania has even introduced a "no profile, no booking" policy, which was recently extended to guest travellers, and is strictly enforced with its TMC.  

"A year ago we couldn't have done that," says Andersson. "Today we can because we have such an efficient automated process."

“We now have a purposeful travel programme that allows Scania to manage, influence and control travel according to our shifting needs,” she adds. “We built a platform to encourage travellers to make the right choice, ensure they travel for the right reason, in the right way and at the right cost.”

The booking experience itself has also become significantly more user-friendly. Cytric's integration with Microsoft Teams has delivered a “much-needed” mobile booking capability, while a ‘Share My Trip’ feature went down particularly well with travellers.

“Our travellers are more satisfied, our programme is more effective, and employee feedback indicates increased productivity and efficiency,” says Andersson, who says the transformation has also strengthened Scania’s culture of collaboration and innovation.

For this achievement, Scania and Festive Road were named Travel Team of the Year at the 2025 Business Travel Awards Europe.

What's next?

Andersson views the programme as a constantly evolving platform. Her focus now is on increasing adoption, integrating additional capabilities and exploring new opportunities for artificial intelligence.

Scania is also evaluating how the profile-centred architecture could support adjacent functions such as meetings and events and global mobility.

"The transformation isn't finished," says Andersson. "It's about continuous improvement."

While most buyers still rely on suppliers to provide the architectural backbone of their travel programmes, Scania has demonstrated the value of a ‘build-your-own ecosystem’ approach – one that is centred on traveller outcomes rather than supplier capabilities.

"The traveller experience was the game changer," Andersson says. "Everything starts there."