Companies who don't implement an end to end strategic meetings management programme (SMMP) are missing out on savings of up to 28 per cent. This is according to Kari Knoll Kessler, president and chief strategist ofKK Solutions, who is speaking at the Business Travel & Meetings Show on 9 and 10 February 2010.
International SMM guru Kessler, who is flying over specifically to address the BTMS audience, explained: "It is hard to look at these numbers and decide not to introduce an SMMP.
"It is the only and best way to ensure that meetings processes are in control, regulatory requirements are met, money invested in meetings achieves a tangible business return, and standard processes ensure the ability to adeptly react to business and environmental changes.
"It is critically important that all meeting professionals understand the principles of SMM, specifically anyone who sees an opportunity in the future to play a role in this space - whether they are currently in travel, finance, procurement or meeting planning."
Kessler's session - ‘SMMP Quick Wins and Best Practices' - is part of a new meetings stream within the BTMS 2010 Conference Programme, which also features sessions from IKEA, Nike, Xerox and Cisco Systems.
Torbjorn Erling, global meeting and travel manager from IKEA, is presenting a case study called ‘Meeting the IKEA Way' outlining IKEA´s new corporate three-year meetings strategy and policy: "We have integrated virtual meetings, face-to-face meetings and travel into one end-to-end process, with the former travel management demand function as the business owner and support function for the global process implementation.
"I will be sharing some of the success factors for the progress we have seen after the first year of the strategy as well as some of the present and future challenges in making this a long lasting success."
BTMS 2010 event director David Chapple commented: "A recent survey carried out by BTMS showed that 52 per cent of travel managers are now responsible for managing meetings spend. This is a trend that will only continue to rise in the new decade and highlights why we have not only changed the name of the show to incorporate meetings, but why we have also enhanced its content to make it more relevant than ever to meetings professionals.
"In addition to the first class education programme on offer, there will be around 200 world-leading business travel and meetings suppliers at BTMS 2010, including global hotel groups, airlines, chauffeur companies and technology providers. These companies are all ready and waiting to negotiate with meetings professionals, making it a must-attend event for anyone interested in making significant time and cost savings on their meetings budget."
BTMS 2010 takes place 9-10 February 2010 at Earls Court 2 in London. To register for the show, sign up for conference sessions and save £30 on the door, please visit www.businesstravelshow.co.uk