Bob Papworth talks to Rosie Burnie, travel buyer at Luvata’s global headquarters in Middlesex
Luvata has some 6,300 global employees - how many are frequent travellers?
The majority of our staff are working in the factories, so we only have about 75 frequent travellers. The key destinations are London, Stockholm, Helsinki, Chicago, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Venice.
From these hubs, there’s usually further travel involved to Luvata sites and customers.
What are the key elements of your travel policy?
Staff are required, whenever applicable, to use the preferred suppliers. We travel economy for flights up to six hours, and premium economy or business class for longer trips. Rail is standard class in the UK but business class for international journeys. Accommodation is booked in standard rooms in three- or four-star hotels. The travel policy and details of preferred suppliers are posted on the travel section of Luvata’s intranet.
We have a team who are the regular bookers within the group, and they are very aware of the travel policy and help me implement it. The exercise of the policy is to save costs and ensure staff welfare, so the company is quite compliant.
How long have you been in your current role, and what does it entail?
I have been with Luvata since December 2005. My role has many aspects, including managing the head office and travel procurement, as well as organising the executive meetings and events.
How did you first get into the travel buying/management sector?
When Luvata was acquired by Nordic Capital in 2005, there was an immediate need to set up new policies and agreements for the group. As I was implementing the new head office in London, it was just one of the things on my to-do list. It’s satisfying when you forge a partnership with a TMC [travel management company], suppliers and service providers that works well for everyone.
In your current role, what has been your biggest challenge/opportunity, and how have you met it?
Apart from taming maverick travellers, one of the biggest challenges was trying to get contracts in place with very poor data. Over time, this has been improved by consolidation and contracting with a TMC that fits Luvata’s culture.
What would be the one aspect of travel management you would change?
To make airlines have a less complicated and more universal fares system.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in a travel buyer manager role?
Have patience and really take the time to know your travellers and suppliers.
How aware do you and your travellers have to be of different business cultures?
Our intranet is very useful in keeping up with local sites’ news. This has helped us feel more unified as a company, and we use the knowledge and expertise of our local teams to advise us before and during trips.
How do you strike the balance between cost control and traveller well-being?
Staff welfare is of utmost importance. There is no point making savings if your traveller arrives stressed, tired and unable to function properly at the meeting. There are many ways to bring costs down and still maintain standards.
Travel technology is becoming ‘smarter’ all the time – how does that affect you?
Now, with the ability to link most things to your smartphone, it’s becoming a great way for travellers to keep up-to-date with their itinerary and destinations news. They feel more in control and knowledgeable.
How would you describe your relationship with your TMC?
We have been with Chambers Travel Management since 2006, and we have both seen each other grow over the years. Chambers feels like a family to Luvata. The whole service, from account management and booking team to out-of-services support, has worked very well for us.
The working week is over – how do you relax?
Strangely enough, I am usually running to the airport on a Friday, to go and spend the weekend visiting friends in one city or another in Europe. Otherwise, I’m running home to cook dinner as people are visiting me.
Background info
Headquartered in Brentford, Luvata provides components and materials for everything from heat-transfer systems to MRI scanners, and from switchgear to solar panels. Luvata supplied CERN’s large hadron collider’s 525 million km of superconductive filament – enough wire to stretch to the moon and back 684 times. The company has 36 production facilities worldwide.