Corporate Traveller Case Studies
ASSA ABLOY
Corporate Traveller has helped ASSA ABLOY save on air travel through best fare of day and reduced use of flexible tickets.
Our corporate teams have been managing ASSA ABLOY's travel program for almost a decade. Best practice travel management for ASSA ABLOY has involved implementing strategies to reduce the cost of airfares, improve traveller compliance and booking behaviour. ASSA ABLOY's ability to successfully drive change internally combined with Corporate Traveller's expertise has generated significant travel cost savings across the company's travel program.
About ASSA ABLOY
ASSA ABLOY is the global leader in door opening solutions, dedicated to satisfying end-user needs for security, safety and convenience. ASSA ABLOY is located in Europe, North America and in Australia and is considered one of the world's leaders in the electromechanical security sector in fields such as access control, identification technology, automatic doors and hotel security. The company manufactures and sells locks, cylinders, electromechanical products, security doors and fittings in Asia and Oceania.
What were ASSA ABLOY's challenges?
With a significant portion of its travel spend allocated to domestic and international airfares, ASSA ABLOY was looking to reduce costs, improve traveller booking behaviour and gain a better understanding of ticket classes. The company was also keen to maximise savings through increased use of best fare of day tickets. The company sought Corporate Traveller's assistance with reporting and monitoring to closely analyse booking behaviour, track exception codes and reasons for missed savings. ASSA ABLOY used this information to drive changes internally and maintain improved levels of policy compliance.
What were our strategies?
As part of a move to best fare of day strategy, ASSA ABLOY adopted an open skies policy. Using Corporate Traveller's suite of reporting tools, ASSA ABLOY closely monitored bookings where the best fare of day was not taken to identify and manage internally cases of missed savings.
Part of the overall strategy to contain costs also has been to encourage and implement where possible the advance purchase of airfares. Corporate Traveller's reporting has provided ASSA ABLOY with the visibility required to monitor and track airfare bookings to see if there have been instances of missed savings due to bookings being made less than five days before departure. Corporate Traveller has also provided ASSA ABLOY with training and guidance on ticket classes to ensure best practice travel management for fare purchasing. Corporate Traveller's recommendations to reduce traveller reliance on flexible tickets, combined with best fare of day strategy have helped the company to reduce its average domestic ticket prices. ASSA ABLOY's hotel program is managed by way of contracted rates based on a volume commitment with a preferred supplier as well as Corporate Traveller's corporate negotiated rate.
What were the results?
The adoption of an open skies policy, an increase in tickets purchased more than five days before departure and a move away from flexible fares has significantly reduced ASSA ABLOY's spend on airfares. Corporate Traveller's internal benchmarking system for best practice airfare procurement, indicates the company has saved 70 per cent on domestic airfares from January 2009 to June 2010. The company also has dramatically reduced its use of flexible fares with only one per cent of tickets booked between January and June in 2010 booked as flexible fares.
What is ASSA ABLOY's reponse?
"With the constant focus on cost control, we rely heavily on our team at Corporate Traveller to not only secure the best price for us in terms of air travel, but also to give us the best advice on accommodation, best routes, latest visa requirements and all round general support for our travel bookers. We find working with our own dedicated Corporate Traveller team really suits us as they know our policies and procedures and genuinely support our staff with the right choices. Of course, their friendly and patient staff are a pleasure to work with too."
Cherie Timmins, ASSA ABLOY.
