Devoted to purchasing, purchasing agents, and all things related

As I mentioned in a previous post, being the Buyer in charge of travel services is a tough job.  It is also an area that is seen as low hanging fruit in Strategic Sourcing initiatives because there is so much opportunity to achieve spend savings.

Caution: getting involved in a travel services RFP situation is not for the corporate faint of heart.  A travel services Buyer once said to me the first day that I met her, "I'm known around here as the Travel Bitch.  It's much easier that way."  I liked her instantly!

Companies contemplating organizing or managing travel for the first time are going to face an uphill battle.  Employees used to booking trips with their own credit cards and earning mileage points or frequent flyer miles will be understandably reluctant to give up such a perk. 

While I don't blame them, the reality is that any rewards, discounts, etc, should be gathered by and returned to the company through the use of corporate cards if there is no formal program or it should all be handled through the travel office of the company and the employee should never be responsible for paying on his or her own.  (Some companies prefer that employees use their own credit cards as a means of preventing fraud.  Decision makers at each company must decide the most important motivation/result for themselves.)

Employees also will not easily relinquish control of a process they are used to handling on their own.  It will seem as if Purchasing is "interfering again, adding unnecessary steps to the process."  It's the age old battle for Buyers trying to help their coworkers and senior management understand the benefits of unified policy to handle all kinds of buying.

For more on this topic, see Managing Travel Services - Part 2