BTN’s list of the 100 biggest corporate travel spenders,
based on U.S.-booked air volume, is something of an industry bellwether; the
numbers alone offer a big-picture view of trends not only in corporate travel
spending but also in industry health and activity. Dig a little deeper and
you’ll find the CT 100 pointing the way toward new travel management practices
as they optimize their programs.
Companies in the Corporate Travel 100, for which BTN's David Meyer spearheaded our research, spent less overall in 2016
than they did in 2015. In 2015, the group’s U.S-booked air travel volume
totaled $11.3 billion. In 2016, it dropped to $11.16 billion. Based on a
combination of self-reported air volume and BTN estimates, 44 of the CT 100
companies reduced U.S.-booked air spend, 45 increased it and 11 stayed the same
or did not appear on last year’s list.
Dollar for dollar, though, many of the most significant
spend reductions came out of the top of the draw. Boeing, for example, cut
approximately $90 million in U.S.-booked air volume. That was the biggest drop
in the list but perhaps not the biggest surprise. IBM provided that.
After 30 years at the top of BTN’s CT 100, IBM ceded its
spot to global accounting giant Deloitte. While IBM increased its number of
U.S. air tickets in 2016, BTN estimates that its actual air spend dropped $25
million. At the same time, Deloitte upped its U.S.-booked air spend enough to
knock IBM to No. 2. Deloitte expects its air spend to rise another $25 million
in 2017. IBM, on the other hand, has undergone a major supplier change over the
past two years, which may be paying dividends in savings. After Egencia
acquired IBM’s preferred TMC, Orbitz for Business, IBM moved its business to
Concur. IBM also is focusing its efforts on improving the traveler experience
at little or no cost, a trend that is gaining among the CT 100.
It’s not just the largest of the large players making waves,
though. Cisco, which has hovered around No. 25 in the CT 100 rankings for the
past several years, rocketed up the list to round out the top 10. Cisco
acquired Jasper Technologies, CliQr Technologies and CloudLock in 2016 and
completed its third major 2017 acquisition at the end of July. Dell
Technologies, another growth-by-acquisition story, also was expected to dart up
the ranks of the CT 100 this year. And so it did, moving up nearly 40 places to
No. 29 after folding in EMC, which was on BTN’s big-spender list in its own
right before the acquisition.
Energy Companies Are
Sending Mixed Messages
Oil, gas and natural resources companies appeared stable
based on 2016 travel spend numbers, but then there was Chevron. ExxonMobil
actually rose one place to No. 13, even on slightly reduced spend. Royal Dutch
Shell, after falling 31 spots to No. 48 a year ago, pushed its way back to No.
36 this year with a major increase in U.S.-booked air spend. BP, which had
fallen to No. 90 a year ago, landed at No. 77 this year, albeit with a much
smaller increase in air spend. Chevron lost a lot of ground, however, falling
20 places to No. 69.
Trend Spotting
When it comes to best practices, there’s still a
clear focus on rightsizing spend to achieve business results, but companies are
looking at more sophisticated ways to achieve it. One strategy emerging among
big names like Accenture, IBM and Oracle is advanced data analytics. More
companies are digging deeper into their data to inform procurement and supplier
management strategies, but they also are using traveler data to drive traveler
experience and engagement levels. Companies clearly recognize the relationship
between traveler behavior and compliance and achieving program goals. There is
also a strong move toward rate-shopping tools like Tripbam and Yapta among the
CT 100, and several companies credit these tools with helping them realize
significant savings. A number of companies also have forged agreements with
ride-hailing platforms, aka Uber and Lyft, in pursuit of ground transportation
savings and traveler convenience. Unsurprisingly, several companies among the
CT 100 also placed renewed attention on travel risk management systems and
protocols.