2016 U.S.-Booked Air Volume: $47 million
Principal Card Supplier: AirPlus
Principal Online Booking Tool Supplier: e-Travel Management
Consolidated Global Agency: BCD Travel
BTN estimates Daimler spent $47 million in U.S.-booked air
travel in 2016, earning it a place in the CT 100 for the first time in five
years. The automaker has simplified its travel processes after estimating that
booking and expense reports cost it €25 million in productivity each year. The
simplification includes working with global travel management company BCD
Travel, payment supplier AirPlus and online booking tool supplier Amadeus to
create the FiveStar Model, which handles payments through virtual account
numbers and automatically reconciles invoices during the trip. Daimler is
rolling out that model region by region this year. Revenue increased 3 percent
in 2016 to €153.3 billion. The company reduced its headcount by 1 percent to
282,488.