Success story: Saving money with data-driven insights

Connections Success Stories showcase how our clients use BCD technology to optimize their travel programs. These quick stories highlight what BCD has done for clients, and what we could potentially do for yours.  

On this episode, Chad connects with Gabby Davis, multi-national program manager, and the pair discuss how a global company faced issues with budget-busting air bookings and how BCD's team of experts were able to use our data and analytics solution to make quick changes that resulted in program savings within one quarter. 

Learn more by visiting https://www.bcdtravel.com or https://www.linkedin.com/company/bcd-travel/

Transcript

Chad Lemon:

Connection success stories are quick highlights showcasing the impact of our technology and how BCD clients are using our solutions to improve their travel programs. On this Connections success story, we focus on an aerospace and defense company that reduced inflated travel costs due to last minute bookings using our DecisionSource reporting. And today's guest is Gabby Davis, multinational program manager from North America. Welcome to the podcast, Gabby.

Gabrielle Davis:

Hey Chad. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to share how we helped this program achieve some savings - something that every company is focused on right now, of course.

Chad Lemon:

Oh yeah, absolutely. I think that might be the hidden number one objective, right?

Gabrielle Davis:

Yep, of course.

Chad Lemon:

Okay, so help me paint a picture of this client. What type of travel program do they have and what were their needs?

Gabrielle Davis:

Sure. So this is a global aerospace and defense company with manufacturing, sales and service facilities in 25 countries.

Chad Lemon:

Okay.

Gabrielle Davis:

They have thousands of employees all over the world, and this is a multimillion dollar travel program. So they do have a large travel footprint, essentially.

Chad Lemon:

So after you and the team took a closer look at the program, what need did you all set out to solve?

Gabrielle Davis:

Yeah. After 2023, the client's travel expenses had increased for a variety of reasons, including the volume, which their travelers were booking last minute air reservations. And, as many travel programs know, that almost always guarantees higher ticket prices and fares and even plays a part in availability. This became such a problem because it actually surpassed their budget limits. These travelers all operate under government contracts with strict spending supervision. So we needed to do something about it quick to help correct this problem.

Chad Lemon:

Well, what approach did you all take to help the client out?

Gabrielle Davis:

Yeah, so we knew that we needed to improve the quarterly travel cost reports using the client's cost center as the foundation. This approach provided a detailed breakdown by department that facilitated a more granular understanding of their travel spend. So we suggested that the client begin using our Travel Report Card via our data engagement solution, DecisionSource. And DecisionSource is our proprietary reporting and analytics solution. So we went ahead and customized the Travel Report Card, tailoring it to showcase only the cost centers operating under the government contracts, and that helped ensure that the report focused on key departments.

Chad Lemon:

Talk to me a little bit more about that report. What it focused on and what it was showing.

Gabrielle Davis:

So there were three key areas of focus, and that was the percentage of advanced purchase tickets less than 21 days before departure, the average number of days for advanced purchase tickets, and the average ticket price for domestic and international flights.

Chad Lemon:

Okay. Alright. Well, I love this so far, and I love that we were able to take a report from our data and analytics solution like you talked about, and customize it to fit the client's exact needs. After doing all that, what was the outcome?

Gabrielle Davis:

So the improved report was presented to the government contracted travel programs during a monthly meeting that we have with the client's global mobility team. After implementing the new report, tickets purchased more than 21 days in advance, increase in just one quarter alone.

Chad Lemon:

Oh my, okay. Of course, great outcomes, but I'm kind of blown away by how quick that turnaround time was to program changes. That's really exciting.

Gabrielle Davis:

I know. They have a wonderful team. So utilizing the customized Travel Report Card, increased the client savings and is influencing more long-term solutions even. So, their global mobility team is tracking booking trends to encourage better travel behavior and reduce the travel costs. So the Travel Report Card data is now used as a baseline for contract proposals and their budget tracking. This strategy drives financial responsibility and maximizes resource allocation by incorporating DecisionSource data into program and project activities.

Chad Lemon:

All of this, everything that you just described is really a perfect example of fast acting problem solving from our team of travel experts. And I assume that the client was over the moon happy?

Gabrielle Davis:

Oh my gosh, of course. They certainly were. In fact, they said that we helped by allowing them to not only reduce their costs, but also provide their teams with data-driven insights to better understand their travel behavior and make more informed decisions in the future.

Chad Lemon:

I love that. Anytime that you have data to back up what you're doing, the recommendations you're making and the changes you're making, I think it's just a no-brainer. So I love that you pointed that out. And I think it's also important to understand that not all solutions will work for every situation. But that's why we, and when I say we, I mean BCD Travel as a whole, we love embracing flexibility and personalization from our strategies to our technologies.

Gabrielle Davis:

Oh, completely. And our collaborative program solving with our customers is a great example of commitment to helping programs travel smart and achieve more.

Chad Lemon:

Well, another amazing success story, really thankful you were able to join us on the podcast. Thanks so much for sharing this amazing success story, Gabby.

Gabrielle Davis:

Yes, thank you. Thank you so much.