Dublin Session - Working with RMC’s

By Alistair Murray, EuRA President

This year we decided to stick with the same format as the previous year and have a panel comprised of three RMC representatives (Daniel Danko – Altair, Fiona Redford – Cartus and Jason Parry – Sirva) and three DSP representatives from markets that have faced some interesting challenges over the past twelve months (Markus Demuth – Blue Relocation, Germany, Frank Morley –Corporate Care, Ireland and Raman Narula – Formula Group, India).

The objective of this session also remains the same – to discuss the relationship that RMCs and DSPs experience, to look for ways of improving and to leave the room with some ideas to take back to the office for how we can all work more collaboratively for everyone’s benefit.

We began by asking everyone to give an idea of the current activities levels they are experiencing, and there was definitely a theme. Last year was the busiest anyone had experience for a very long time but there remains some uncertainly in 2023. The panel agreed that there had been a slower start to the year but there was no shortage of optimism that volume would rebound by Q4.

In such an unpredictable and volatile market right now, the panel discussed how they really add value to their clients. The message was clear – take a consultative approach with clients and spend the time analysing data, benchmarking policies and allowance, and coach them on real word, tangible examples of what is currently happening in the market. This is only possible when DSPs share their experiences and discuss their interpretation of the scope of work based on what is currently realistic to deliver. This has to be done quickly, consistently and in a format that is easy to digest and share.

It was also interesting to learn how the panel felt now we have not only come through the pandemic but also experienced all of that much talked about “pent up demand” in 2022 when volumes soared, and activity levels almost reached breaking point. Frank Morley mentioned that during such a busy time last year, the RMC-DSP relationship improved considerably almost out of necessity. Everyone had to take the time to listen to each other to fully understand what was actually possible and how it was going to be achieved. This led to a greater level of trust and understanding.

And of course, we talked about technology. There’s always a sense of frustration that we aren’t making progress quickly enough but we still all agreed we are making small steps in the right direction. Some RMCs have a fully-functional API with some of their network –the next challenge is to have as many providers as possible enjoy the benefits that we have spoken about for so long. Added to that, it was agreed we must discuss the opportunities and threats to our industry of Artificial Intelligence, and this will form the centre point of our workshop discussion in Vilamoura.