FCM News

FCM steals the show

The FCM/RSA team collected the award from awards host Dara O’Briain including Graham Ross, Hayley France, Dominic Hall, Joanne Adkins, Neelam Heer and Andrew Cameron

FCM Travel Solutions triumphed at the prestigious 2020 Business Travel Awards in January, winning the top accolade of Travel Team of the Year together with the travel management company’s client RSA Insurance plc.

Organised in conjunction with Buying Business Travel magazine, the Business Travel Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of the travel industry’s leading businesses, teams and individuals, who have performed outstandingly in their chosen field over the last 12 months.

The FCM/RSA Insurance plc Travel Team have rejuvenated RSA’s entire travel programme over that period. Many travellers were previously booking their own flights and hotels outside of policy because they had lost faith in the incumbent TMC due to poor service levels and outdated technology solutions. RSA procurement was inundated with complaints from unhappy travellers and bookers.

Thanks to working in partnership to bring unprecedented consistency and professionalism to the travel programme, the FCM/RSA team succeeded in ensuring vastly improved traveller and booker satisfaction levels. They also introduced innovative technology, created impressive efficiencies and when tasked with reducing RSA’s overall travel spend by 11%, achieved a 13% reduction, ensuring significant cost savings.

The judges praised the FCM/RSA Travel Team saying: “Working with RSA Insurance, FCM showed a holistic approach and a good understanding of their client – leading to good results. Judges also felt the pair were a winner as it was a perfect example of technology transforming the travel experience for the better.”

Graham Ross, UK General Manager FCM Travel Solutions said: “It is a tribute to the dedication and innovation that the whole team has shown in rejuvenating RSA’s travel programme and delivering outstanding results.”

LEADER OF THE PACK

FCM’s Global Managing Director Marcus Eklund has been singled out as one of the top 25 most influential individuals in business travel in 2019 by Business Travel News (BTN), the leading global source of business travel intelligence.

BTN’s coveted annual ‘25 Most Influential’ list recognises an individual, either inside or outside the managed travel industry, who has exerted significant influence on the managed travel industry in the last 12 months. BTN identifies candidates who have taken actions that have sent a ripple through the corporate travel industry and caused others to either join, react or change.

Marcus Eklund’s inclusion reflects the innovation and investment that he has led at FCM globally over the last 12 months.

FCM GAINS SAPCONCUR TMC ELITE PARTNER LEVEL

SAP-Concur has accredited FCM with TMC Elite level in its partner programme for TMCs, the highest level of engagement and collaboration attainable between any TMC and the travel expense and invoice management solutions provider.

TMC Elite partner level reflects FCM’s continued focus on delivering the best possible service and experience across the industry’s leading solutions.

TMC certification means that existing and prospective clients can expect the highest standards of service from FCM in terms of advice, implementation

A FIRST FOR FCM

FCM has achieved IATA NDC Level 4 certification – the first TMC to do so – which means it can provide “full offer and order management”. In addition to booking NDC airline content, FCM and parent company Flight Centre’s consultants can now also support changes in travellers’ NDC bookings and manage flight disruption, critical to servicing clients in the corporate sector.

Level 4 is currently the highest in IATA’s NDC certification programme.

“There is still work to be done industrywide to ensure that NDC standards are completely business travel ready,” says Nicola Ping, FCM’s manager of air content and distribution EMEA. “We have spent the best part of the past two years focusing on our connectivity, travel content and NDC distribution capabilities, especially in terms of servicing FCM clients effectively.

“The industry ecosystem needs to continue to work together to ensure progress, especially in the corporate environment,” says Ping.

TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT BOOSTS INNOVATION PROGRAMME

FCM has invested in US-based Shep, the award-winning browser extension technology that helps companies with better management of travel purchased outside corporate travel policies.

Founded in 2016, Shep helps corporates gain insight into the large data and expense blind spot that occurs when employees choose to book travel outside of managed travel programmes. This is done in real time through the Shep browser extension which monitors activity of over 70 consumer travel sites.

Shep recognises when a traveller initiates a hotel or flight search on a consumer travel site and pops up a window that guides the user through the booking with defined pricing parameters, captures the data and sends it either to the corporate client or to FCM for reporting.

“We’re excited to leverage this technology into our platforms,” said John Morhous, Chief Experience Officer, FCM. “We feel the browser extension is a simple and elegant solution to a problem many of our customers face, which is gaining visibility over spend on travel that happens outside of the managed programmes they provide.”

This minority investment in Shep is the latest in a line of similar investments and acquisitions made by FCM to promote product innovation in the business travel space.

and ongoing support with SAP Concur solutions to enhance their travel programme and deliver on their business needs.

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