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#11
Nexus Communication – Smart Mobility Management #11 - Quarterly periodic magazine September 2013
International Integrated Corporate Mobility Solutions
I New work places, New work spaces
The rise of third place working and its impact on corporate mobility.
How do you create value?
Winners solutions revealed
I Managing Travel or Managing Meetings I Smart Mobility Supplier Awards
Join the online community at www.smart-mobilitymanagement.com
www.volkswagen.com/emobility
Just genius.
Easy electric.
The new XL1.
The new e-up!
The most simple things in life are often the most genius. In our case it was a simple question: Is it possible to build a 1 litre car? Well, yes it is. We called it the XL1. (Actually it is a 0.9 litre car, 1 litre just sounds a bit more catchy.) But because we have a history of changing mobility, we didn’t stop there. Introducing the new e-up! for 100% electric driving, with an unheard-of power consumption of 11,7 kWh/100km. With high-torque right from the start the e-up! can reach up to a distance of 160 kilometers. That is the “Think Blue.”attitude: Proving that sustainability is not a buzzword, and great innovation can arrive in a very small package. Read more on www.volkswagen.com/emobility
Fuel consumption XL1 in l/100 km: 0,9 (combined), power consumption in kWh/100 km: 7,2 (combined), CO2 emissions in g/km: 21 (combined). Power consumption e-up! in kWh/100 km: 11,7 (combined); CO2 emissions in g/km: 0 (combined).
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Jonathan Green Chief Editor jgreen@nexuscommunication.be
Its all change
T
he Tate Modern, London, UK is more than just a gallery of modern art. I come here once a month to work. With WiFi and the cloud I have everything I need. My office today simply moves with me.
In this issue we are taking a look at the rise of the third place working (Page 10) and what this means for managing corporate mobility and creating value (Page 12). There’s also a round Up of the Smart Mobility Forum (Page 26) and review of the Smart Mobility Supplier Award Winners (Page 30). Our European-wide awards showcase the smart solutions being pioneered by suppliers to meet today’s mobility challenges. With connection changing workspace and work styles we take a look at what leasing companies are doing to create total mobility solutions (Page 16), hear suggestions from Travel Management Companys on managing demand (Page 23) and learn how Valliant has created value with screen to screen meetings (Page 40). With connection turning the four wheels of the car into a mobile office we see what OEM’s are doing to optimise employee productivity on the move (Page 41), before pausing to think about how best to create the conditions for change (Page 47). For me the Tate Modern is a symbol of transformation. Back in the day it was called the Bankside Power Station, an oil-fuelled electricity generating powerhouse pumping out pollution into the heart of central London. Which European city today would give planning permission for a power station in a city centre? It seems crazy to think someone thought that it would be a good idea. In 1981 the last plumes of soot came out of the chimney, the decision to turn it into a gallery was made in 1994, and it was opened in 2000. Today, it is the most visited art gallery in the world. How times change. Society, corporations, working practices, transport and travel is changing. And it’s changing really quickly. The time has come to embrace the change.
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Jonathan Green Chief Editor jgreen@nexuscommunication.be
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smart mobility management - n°11 I 3
Content
FOCUS
VISION
case studIES
News and Views
8 Arise the 3rd place
33 Introducing the All Ways Travelling Consortium
15 Yell shouts for the 3rd place
19 Industry News The Renault-Nissan
12 Managing travel or managing meetings 16 Going off road Leasing looks at the
third place
22 Video in a managed travel programme 23 Managing demand How your TMC can help you
40 Eco-mobility Festival 2013 41 An office on four wheels
38 Valliant sees the opportunity for video 44 Mobility Management: CISCO Systems
47 Be the change you want to see 49 Facility for mobility
Alliance sells its 100,000 zero-emission car
25 Passenger rights 35 Industry News Unblocking EU Airspace 37 Industry News Tale of renewed cities reveals trillions in savings
46 Industry News 774% difference in
26 Smart Mobility Forum round-up
mobile phone charges
29 Smart Mobility Research : The Findings 30 Introducing the Smart Mobility Award Winners
ISSUE N째12 Urban mobility and e-vehicles
Kathleen Hubert Head of Marketing & Smart Mobility Management Leader (khubert@nexuscommunication.be)
Caroline Thonnon Head of Business Development & Global Fleet Leader (cthonnon@nexuscommunication.be)
Jonathan Green Chief Editor Smart Mobility Management (jgreen@nexuscommunication.be)
Steven Schoefs Chief Editor - Fleet Europe (sschoefs@nexuscommunication.be)
David Baudeweyns International Sales & Business Development (dbaudeweyns@nexuscommunication.be)
CONTRIBUTORS: Tim Harrup, Alistair Millar, Paul Tilstone (Global Business Travel Association), Jonathan Craymer and Paul Herremans
Romina De Gregorio Internal Sales & Operations (rdegregorio@nexuscommunication.be)
MANAGING PARTNER: Thierry Degives
EDITOR: Thierry Degives Nexus Communication SA, Parc Artisanal 11-13, 4671 Barchon (Belgium) Phone: +32 4 387 87 94 Fax: +32 4 387 90 63 URL: www.nexuscommunication.be
SMART MOBILITY MANAGEMENT www.smart-mobilitymanagement.com contact@nexuscommunication.be
Vanessa Digneffe INTERNAL SUPPORT (vdigneffe@nexuscommunication.be) Reproduction rights (texts, advertisements, pictures) reserved for all countries. Received documents will not be returned. By submitting them, the author implicitly authorizes their publication.
smart mobility management - n째11 I 5
A Daimler Brand
Fuel consumption urban/extra-urban/combined: 14.1–6.6/8.1–4.7/10.3–5.5 l/100 km; combined CO₂ emissions: 242–146 g/km. Figures do not relate to the specific emissions or fuel consumption of any individual vehicle, do not form part of any offer and are intended solely to aid comparison between Provider: Daimler AG, Mercedesstraße 137, 70327 Stuttgart
Let your mind travel. First Class. Vision accomplished. The new S-Class. A new take on luxury: enjoy maximum travel comfort with minimum consumption and COâ‚‚ emissions from just 146 g/km. The new S- Class. The most efficient automobile in the luxury class welcomes you on board. www.mercedes-benz.com/fleet
different types of vehicle. The vehicle shown features optional equipment.
FOCUS
Arise the 3rd Place
Arise the 3 Place rd
In how many different places have you worked in the past month? Technology has liberated the work force and an increasing number of employees are not just being enabled but encouraged to work away from the confines of the office. Jonathan Green investigates the rise of third place working and what it means for corporate mobility.
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he dictionary is in need of an update. Dictionary.com describes an office as either:
1. a room, set of rooms, or building where the business of a commercial or industrial organization or of a professional person is conducted: the main office of an insurance company; a doctor’s office; 2. a room assigned to a specific person or a group of persons in a commercial or industrial organisation: Her office is next to mine; or; 3. a business or professional organization: He went to work in an architect’s office; With flexible and mobile working becoming business as usual practice the word office could be about to become redundant. The tasks that were once performed in an office can now be undertaken in a multitude of different places.
What is the 3rd place? Any place where work is undertaken outside of the company office or the employee home can be called a third place. A third place could range from a library or local cafe, all the way through to a dedicated business centre. Anywhere that a worker has a laptop or mobile device and is able to connect to the internet and work is, in effect, a third place working environment.
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In the early to mid 1990’s the office was perceived as the only place that work could be undertaken. Today, the office walls have fallen down. The new world of work Earlier this year Regus, a provider of 3rd place office solutions, celebrated 25 years of being in business by highlighting the five inventions that have changed the way we work. It’s remarkable to reflect on how much has happened in such a short amount of time. Just over 20 years ago, way back in 1991, the internet and email arrived on the scene. They were quickly followed by the first truly portable computer (the laptop) in 1995. In the year 1999, back in the last century, along came the Blackberry which saw emails arrive in a suit pocket and synch with desktop and
laptop computers. The ability to answer “written” queries from colleagues and clients on the hoof became a reality. WiFi only removed the need for wires in 2001. You may remember that the coverage was limited and connection was expensive and really slow in the early days. Today’s connected society expects super quick WiFi in cafes, hotels and public spaces – and we expect it for free. The cloud only entered the equation in the last couple of years. This transformative innovation has pushed mobility to the next level. Employees now have the capability to access corporate software from anywhere that a connection exists. The solutions that once upon a time could only be accessed from the office are now at our fingertips.
A welcome break Congestion costs more than just fuel. There’s a huge amount of unproductive time spent sitting in traffic jams which could be using more productively. By providing facilities for drivers to stop and plug in a new market is emerging. In the UK, Welcome Break, the Motorway Service Station is one of the latest businesses to tap into the trend for mobile working. Welcome Break CEO Rod McKie said of the company’s decision to offer flexible workspace, “We know that our service areas are used by local traffic as much as long distance, and that customers are crying out for somewhere professional to work. They may be outside their traditional office but they still need access to office-type facilities – even if it’s just for ten minutes to print, email or meet a contact.” Welcome break believes that by offering shared workspace it can tap into this lucrative and much needed market. The same can be said of Motorway Service Stations in France and Germany.
The solutions that once upon a time could only be accessed from the office are now at our fingertips.
For today’s executive it seems absurd not to be able to connect to the internet, download emails on the move and access company systems outside of the office. Less than 10 years ago not even the most basic of mobile working opportunities that we take for granted today would have been possible. The rise of the 3rd place The International Data Corporation, a research organisation, has predicted that by 2015 there will be 1.3 billion mobile workers worldwide, representing over a third of the global workforce. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the mobile workforce will see a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% according to IDC, as it expands from 186.2 million in 2010 to 244.6 million in 2015. Stacy Crook, senior research ana-
lyst for IDC’s Mobile Enterprise Research program commented, “Despite recent market turmoil, mobility continues to be a critical part of the global workforce and we expect to see healthy growth in the number of mobile workers.” New work styles The changing face of the work place has given rise to new work styles. This, in turn, is leading to huge shifts in corporate culture. Human resource, IT and procurement departments are rethinking their policies, designing new procedures and procuring new technologies on a quicker cycle then ever before. Keeping pace with technological change, and client and employee expectations, is a non stop task.
home. Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer made a decision that from this June this year staff will have to be ‘physically’ together. A memo, attributed to Yahoo Human Resources head Jacqueline Reses, said, “Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussion, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.”
Bernardo de Albergaria, VP & GM, Line of Business, Citrix comments, “Teams are working across a broader range of devices than ever before and need a consistent, great experience in terms of the content they can access and the ways they can collaborate.” The experience Albergaria talks about needs to be created and corporate decision makers have to make some tough calls.
If it’s better to be in the Yahoo! office with colleagues is Mayer also questioning the value of 3rd place working? Maybe, maybe not. Richard Branson, Head of the Virgin Group, writing on a blog on the Virgin Website said of Yahoo’s decision, “This seems a backwards step in an age when remote working is easier and more effective than ever.” He added, “If you provide the right technology to keep in touch, maintain regular communication and get the right balance between remote and office working, people will be motivated to work responsibly, quickly and with high quality.”
A widely leaked internal memo from Yahoo! earlier this year fuelled the debate about the value of working from
The column inches and debate that the Yahoo! decision led too shows that the jury is still out. Branson’s comment on
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FOCUS
Arise the 3rd Place
By 2015 there will be 1.3 billion mobile workers worldwide, representing over a third of the global workforce.
creating the right balance is the key to success. What may be right for one company may not be right for another, and what may be good for one employee does not necessary mean that it is good for another. There’s a whole spectrum of variables to consider and they cannot be brushed under the carpet with a simple catch all solution. Blurring of the lines With new work spaces and work styles comes a new set of mobility needs. The line that exists between business travel and commuting is beginning to blur; travel patterns are changing as employees no longer gather in company offices; and meetings that were once held face to face are able to be conducted virtually as video and audio solutions become the cultural norm. The move to mobility shows no signs of slowing down. Policy makers are pushing the agenda too. The EU’s Strategy for Growth and Jobs 2020 is based on the 4 pillars of flexicurity: flexible & reliable employment contracts, active
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labour market policies, effective life-long learning and adequate social security systems to secure professional transitions. At the centre of this framework is the promotion of mobile working policies to improve the agility of the EU economy and its labour pool. The move to mobility offers corporations a new set of opportunities, but there are complexities. Solutions need to be sourced in a rapidly evolving marketplace; new policies need to be created and implemented that support and encourage employee mobility; and arrangements with suppliers that have the appropriate suite of product offerings need to be negotiated. There’s a complex mix of requirements to balance, but the returns on offer are worth the investment. Its seems that the age of the third place has arrived and is here to stay.
Making the station platform a place to work NS is held up across Europe as a pioneer in holistic mobility solutions. The Dutch rail operator is re-thinking the concept of mobility from the bottom up and offering radical solutions to support Dutch corporations integrate their travel and workplace strategies. With post payment smart cards travellers can travel not just on trains, but access other modes of mobility in shared cars and bikes. Alongside this, the NS Station2Station programme allows NS Business Card holders to access workplace and meeting facilities at stations. NS is not the only train operator turning the station platform into a hub for mobile working. SCNF in France and Thalys in Belgium are supporting corporations work on the train and in the station.
«In the early to mid 1990’s the office was perceived as the only place that work could be undertaken. Today, the office walls have fallen down»
Agile Future Forum launched In the quest to improve economic and business agility though the adoption of flexible working practices 22 global corporations, including founding members BP, BT, Cisco, Eversheds, Ford Motor Co, McKinsey and Co, KPMG and Lloyds Banking Group, have joined forces to explore workforce agility. The Forum’s website describes the partner’s objectives as defining the business value of workforce agility in supporting business competitiveness, and providing the leadership and practical support that is required to increase agile working practices across the UK business community – both large and small. Sir Winfried Bischoff – Chairman, Lloyds Banking Group, said, “The 22 founder companies of the Agile Future Forum (AFF) differ in terms of sector, size and location. We all share a common view, however, that workforce agility is generating significant and tangible economic benefits for our businesses.” Sir Winfried added, “With support from McKinsey & Company, one of our members, we identified substantial value. In the areas we reviewed, we are enjoying benefits equivalent to 3-13% of workforce costs. Our research also suggested potential further value to be had from taking an exciting all-new approach to agile working: we identified opportunities across sectors for potential value equivalent to 3-7% of workforce costs and sales uplift of up to 11%. But the realisation of these benefits requires a different approach”. For more information go to www.agilefutureforum.co.uk
Berlin leads the integration agenda Berlin, Germany is quickly cementing itself as an innovation hub for integrated mobility management by piloting ground breaking solutions that can make corporate mobility happen. The city’s population acted as a guinea pig for car sharing and now the German capital is hosting to pioneering pilot project exploring how shared work space solutions can benefit the business community.
Stephan Faul, District Manager and Project Manager at Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, explains, “The fact is that our customers are becoming more and more mobile. That means they want to use the service stations not only to buy fuel, to make purchases at the shop and to have a snack at the bistro, but if possible they also want to use it for work on the move.” Jonathan Green
Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH has partnered with Regus to launch the first city-wide trial of work hubs in service stations. “Regus Express” work hubs are open for business in 70 Shell service stations in and around Berlin, with facilities ranging from WiFi hotspots to docking stations, modern business lounges and meeting rooms.
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FOCUS
Managing travel or managing meetings?
Managing travel or managing meetings Once upon a time providing employees with access to travel at the lowest cost was enough. In todays mobile and connected world there is an expectation of more. Corporations want more. Travellers want more. Someone has the task of delivering more. Jonathan Green explores whether we are experiencing evolution in travel or if it’s time for a revolution?
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leet and travel management has always been evolving. New technologies, new business models and changing economic, social and environmental conditions have always shaped what the fleet and travel market looks like. Today there is something different in the air. The scope and pace of change is more profound. Is big data and the age of integrated industry driving change and creating the conditions for a revolution? A fourth industrial revolution With governments and corporations catapulted into a new economic reality the race to design the solutions of tomorrow, today, is well and truly on. Only history will tell us whether we are in the early stages of the fourth industrial revolution, which is being dubbed by commentators as “The Age of Integrated Industry.” Mega trends like urbanisation, connectivity and health and wellbeing are now impacting society at the micro level. Our everyday lives are being shaped by a complex and interlinked set of mega trends. They are challenging and
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changing what we do, when we do it and how we do it. The move towards integration is possible because of advances in technology: which is moving at a dizzying pace. The ingredients for transformative change are no longer resting on the kitchen table. They have been placed in the mixing bowl and are being stirred together. What the outcome looks like is not clear, but one thing is for certain. It’s going to be radically in the future. Looking at the world with fresh eyes In the age of integration suppliers and mobility managers will need to find new
and better ways of creating value. We are already starting to see the business benefits of integration. Firstly improved visibility of the costs and rewards of travel, and secondly, a clearer understanding of why employees are moving about to meet with each other, clients and suppliers in the first place. This knowledge, aligned with the opportunity for employees to communicate without the need to physically meet, means that the core principles of managing travel and fleet are up in the air. The question is how, where and when will they fall? And what will this mean for corporate mobility?
«Only history will tell us whether we are in the early stages of the fourth industrial revolution, which is being dubbed by commentators as “The Age of Integrated Industry.”»
Big data set to transform business mobility A study authored by Harvard Business School professor Thomas H. Davenport for travel technology company Amadeus has found that big data is set to shape the future of travel, with potential benefits for both travel companies and travellers alike. The report, At the Big Data Crossroads, charts the emergence of new technologies and strategies for managing big data, and outlines how big data can be harnessed to focus travel around customer needs and preferences, not industry processes. Professor Davenport finds that harnessing high volumes of new, unstructured data offers companies the promise of better decision-making, greater product innovation and stronger customer relationships, but warns that ‘now is the time to act’.
What do you do? “What do you do?”. This is the opening line for many conversations at a business event or conference. In the past a common response was something like, “I manage my company’s travel programme”. This may then be followed by a comment that explains the exact nature of the role. It might be something like, “I ensure that my travellers needs are met, I identify and manage risks and ensure that our programme and policy matches corporate KPI’s on managing costs, traveller safety and wellbeing, and corporate responsibility.” Today the response to the same question is not so clear cut. There are many new
He said: “Airlines, airports, hotels, rail companies and travel sellers need to ask themselves if they have a big data strategy in place, and if it will allow them to be at the forefront of this opportunity.” Key findings from the study include: 1. Now is the time to act: Professor Davenport calls on travel firms to start benchmarking their maturity against the industry whilst assembling the necessary data science skills and formulating an overall big data strategy for their organisations. 2. Big data offers major opportunities for travel companies to improve both the business and experience of travel: the benefits of big data include better decision-making, greater product and service innovation and stronger customer relationships that will be delivered by
new approaches to customer management, revenue management and internal operations. Pockets of innovation using big 3. data are present in the industry today: the study includes examples of how leading travel firms are making use of big data today: from KAYAK’s price flight forecasting model, which presents customers with the likely change in a flight’s price over a seven-day window, to Air France-KLM’s use of Hadoop as the basis of a group-wide revenue management system. 4. Emerging technologies will be key to the big data evolution: the onset of new open-source software for dividing data processing jobs across multiple commodity servers and emerging programming languages will combine to deliver the potential to harness big data. 5. The effective deployment of big data initiatives is not without challenges: the study finds that to access the big data opportunity the travel industry must overcome significant challenges, including: data fragmentation across multiple systems; co-existence of both big data and traditional data management architectures; finding and recruiting scarce big data science skills; and managing data responsibly and in the interests of all. To download a copy of “At the big data crossroads”, go to: www.amadeus.com/bigdata
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FOCUS
Managing travel or managing meetings?
productivity. The results have been impressive. In three years IKEA has made savings of €80 million, co-workers are happier and environmental performance has been improved. It’s been a win-win-win. Focusing on outcomes: Creating Value If mobility is managed independently of business outcomes then operational efficiencies will be the only type of value that can be created. An operationally focused approach does not consider why and how people meet, and how policy and procedures can be optimised to improve the meeting and its outcomes. Value creation happens when people connect. Whether it is a sales or marketing meeting, a meeting with a client or discussion with a supplier, the travel part of the equation does not intrinsically create value. The discussion is where value is derived. So, a strategically led programme asks a different question. Something like, “Are we meeting in the right way and in the best places to facilitate discussions and achieve business outcomes?” The next step is then gathering relevant information to develop an understanding of what meeting success looks like and how it can be measured. and different perspectives to consider. Take a quick look at the job titles of professionals engaged in managing travel and fleet programmes. There’s the Travel Manager and the Fleet Manager (and the category managers based in procurement), and then there’s the new breed of Travel & Fleet Managers; Meeting and Travel Managers; Meetings Managers; and Mobility Managers. The role and remit of employees tasked with managing travel and fleet has been evolving for some time. This shift in direction has led to an increasing number of travel, fleet and mobility professionals exploring demand for travel and how they can help their company’s optimise business outcomes. Adding Value Take the approach of Torbjörn Erling, Meeting and Travel Manager for the Swedish furniture giant, IKEA. Erling shared with delegates at the Smart Mobility Forum how IKEA changed its strategy to focus on business outcomes. In doing so, IKEA has realised cashable savings and optimised employee efficiency. Back in 2009, faced with rising costs, IKEA asked itself “Why do we travel?” The answer was simple: To meet people. The next question was more challenging. “Who are we meeting, why, and how?’ This question led to IKEA investigating the motivations for travel and travel choices. To better understand the reason for meetings the furniture giant instigated a meetings strategy, to which travel is a sub-process. Today, the IKEA policy is designed around identifying the purpose of the meeting, creating the best means of communication, at the best location. The aim of the programme is to optimise meetings, reduce meetings costs and improve employee
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Embrace changing conditions The changing nature of work space, new work places and emergence of new work styles is pulling mobility into the centre of business strategy. As the location of where work takes place changes so to will the demand for business mobility. The emergence of big data provides the connection between modes of travel and work space. Big data has the potential to paint a rich picture of a company’s current business operations, pulling together previously disparate costs and enabling suppliers to create integrated solutions that focus on meeting outcomes rather than managing travel costs. This is the big opportunity that the age of integrated industry offers. In the words of Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, “Most things still remain to be done – what a glorious future!” Jonathan Green
case studIES
Yell
Yell quietly finds a solution Yell is a directories business and the publisher of the Yellow Pages directory in the United Kingdom. In the past decade the company has expanded to provide international directories and an integrated portfolio of printed, online and phonebased products and services. It’s also transformed its office structure and working culture to embrace third place working. Jonathan Green finds out more.
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n the UK Yell employs around 700 sales consultants that used to work from 35 sales offices nation wide. Today, the company’s estates footprint and the business culture are very different than a few years back. Where and how employees work has been transformed with Yell seeking to optimise its physical and human assets in the quest to achieve better business outcomes and improve employee productivity. Yell set out on its journey towards the third place working with a programme to modernise its office estate. It wanted to reduce the number of offices from 35 to 20, whilst maintaining a balanced geographical spread. The business was faced with a challenge. Yell recognised that its office space was under utilised, but it still needed to provide the facilities required by its sales and support teams to service clients. After researching the working patterns of its sales consultants Yell discovered that the team were in the office on Monday and office utilisation was high, but for the rest of the week they were on the road. The provision of laptops and mobile phones had resulted in sales consultants changing their working practices. They no longer needed to visit the office for administrative tasks during the week and instead they were becoming occasional visitors, dropping in and out of the office as they needed. This meant that office space utilisation had fallen to 25%, yet overall the properties were costing the same to run.
Hello 3rd Place Yell wanted to find a suitable office space for employees when they needed it, but didn’t want to pay when it was not required. Shared space was a potential solution. Yell piloted the Regus Businessworld Card with a team of sales consultants in Watford. The card gives employees unlimited walk in access to business lounges in any area of the UK, providing them with
Simon Taylor, Head of Property for Yell
«Office space utilisation had fallen to 25%, yet overall the properties occupied by Yell were costing the same to run.» an on demand shared office space any day of the week at any time the sales consultants needed it. This meant that Yell was able to reduce its property footprint without compromising staff productivity and client delivery. The shared space centres provided Yell employees with flexible office space to meet colleagues, make phone calls and hold meetings, as well as providing a location where employees could collect office essentials like stationary. The resounding success of the pilot initiative led to Yell rolling out the solution across its entire sales consultant workforce. In doing so, Yell estimates that it has saved £1.5 million per year in office costs and has also built a workforce culture of agility and responsiveness. Simon Taylor, Head of Property for Yell, comments “Whereas previously the sales team would spend more time than they would like in traffic and motorway blackspots, with Regus they can simply touch down at any of 40 locations or have meetings where it best suits them.” Jonathan Green
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FOCUS
Going off Road
Going Off Road In the current economic climate it makes sense to have a smaller physical office and organise things so that more staff can work on the move, in cafes, hotels, and even in their vehicles. So-called third place working is one of the biggest trends in smart mobility, which is having a major effect on the range of services a growing number of leasing specialists provide. Jonathan Craymer finds out more.
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his is being written in the comfort of a café in the middle of a busy EU shopping centre. The only equipment on the table is a laptop, a sheaf of papers - and an excellent cappuccino. Many of us have enjoyed working in such “third place” environments for years, perhaps feeling slightly guilty about it. But all that’s changing fast. I recently remarked to an accountant friend, whose office car park used to be full of staff cars, how all the bays were empty. “They’re working out,” he explained, and I quickly realised he didn’t mean they’d gone to the gym. Perhaps this trend has been happening without really being noticed in recent years, as firms have simply down-sized the amount of office space they provide. No more the “one worker, one desk” mantra in many organisations. Michael Pohl a Germany-based Category Manager within the Global Procurement Group, responsible for company cars at Microsoft says, “We don’t provide enough office space for everyone. For example in the Netherlands and Switzerland our offices are planned so that not everyone can be accommodated at the same time. I work most of the time from my home-office. When I’m travelling, I’ll typically be visiting a Microsoft office in another country, so I work there or in the hotel where I’m accommodated. But when travelling to industry events, I tend to work from the fair or hotel.”
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Service bundles for mobile working Several leasing companies have been quick to respond to the third place revolution. Athlon Car Lease for instance provides its Flex Centre workspaces in the Netherlands. According to Alexander Prinssen, Vice President of Athlon Mobility Consultancy, the Netherlands and Belgium have taken something of a lead in this respect. “In these countries the fleet industry is more or less mature, but is responding to a new generation of people who have a different definition of mobility. Personally I like working in flexible offices. Such different environments can help inspire you with new ideas, it may also be more convenient and closer to home than the main office, and of course you have the chance to meet people which can help with networking.” ALD Automotive this year began exclusively offering Mobispot, the largest network of flexible and remote working office spaces in Belgium, with 40 sites, and in the Netherlands it allows customers to use Swunghouse, with locations in Den Haag and Utrecht. Pierre-Yves Meert, Smart Mobility Consultant, BeNeLux explains: “Within our group ALD Automotive indicated the BeNeLux countries as our laboratory in order to develop and test initiatives and share the experience with the other countries. Why do we ask people to move to their work place, as we can bring work closer to them? We believe in a new world of work facilitated by new technologies and new behaviours. ‘Generation Y’ puts more focus on work-life balance.”
However he points out it’s not all about improving employees’ work-place concentration or quality of life. There can be major cost benefits too. “Freedom of mobility through ‘co-modality’ supports a new total cost of ownership approach. Office, fuel and parking costs will reduce.” The concept of third place working is part of a wider evolution in business practice – the third place cannot be considered in isolation. In this wider space resides mobility management, and how fleet, travel and workspace can be managed in an integrated way to achieve cost control, optimise productivity and improve corporate sustainability. Saskia Harreman, Managing Consultant at LeasePlan adds, “Today 75% of our international customer base is talking about mobility in one way or another.” Mobility is on the lips of the corporate
«Several leasing companies have been quick to respond to the third place revolution.»
Swung House Business Centres in the Netherlands. “Why do we ask people to move to their work place, as we can bring work closer to them?” Pierre-Yves Meert, ALD Automotive market and more and more companies are dipping their toes in the water and practising mobility solutions. Elsewhere Arval France has teamed up with Orange Business Services to offer a mobile office solution consisting of a tablet and network connection with each vehicle. Also dealerships and service centres increasingly offer teleworking facilities for drivers waiting for cars to be serviced, reports LeasePlan, which has such service partnerships in place. “This is often far more efficient for a driver’s work productivity, providing significant time and cost advantages compared to dropping off and collecting the car,” explains Saskia Harreman. “Our dealership partners offer a conducive working environment.” Transformative times Vahid Daemi, CEO of LeasePlan Copora-
tion, believes that the leasing industry is in early stages of a wider transformation. “Car usage is going to be more important than car ownership. We are seeing the SME market embrace this. Mobility, including car-sharing, is developing. Change will happen slowly, as will the integration of electric cars. Looking a very long way ahead the focus will be on the individual, not the vehicle and the service will be provided to the driver rather than to the company.”
Connection is critical So where are things heading from here? Some leasing companies are starting to offer solutions which are compatible with and support the transition to third place working. Within the framework of the third place it is important connection speeds and working environments facilitate mobile working.
Whatever the future, whether it is leasing companies servicing an individual or a corporation’s mobility needs, the connected age offers a spectrum of added value services that suppliers could offer alongside – or in place of - the traditional lease car model. Providing access to third place working environments, and other services that support business productivity, appears to be an attractive
As Michael Pohl of Microsoft puts it: “In order for Europe to fully realize the opportunity from third place working the free wireless infrastructure needs to be improved. You wouldn’t see any electric cars on the roads if there weren’t charging spots available. In the same way many people might be more willing to work in places like coffee shops or hotels, if connectivity speeds are first rate.”
proposition that suppliers can offer to an increasingly mobile population.
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FOCUS
Going off Road
“The more efficient WiFi there is, the more you’ll see people working in those places. For me it’s better to work from home as I need to upload a lot of files, so good connectivity is essential – it’s chicken and egg. When I’m on business travel I use my mobile using Windows Phone 8 Office apps, giving speedy access to email with its ‘always on’ connection, and for writing letters etc. I prefer to use my PC via whatever WiFi each site has available.” There are two slight problems with third place working which come to mind. First there can be background noise, which may be annoying to anyone you’re trying to talk to on the phone – but then again dedicated business centres are just like open plan offices and offer quiet space to concentrate. And then there’s the question of just how many coffees need to be consumed, and should these all be on expenses? Third place working etiquette apparently demands you buy something at least once every hour in many commercial establishments. How you and your colleagues square this with the finance director is up to you. Jonathan Craymer Providing third place working opportunities can avoid tiredness and result in a more productive workforce.
Leasing Company
Third place working solutions
Web
Exclusive distributor in Belgium of 40 Mobispot remote offices, and Swunghouse remote workplaces in the Netherlands (Den Haag and Utrecht) and NS Business Card in the Netherlands.
www.aldautomotive.com
Alphabet offers the NS Business Card in the Netherlands which provides access to Regus third place office space.
www.alphabet.com
Arval France in conjunction with Orange Business Services offers a mobile office solution – car + tablet and connection
www.arval.com
Athlon Flex Centre remote work-spaces and NS business card (Netherlands); Flexdrive package (Belgium); mobilitycard (flexible payment card – Netherlands and Belgium). The XXImo mobility card is also available offering multi modality and access to third place working environments.
www.athlonmobilityconsultancy.com
Multimodal mobility services through Mobility Mixx, car sharing.
www.lpint.com
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BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Industry News
The Renault-Nissan Alliance sells its 100,000 zero-emission car The Renault-Nissan Alliance has announced the sale the 100,000 zero-emission car. The Alliance, which has sold more zero-emission cars than all other major automakers combined, sold the vehicle to an America graduate student this week. “The age of the mainstream zero-emission vehicle is here,” said Renault-Nissan Alliance Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “We expect demand to keep growing as the charging infrastructure develops - and we remain 100% committed to zero-emission technology for the long term.”
24/7 Rental launched by Hertz The Hertz Corporation has announced the global launch of Hertz 24/7,a new rental service available any time, day or night. By combining the technology and on demand services associated with car sharing with the operational capabilities of a global car rental company Hertz is aiming to create a “self serve” mobility solution. “Hertz is reinventing the car rental industry by putting the rental process in the hands of consumers. Technology-enhanced vehicles will be available close to where customers live or work, making it easier than ever to reserve and quickly pick-up a rental vehicle at the customer’s convenience.. 24/7 service is a key part of our commitment to create the fastest, easiest and most valued rental experiences in the business,” commented Hertz Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mark P. Frissora.
Prius passes 3 million Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has announced worldwide cumulative sales of the Prius electric hybrid vehicle have passed the 3-million mark.
BMW expands App Options The latest partners offering BMW-approved Apps include Deezer (subscription music service), TuneIn (Internet radio), Audible (downloadable audio books) and Glympse (temporary location sharing in real-time). Uwe Higgen, Head of the App Center in Munich, said “Personally, I myself am a big fan of Glympse. BMW is already talking to many more app providers and is also developing some great new functions of its own. So our customers can look forward to some more surprises very soon,” Higgen continues.
In 1997 the Prius was the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger car. The second generation followed in 2003, and the third generation was launched in 2009. From the first to third generation, the cost of the hybrid system has been reduced by two-thirds. TMC will spend 890 billion yen (€6.75 billion) on environmental technology development over the next year.
Greener Fleets in Europe Research by GE Capital’s specialist fleet consultancy team, Key Solutions, has found that fleet decision makers have saved €6.2 billion in fuel costs by reducing the emissions intensity of fleets by 15% in the past four years. Between 2008 and 2012, the purchase of new company cars in 11 European countries has also led to the avoidance of 13,143,000 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent emissions of a coal fired power station over 3 years. Alex Barbereau, EU Accounts and Consultancy Director, GE Capital EMEA, said, “A benchmark report like this one provides a simple framework for fleet managers to appraise their performance. By comparing the emissions profile of their fleets against the findings from our research, on a country by country basis, fleet managers can quickly assess how their fleet performs compared against the market”.
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ADVERTORIAL
Volkswagen
VW e-up! signals new chapter in e-mobility Volkswagen is writing a new chapter in mobility by presenting its first fully electric production vehicle – the new e-up! The technicians at the Volkswagen Think Blue innovation hub have been busy perfecting a four seat five door vehicle that offers enjoyable, efficient and emissions free e-mobility. With interest for e-mobility from corporate fleets rising, the e-up! is primed and ready to answer even the toughest of question from corporate fleet managers.
With the launch of the e-up! a new avenue in sustainable and satisfying corporate e-mobility is about to open up. Volkswagen has been busy crafting a vehicle that meets the needs of a smart driver, and a fleet manager who wants style and reliability. And as the e-up! is super efficient too, it is perfect solution for sawy fleet professionals seeking cost and carbon savings. The Volkswagen Group expects that by 2020 two to three percent of sales in Germany will come from electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. For pioneers in the corporate fleet market the e-up! presents an exciting avenue for e-mobility. The big picture Volkswagen is thinking holistically about the conditions needed for efficient e-mobility. The Volkswagen Group is involved in research that focuses in on embedding electric vehicles into smart grids as
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well as working on various projects for innovative battery chemistry, which will enable bigger ranges for e-cars in the future. In the design room, on the production line and now on the road the e-up! has been engineered for e-mobility. The Think Blue technicians have taken the e-up!, looked at the vehicle life cycle costs and focused on efficiency from start to finish.
e-up! is already successful At the Silvretta e-Auto Rally Montafon, Austria in July this year the e-up! showed what it could do recording energy consumption of 9.9 kWh/100 km. This was below the official energy consumption of 11.7 kWh/100 km.
In the design room, on the production line and now on the road the e-up! has been engineered for smart e-mobility.
The new Volkswagen e-up! is the perfect answer for today’s corporate fleet. It is ideal for daily use with its range of 160km on a single charge.
Elena Delgado Vicente, Head of International Fleet, RaC and Used Car Sales Europe: “We recently had the opportunity to drive the e-up! with some European corporate customers. They were really impressed and we were delighted with their extremely positive reaction. That feedback confirmed that the e-up! will motivate many fleet managers to jump into e-mobility”. Corporate e-mobility opportunities Corporates with big fleets are facing challenging times. With fuel prices on the rise and already making up approximately a quarter of the total cost of ownership, corporations are looking for new ways to provide mobility at an affordable cost. The e-up! has the answer. Whilst the upfront investment for e-mobility may be a little higher than conventional powertrains, the lower running costs of the e-up! make it an attractive proposition when the total cost of ownership is built into the equation. Welcome to the age of e-mobility Governments are restricting access to cities based on CO2 emissions and with vehicle taxation systems favouring low and zero emission vehicles, e-mobility is an important agenda item for purchasers. Add in incentives for e-vehicles that are offered in many European countries and the momentum for e-mobility is gathering pace. The e-up! is the perfect answer for today’s corporate fleet. It is ideal for daily use in the city and equally at home with employee commutes given its high efficiency of 11.7 kWh/100 km which gives it an impressive range of 160 km on a single charge. With efficiency at the heart of the design process the e-up! weighs in at just 1,139 kg. The front end, sills and under body have all been aerodynamically optimised to maximise efficiency. It’s fast of the blocks too, accelerating from 0 to 100 km within 12,4 seconds and reaching a top speed of 130 km/h.
The e-up! for forward looking fleets Volkswagen offers a 2 year guarantee on the vehicle and 8 year guarantee for the battery, which will help to stabilize residual values and give added confidence to corporate buyers. There are a host of dealers in place across Europe that are ready, willing and able to offer professional back up and maintenance support whenever and wherever it is needed. In order to reach CO2 fleet targets electric vehicles will play an increasingly important role in a corporate fleets make up. The e-up! presents the corporate fleet manager with a smart solution offering efficient and exciting motoring along with zero emissions. The entry-level price of the e-up! in Germany for a well-equipped base model including battery is €26,900. This autumn at the IAA (International Motor Show) in Frankfurt, Volkswagen will announce further details on how the vehicle is to be marketed, including leasing and flexible car hire packages. Just the start of the journey Volkswagen has set itself the goal of being the world’s most sustainable car maker. The e-up is demonstrating this ambition and there’s more to come from Think Blue. The bigger brother of the e-up, the iconic e-Golf, will be joining your corporate fleet soon.
More e-mobility on the way Volkswagen is starting its e-mobility journey with the e-up! and there’s more exciting news coming soon. The e-Golf will follow the e-up! By electrifying its icon, Volkswagen is illustrating the importance that the company attaches to e-mobility. In the near future the Golf TwinDrive BlueMotion with a plug-in hybrid drive will go into series production and a plug-in hybrid Passat will follow.
Plug in, go and play The lithium-ion battery, which is integrated in the under floor area, has a total storage capacity of 18.7 Kilowatt hours (KWh) and can be recharged to as much as 80 percent of its energy storage capacity in only 30 minutes. The battery supports both DC and AC charging so the e-up! can be plugged in at most charging stations and any standard 230V socket - regardless of the power sources or charging rates that they offer.
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FOCUS
The role of video in a managed travel programme
Meet Me By The Celluloid: The Role of Video in a Managed Travel Programme The other month I had a Twitter-Spat (Adj: A public argument undertaken via Twitter) about the use of technology by companies to manage meetings efficiently. It was with the head of an association for travel management companies (TMC’s), so whilst it didn’t surprise me it did disappoint me a little.
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ssentially, I work for a business travel association, and had posted a tweet about how valuable I had found a business trip and how this particular trip had consciously reminded me why face-to-face meetings are so valuable. The start of the Twitter-Spat was a retort by my TMC colleague that he thought “I used to be the best salesman for video conference a few years ago.” Of course, he was being flippant because since the mid 2000’s I have advocated that an efficient business should incorporate both meeting technology and business travel to manage the communication needs of their business, and more importantly, that a company should adopt strategic thinking about how, when and what meeting format it adopts to interact with its stakeholders. The irony that my Twitter-Spat took place whilst I was in Canada and he in the UK and we were using technology to interface wasn’t lost on me. Horsesfor-courses should be the mantra for any business. The use of technology to meet, whether it be video conference or tele-conference or online collaboration tools, makes a business more efficient provided that the means for meeting matches the required outcome. But the use of business travel for effective faceto-face interaction does just the same thing. Conversely video-conferencing
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too. Like the leading hotel chain which implemented video-conference suites, an enlightened view would provide the corporation with an enhanced service. If the TMC supported the creation and implementation of an efficient stakeholder interaction strategy which included both travel and the use of technology, if the airline lounge provide conferencing tools and if the car company offered wi-fi in its vehicles, for example, executive productivity on-the-go is further enhanced and business gets done. Paul Tilstone, GTP Senior Vice President, Global Operations Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Follow Paul Tilstone or GBTA on twitter at paultilstone, GlobalBTA or GBTAEurope1
undertaken just because it’s cheaper than travelling or business travel undertaken because it’s nice to get out of the office undoubtedly results in objectives missed and time wasted. Video-conferencing doesn’t simply replace business travel, it compliments it. It’s a highly effective tool in a company’s arsenal of communication methods and a company that manages its tools well is a company that thrives. Those that manage travel, manage a means to a communication end, and with broadened perspectives they could manage the whole arsenal of communication methods and how executives engage with them to a greater benefit for their business. And the supply chain can help
There are companies that already do this, just not enough of them. And I can’t help thinking that a more strategic perspective on travel and meetings would benefit us all. The question is, how should we meet to create that perspective… face to face or online? Paul Tilstone
GBTA EUROPE Conference 2013 Prague, 23-25 September 2013
FOCUS
Managing demand
Managing demand:
How your TMC can help you Over the last few years the corporate hawks have swooped down to demand ever greater financial savings. There has been no room for negotiation. Budgets have to be cut. Time for results is tight. With the hawks looking for savings in all areas of corporate life how can travel managers become wise owls and manage demand without compromising value? Jonathan Green spoke with two giants of the TMC world to find out more.
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verywhere, everyone is looking for ways to cut costs and increase value. The pressure has been intense. Every avenue for cost savings has been explored and Euros and cents have been expunged from travel budgets.
For many in the corporate travel market there is no more fat to cut away. Any further slashing of spend will eat into the muscle of the programme. Yet the hawks are expecting even more from ever decreasing budgets. Where is a travel professional to turn in the quest for savings? It is in this challenging environment that the opportunity to explore new territory arises. Opening the door to demand management The use of demand management techniques has been on the rise as procurers seek to slash spend. An AT Kearney paper entitled, Demand Management: Changing the Way Organisations acquire Goods and Services, describes demand management as, “a proven mechanism to take costs out of an organisation without further reducing its capacity to execute. With demand management, organisations address the underlying drivers of external spending, align their purchases to their business needs and eliminate unnecessary consumption.” The paper goes onto explain that it is not uncommon for companies to cut 10 – 20 % off their spend in certain categories in as little as 3 months, and that complex categories, like travel, are now in scope of demand management techniques. It sounds simple. So, what travel could your corporation cut without impacting business capability and capacity? This is where it starts to get complex. Understanding the value of face to face HRG explains that, “The value of face to face meetings remains crucial as often in business, deals are done on a handshake. The power of relationships and talking face to face can never be underestimated.”
Where is a travel professional to turn in the quest for savings?
This statement is backed up by research undertaken by the World Travel and Tourism Council and Oxford Economics. This found that business travel yielded a return on investment of 10:1. Cutting back on travel could have a big impact on the future health of the business. Demand management techniques however, are not designed to chop away muscle. They are designed to present fresh insight and in doing so reveal the chubby parts of the travel budget that have not been seen before. Fresh perspective HRG told us that they assist with demand management on two levels. Firstly, a “reason for travel analysis” is undertaken to analyse travel for external purposes or internal meetings, and buying behaviour such as the use of advanced bookings and the opportunity cost of travel is also explored. This analysis is presented to senior management and gives an insight of what travel is happening and how good behaviours can be created.
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FOCUS
Managing demand
«For many in the corporate travel market there is no more fat to cut away. Any further slashing of spend will eat into the muscle of the programme.» The second level focuses on travel policy control by trip and by traveller, which centres on influencing and changing the behaviour of the traveller. HRG explained that change can be achieved by a range of measures such as establishing pre trip authorisation controls through to mandating video-conferencing or instigating embargos on travel. Smarter travel CWT advocates travelling smarter travel with trips based on business objectives. To support this CWT has developed a suite of products and services to help travel managers align the needs of the business with the demand for business travel. It breaks these down into six specific sections: consolidation and tracking of data; revisiting sourcing strategies; optimising the travel policy; encouraging policy compliance; streamlining travel options; and finally, travel reduction. The key to a successful demand management strategy is coordinating the full range of options in order to control costs. CWT also advocates the use of technology, whether it is online booking tool to reduce transaction costs, gamification techniques to encourage and reward in policy behaviours or on the go communication apps. Being in contact helps to engage travellers in the programme and encourages compliance. With maverick or off contract spend travel is hidden and the opportunity to analyse behaviours is lost. The research by AT Kearney suggests, “By gaining a thorough understanding of the root causes of an expenses, the company is better able to identify sources of excess or non critical demand and is therefore better equipped to identify ways to reduce demand.” Visibility is the key to successful demand management. Lose it and the opportunity to manage demand disappears. Jonathan Green
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Best practice tips We asked HRG and CWT for three best practice tips to reduce costs and improve productivity. First off, here’s the advice that HRG has to offer:
• Consolidation: Having the ability to see all travel-related
data at the touch of a button by integrating additional sources of information, including mobile phone, credit card and expense management data. This improves data management and visibility, tracking and controlling costs, benchmarking and supplier negotiations.
• Compliance:
There is a move to shift the focus from mandate to greater control at cost centre level, making the traveller more accountable. Travel managers need to improve traveller behaviour around the approval process, advance bookings, preferred suppliers, hotel programmes and booking channels to improve travel policy compliance.
• Cost
Control: By implementing an expense management solution, travel managers can gain greater clarity and control of their travel spend, ensuring the opportunity for further savings.
CWT offered the following advice:
• Harness your travellers’ use of technology by introdu-
cing an online booking tool. This will reduce transaction costs, discourage out-of-policy bookings through approved fares being flagged, and increase visibility of travellers’ whereabouts through all bookings being traceable, to alleviate safety & security concerns. The data captured can also help reveal the areas of a programme that are working well and those that need tweaking, while helping with supplier negotiations by giving travel managers more leverage.
• Always take the total cost of travel into account. It’s not
just about the ticket price, carbon emissions and traveller productivity should also be considered. Make a note of ancillary fees and include them in supplier negotiations, to increase your buying power.
• Take
care of your travellers. CWT has developed the Travel Stress Index, which measures the financial impact of lost productivity incurred through trip-related stress. By creating adaptive policies that are designed around people, companies can help travellers keep stress levels to a minimum and increase productivity and focus on the fundamental reason for their trip: doing business!
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Passenger rights
Understanding your rights The EU is the first area in the world with a comprehensive set of passenger rights for all modes of transport yet two thirds of passengers are unsure of their contractual rights and entitlements when purchasing a travel ticket. With a campaign launched this summer to raise awareness Jonathan Green took a closer look at what your rights are in the air and on the rails. Air Passenger Rights These rights apply to passengers on all flights departing from an EU airport and on flights operated by EU air carriers when departing from a non-EU airport. > Compensation between €125 and €600 (depending on the distance) if the flight is cancelled and you are informed less than 14 days before departure, unless the airline can prove that the flight was cancelled for extraordinary circumstances. > If you are denied boarding against your will, you are entitled to compensation between €125 and €600 depending on the duration of the flight. > Compensation between €125 and €600 if you arrive at your destination more than 3 hours late unless the airline can prove that the flight was delayed for extraordinary circumstances. In case of delay you are entitled to adequate assistance depending on the duration of the delay and distance of the flight. If the delay is longer than 5 hours you can claim reimbursement of the full ticket price, or cost of the unused ticket segment, or rerouting. > Adequate assistance (snacks, meals, refreshments, as well as accommodation) in case of cancellation, or delay, or rerouting. Rail Passenger Rights > In case of a delay of more than one hour, you have the choice between reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket, or part of the journey not made, and continuation of the journey and re-routing at the earliest opportunity. > Compensation of 25% of the ticket price for delays between 60 and 119 minutes. Compensation of 50% of the ticket price for delays of at least 120 minutes, or cancellation, unless the delay or cancellation was due to unavoidable circumstances.
Do you know what your rights are in event of a delay?
> Adequate assistance (snacks, meals, refreshments, as well as accommodation and alternative transportation) in case of cancellation, or delay of more than 60 minutes at the final destination, or re-routing causing delay. > Compensation of up to around €1,300 (if the damage suffered is proved) or a lump sum of around €330 in case of loss, delay or damage to a registered luggage. Jonathan Green
«The EU is the first area in the world with a comprehensive set of passenger rights for all modes of transport.» Get information on your rights when you’re on the go A mobile app has been made available covering all modes of transport. The app explains the passenger’s rights and provides information on whom to contact in order to complain. For more information go to http://ec.europa.eu/transport/ passengers/index_en.htm
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Smart Mobility Forum 2013 Round Up
Smart Mobility Forum 2013 Round Up Delegates at the Smart Mobility Forum in Brussels, Belgium heard the latest thinking on the rapidly evolving world of integrated mobility management. With an array of experts speakers sharing their knowledge and experiences, delegates were treated to the latest insights on why a mobility strategy matters.
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he Smart Mobility Forum, held on the 30th May, explored how the age of integration and the rise of mobility are leading corporate buyers to re-think their fleet, travel and mobility programmes, and how suppliers are innovating to design solutions that meet the demands of a new breed of customer. With expert speakers openly sharing why and how business operations are changing in response to global mega trends, delegates left the Forum with a clear understanding of why global issues matter at the micro level and in every day business operations. A new world order The world is being shaped by a new economic reality, urbanisation, big data and connection. This means that old ways of thinking no longer provide the solutions for today’s business reality. Martyn Briggs, from growth partnership Frost and Sullivan, explained how mega trends are leading to the rise of a new class market entrant: the mobility integrator. Mobility integrators are plugging together different aspects of the transport landscape and providing door to door solutions. They are, in turn, challenging the status quo and how corporations use and manage travel. The stage was then set for OEM’s, PSA and Daimler Mobility Services, business travel suppliers Carlson Wagonlit and Amadeus, and car leasing companies, Athlon Mobility Consultancy and ALD Automotive, to share how their business models are changing to service this new reality, and support corporations and travellers achieve business outcomes. Managing the human asset Nadège Faul, Peugeot, Mobility Services Development, explained that PSA and the wider OEM marketplace was seeing a huge shift in habits. Corporate buyers today want to understand the functional as well as the financial value of the solutions that they are procuring she told delegates. She
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Integrated, rather than silo based thinking, is the key to successful programme management in the future.
explained that productivity, stress management, commuting and congestion were informing B2B purchasing decisions, alongside more the traditional areas such as vehicle cost, usage and security. She said “We are in the business of supporting the human asset as well as the metal asset.” Alexander Prinnsen, Athlon Mobility Consultancy expanded on this theme. He shared with delegates that buyers in the past used to ask companies like his about cars and car policies, but today they also want to know answers to mobility related questions.
«Good meeting, networking and learning occasion!» Bart Lowyck, Project Manager, VIM (Flanders Institute for Mobility)
Pierre-Yves Meert, ALD Automotive, believes that the trend towards integration is already leading to changes in corporate policy and traveller expectations. The rise of mobility budgets, limiting employee travel time and encouraging drivers to get out of congested areas and work in shared offices, were cited by Meert as examples of how corporates are re-thinking their strategies and designing new policy solutions to optimise business efficiency. The buyer perspective Meeting and Travel Manager Torbjorn Erling explained how IKEA manages its programme by focusing on business outcomes and measuring the return on investment of meetings. Erling was joined by Alain Duez, from Accenture, in suggesting that integrated, rather than silo based thinking, is the key to successful programme management in the future. He explained that leasing companies are responding by thinking about better ways of using existing capacity, and not just in terms of cars, to service the needs of clients. With a focus on how the fleet can help employees achieve their business outcomes, suppliers are getting out of the car door, changing their perspective and looking around to see how they can add value in a different way.
This theme of collaboration was echoed by other presenters as they explored how, by joining the dots between different modes of mobility and workspace, new perspective were being created and new opportunities for business efficiency were being identified. By taking a holistic perspective and utilizing the skills of procurement, human resources, finance and other
business support functions, Erling and Duez explained to delegates how their organisation’s had begun to appraise value from the perspective of business aims and objectives, and how travel and fleet managers can support the business become better at what it does. In this way the value that mobility offers can be quantified and policy based changes can be integrated into business process. Mobile matters With 73% of travellers owning Smartphones and 70% of these using apps there has been a boom in mobile booking. Ian Van Hove, Amadeus, shared e-marketer’s prediction that the value of travel booked on mobile devices will increase to nearly $50 billion dollars by 2017, from just over $3billion in 2011. Mobile is giving travellers choices like never before. William El Kaim, CWT, explained that travellers are becoming increasing discerning with the ability to quickly scan and select different options. They are also accessing information prior to, during and post trip from any location which has a connection to inform their decisions. This ability to connect on the move means travellers can be supported like never before. Information on travel policy, bookings, tickets and local destinations details can be in the palm of a travellers hand instantaneously. It’s an avenue where suppliers can provide a wealth of added value services to support corporates and travellers alike.
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FOCUS
Smart Mobility Forum 2013 Round Up
By engaging in discussion with one another, sharing knowledge and experiences, the delegates at the Forum were co-creating the future.
Mobile is helping Travel Management Companies to evolve. El Kaim told delegates that the role of a TMC today is to provide a seamless experience from the start to the end of the trip. He added that the psychology of the business travel was also increasingly important. With business travellers in savings mode during the booking process, before moving to spending mode whilst on their business trip, mobile offers an opportunity to push information at any stage of the trip. The need to engage with travellers and understand their needs is essential in delivering an effective travel policy. Van Hove stressed the importance of talking with travellers to understand their needs and develop the right types of services. After all, a happy traveller is a compliant traveller. El Kaim built on this theme by explaining that each traveller has their personal preferences. As such, a travel policy today does not need to be so constraining that it alienates individual travellers within the travel community. He went on to explain how big data and the internet of things is set to transform how the internet is used. Instead of searching for information the internet of things will push the information towards us based on our previous behaviours and preferences. Any where and any time working Connection and the ability to work anywhere, at anytime, has led to a change in the concept of the “work place”.
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William Willems, Regus MD for BenLUX, explained how the work place is becoming work space and what this means for corporations. This culture of working any where at any time is blurring the boundaries between mobility and work space management. This, in turn, is creating opportunities for progressive suppliers to broaden their service offering, whilst innovative buyers are now better placed to provide and manage end to end trips and control to the total cost of travel and meetings. The only constant is change Next up on the stage was Lucy Shea of business change agency Futerra who emphasised the importance of making change real and demonstrating that new ways of behaviour were not just possible, but preferable. The psychology of behavioural change was at the centre of the discussion and collaboration once again came to the fore.
This will see VIM, in collaboration with partners across the EU, identify the conditions needed to support dynamic ridesharing environments. Further information is available at http://www.vim. be/projects/nweride Collaboration at the heart of creation Creative collaboration was at the heart of Smart Mobility Forum from start to finish. The opportunity for smart mobility solutions requires buyers and suppliers from across the business travel, fleet and meetings & work space sectors industry to co-create the solutions of the future. By engaging in discussion with one another, sharing knowledge and experiences, the delegates at the Forum were co-creating the future. Jonathan Green
The final presentation of the day saw Bart Lowyck of VIM introduce delegates to Project NweRIDE: NW-European dynamic Ridesharing.
«Great place and open minded people.» William El Kaim, Technology Marketing Director, Carlson Wagonlit Travel
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Smart Mobility Research
Breaking down the silos on the journey to total mobility solutions This summer we released the finding of our annual research survey, “Breaking down the silos on the journey to total mobility solutions”, to explore how mega trends are affecting corporate mobility and what you think about the future of integrated mobility management. the most profound of any sectors. The impact of big data in the transport and telecommunications sector will lead to big changes for anyone involved in the supply or management of corporate mobility. With collaborative consumption the long held ideal of ownership is also going out of the window. The rise of car sharing is just one example of how automotive and car leasing companies are changing their service offering in response to changing market demands. The need to travel is being re-appraised as virtual communication technologies penetrate the market and become culturally accepted.
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istory will tell us whether we are in the early stages of the fourth industrial revolution, the so called age of “Integrated Industry”. With integration of business systems and processes being facilitated by big data the effects on governments, business and society are potentially transformative. Governments and increasingly powerful cities are legislating to drive change and ensure that smart systems are in place to support smart economies. Global corporations, as evidenced by a recent PwC report, “Integrated Reporting: What does reporting say about you?” are reporting holistically to ensure that financial, social and environmental risks and opportunities of their business operations are accounted for. Today we are in a time of great upheaval. As the inefficiencies of silo based thinking become exposed though big data the race is on to provide new and optimised end to end solutions.
Transformative times in transport An integrated and seamless transport network, where one mode of mobility can be conveniently exchanged for another has been a dream of government’s and business. In the age of integrated industry that panacea could be about to become reality. The changes in transport and mobility could be one of
And the office is no longer what it once was. Offices are being shared, third place working is the norm and the relationship that exists between work place and mobility is becoming clearer and clearer. The erosion of silo based thinking The erosion of silo based approaches to managing business support functions means that the relationship that exists between fleet, business travel, meeting and work space requires news ways of appraising and managing performance. In an interconnected world where a corporation measures value holistically neither a fleet nor a business travel programme can be managed effectively without taking account of where and how employees work – and the financial and human resource costs that result. The Smart Mobility Management 2013 survey explores respondent’s attitudes to; the ownership of the mobility category; the impacts of changing work spaces and work styles; the rise of mobile technology; and benefits of managing mobility from the mind set of integration. To read the report http://www.smart-mobilitymanagement. com/smart_mobility_in_2013_industry_findings_54453en-506-184715.html
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FOCUS
Smart Mobility Awards
Smart Mobility Supplier Awards At the Smart Mobility Forum the winners of the 2nd Smart Mobility Supplier Awards were revealed. We take a closer look at the winners and shortlisted entrants and hear why the judges made their selection.
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he Smart Mobility Supplier Awards, judged by an eclectic group of corporate buyers and industry experts from across Europe, recognises suppliers that are offering pioneering products and services to help corporations manage mobility in an integrated way. With a wide array of products innovations over the past year the judges had a tough decision when selecting this year’s winners. KDS with KDS Neo KDS is the proud winner of the 2nd annual Smart Mobility Supplier Award for its holistic mobility solution, KDS Neo. Neo, which was released earlier this year, delivers complete, bookable, door-to-door itineraries as well as predicting related expenses that will be incurred by a traveller on a business trip. The judges were enthusiastic about the possibilities that Neo offers the corporate travel sector. One commented, “Business-centric travel booking tools have long lagged behind consumer sites in terms of look and feel, and importantly functionality. This solution tackles this issue head-on and if it does what is says on the tin then I am sure that many companies will be taking a close look at this product.” The advantages that Neo offered to travellers were also a compelling selling
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point. Another judge added, “As a frequent traveller I love the idea of having all the information I need and my options for a trip at my fingertips.” Dan Fitzgerald, Vice President of Product Strategy, at KDS said of receiving the Smart Mobility Supplier Award, “We are delighted that KDS Neo won the Supplier Award for 2013. There was a lot of discussion at this year’s conference about door-to-door as a new way of managing mobility, so hearing the judges view on Neo mirror the positive response we are getting from our customers and partners, was very rewarding. We really think it’s the start of a new and better chapter in our industry.” For more information on KDS Neo go to www.kds.com/products/kds-neo 2nd Place: routeRANK RouteRANK’s patent pending technology offers travellers complete visibility of door to door travel by integrating rail, road, water and air connections and their many multi-modal combinations. By plugging together multiple modes of travel the technology behind routeRANK creates seamless door to door journey planning for the corporate marketplace and offers a new perspective on managing mobility. The judges were impressed. One commented, “RouteRANK’s multi-criteria and multi-technology approach to more efficient, more supportive and less
damaging ways of working and travelling is both impressive and inspiring.” The market demand for door to door solutions saw more praise for routeRANK. “The flexibility of choosing if and how to travel, and the ease of having the itinerary and route planned sounds like a great way to improve efficiency. And being able to set (monitor and improve!) the appetite for considering green travel options helps to bring wider considerations into the travel decision making process.” said another of this years judges. Jochen Mundinger, Chairman of RouteRANK, said “routeRANK is delighted to be recognised by a group of professionals appraising corporate mobility from a fresh perspective. Viewing corporate travel from the perspective of how travel can be provided to achieve better business outcomes and triple bottom line benefits is why routeRANK exists. As Smart Mobility Management explores this territory is particularly pleasing for us to be presented with a Smart Mobility Supplier Award.” For more information on routeRANK go to www.routerank.com 3rd Place: ALD Automotive – Freedom through co-modality “Corporate mobility is a big issue that needs a big picture solution. Freedom through co-modality is a big answer. It’s like looking at mobility through a new
Smart Mobility Awards Winners: Dan Fitzgerald, KDS (front left), Jochen Mundinger, routeRANK (front centre) and Christophe Duprat, ALD Automotive (front right) with their awards. Back left, Jonathan Green, Chief Editor Smart Mobility Management, Alexander Prinssen, Athlon Mobility Consultancy and the 2012 Smart Mobility Award Winner (back centre) and Luc Dendievel, Johnson and Johnson, Judges representative (brown suit jacket).
pair of glasses” commented a judge on ALD Automotive’s submission. With costs, traffic congestion, the war for talent, scarce resources and legislation challenging and changing the corporate mind set towards mobility, ALD Automotive has created a client offering that presents multiple solutions in a single and simple package. By broadening its product suite from car leasing to various forms of co-modality including ALD railmobility, ALD 6 &
7 wheellease and ALD companybike, ALD Automotive has designed a smart mobility solution that supports organisations implement and their employees understand the world of integrated mobility management.
and meeting rooms. Mobispot groups 40 professional business centres spread across Belgium, representing 500 working places and 150 meeting rooms that travellers can book and use on the go. Find out more at https://mobispot.be/
Smart Mobility Award shortlist The following solutions were shortlisted for the 2013 Smart Mobility Supplier Award. ALD Automotive & Mobispot: An online booking platform for working places
Carlson Wagonlit Travel, CWT To Go: Available on iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry devices, CWT To Go automatically syncs travellers’ itineraries to their mobile devices and updates them if there are any changes to a journey en-
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FOCUS
Smart Mobility Awards
route. With mobile check-in and flight status alerts, travellers enjoy, for free, the essential services they need to manage unforeseen events on-the-move.
Opening, closing, starting, stopping the vehicle: everything is controlled from the smartphone. Find out more at http://www.keyzee.eu
Find out more at www.carlsonwagonlit. com/cwt-to-go/ Citee Car: Citee car is a disruptive low cost car rental service offering vehicles from 1 euro an hour. With a unique host model Citee car is currently available in 2 German cities, Berlin and Hamburg, with plans to be operational in 4 countries and 29 cities with a fleet of 6000 vehicles by 2015. Find out more at www.citeecar.com Ecopostale: Is Belgium’s first zero CO2 logistics company offering intra urban logistics through sustainable mobility solutions. It is a first and last mile solution for mail and parcels, legal documents and tenders, using bicycles or cargocycles to handle dispatches over short distances reduces both congestion and pollution in urban centres.
Uros Goodspeed: A personal mobile hotspot offering wireless Internet access at home and abroad, and enabling users to be online without incurring roaming charges or hotspot fees. Find out more at http://uros.com/public/goodspeed.html Jonathan Green
The team at Smart Mobility Management would like to extend a special thank you to the Smart Mobility Supplier Awards judging panel. We are very grateful for your support. > Luc Dendievel Johnson & Johnson, Category Director Fleet EMEA > Janos Kis Diversey Europe, European Fleet Management Director > Iain MacBeth Transport for London, Business Engagement Programme Manager > Catherine McGavock Global Business Travel Association, Director Operations Europe > Heather McInroy Business in the Community, Programme Director > Kerry Snelling O2 UK (Telefonica), Corporate Responsibility and Stakeholder Communications Manager > Ben Varey SGS, Global Category Manager Travel and Fleet
Find out more at www.ecopostale.be
> Paul Herremans Consultant and previous Sourcing Specialist Leased Cars at Philips
Keyzee: Goodbye key! Keyzee, is the first solution in the marketplace for sharing vehicles via a smartphone.
> Steven Schoefs Chief Editor, Fleet Europe
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VISION
All Ways Travelling With Ease
Multi-modality:
All Ways Travelling With Ease An Amadeus-led consortium comprised of BeneRail, IATA, Thales, UNIFE and Zeppelin University, has been appointed by the European Commission to develop and validate a model for a multimodal pan-European passenger transport information and booking system. Jonathan Green talks to Jean-Marc Garzulino, Senior Manager Rail, AWT Project Manager, Amadeus.
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n integrated transport network has been a dream of public administrators, urban designers and city dwellers for a long, long time. The ability to plug together multiple modes of travel, merge all the data and make it easily accessible to consumers is a project of mindboggling proportions. Pause for a moment and think about the amount of transport data that is buzzing around one city, be it Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris or Rome. Then think about the amount of data that would needed for multi modal travel solution regionally, nationally or internationally. It’s enough to make ones mind hurt. The arrival on big data makes it possible to merge data and get meaningful results out of the other end – but before you demand a solution tomorrow spare a thought for those involved. Firstly, the data has to be identified, access to it has to be gained, then it needs to be collected before its compatibility can be assessed and the algorithms written. The scope of the project, the amount of data and the human energy required is huge. The All Ways Travelling Consortium is setting out on a journey to do this. Smart Mobility asked Jean-Marc Garzulino from Amadeus about the project and what integration means for the corporate travel sector. “What motivated Amadeus to engage in this research project?” Jean-Marc Garzulino: Amadeus, along with all members of the AWT consortium, believes that multimodality is a key priority for the future of the European travel industry. As part of the AWT consortium, we’re happy to be part of an innovative project making this a reality. Amadeus’ works across a wide range of transport modes including rail, airlines, coach, ferries and more, and this means we’re well-placed to bring broad-reaching expertise to the project. For Amadeus, it’s a natural evolution to use this knowledge to bridge the gap between planning, booking and embarking on travel across these various transport modes.
The ability to plug together multiple modes of travel, merge all the data and make it easily accessible to consumers is a project of mindboggling proportions.
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VISION
All Ways Travelling With Ease
«We can’t forget the convenience factor of door-to-door booking either. A traveller’s journey begins the moment they step out of the door, and ends when they set foot in the building that is their destination.» Jean-Marc Garzulino Ultimately, we are motivated by a desire to improve the journey, from start to finish, for the traveller by creating a simplified, seamless travel experience. A booking system that covers the first, middle and last miles of the trip will be a vital step in achieving this. “What are the key challenges that need to be overcome if door to door journey planning is to become a reality?” Jean-Marc Garzulino: One of the main issues is the current lack of data access (both static and real time) and shared service information between providers, with regards to things like schedules and updates on travel disruptions. Commercial agreements between operators (and between operators and retailers) pose another challenge; these don’t yet exist within other transport modes in the same way that they do in the airline world and this creates a disjointed travel process. Journey planning is part of the 2nd phase of the project. The industry needs to work together to develop new tools that would provide travellers with the available travel options for their particular trip and requirements, enabling them to compare options and choose which combination of transport modes works best for them. And beyond that, it’s about enabling the traveller to book and pay for all modes of their trip in one transaction and be issued with one single ticket for the entire trip. Finally, in a truly multimodal world, we’d have a trip tracker that would guide the traveller through their journey, providing helpful information such as the gate number for their flight or to alert them to any disruptions and enabling them to easily rebook onto another mode of transport in the event of a cancellation. This scenario is the end goal that we’re working towards and while it may be a way off, our challenge as a consortium is to identify how the industry gets there from the starting point that we’re at today. “What different strengths do the partners bring to the project to address these challenges?” Jean-Marc Garzulino: The companies within the consortium represent a balanced partnership between transport operators, authorities and system integrators who together bring extensive knowledge and expertise to address the different aspects of the project.
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Zeppelin University is leading the study and brings academic skills and an impartial standpoint from its position outside the travel industry. The consortium has also created an advisory board consisting of 10 representatives of the major players in the industry. The advisory board will bring additional knowledge and understanding of the different business lines and the global picture of multimodal business. The consortium also benefits from a number of EC stakeholders that will provide us with feedback throughout the course of the project. “What benefits will door to door solutions offer in the corporate travel market?” Jean-Marc Garzulino: Door-to-door solutions will rely on a multi-modal booking system being made available, and the key benefit from this will be greater choice. Business travellers will be presented with a range of options for a journey, and the chance to easily compare between them. A traveller could see whether it makes sense to make the journey by air, followed by a taxi from the terminal, or instead take high-speed rail followed by an urban commuter train. Time constraints would also be taken into account during the booking process, so if a traveller has to arrive in time for a critical meeting, only the relevant journeys would be shown. We can’t forget the convenience factor of door-to-door booking either. A traveller’s journey begins the moment they step out of the door, and ends when they set foot in the building that is their destination. To be able to seamlessly book all legs of that journey, across a range of transport modes is reassuring, and something which we expect travellers will increasingly desire across the corporate travel market, and even more so across the leisure travel markets. Jonathan Green
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Industry News
Unblocking EU Airspace The European Commission has announced €600 million of new funding to unblock congestion in Europe’s airspace. The Commission is looking to head off a capacity crunch with the number of flights forecast to increase by 50% over the next 10-20 years. Inefficiencies in Europe’s fragmented airspace bring extra costs of close to 5 billion Euros each year to airlines and their customers, as well as adding 42 kilometres to the distance of an average flight. The United States controls the same amount of airspace, with more traffic, at almost half the cost.
Best Western Hotels getting electrified The Best Western hotel chain is planning to offer a network of electric car charging stations across its portfolio of properties in the UK. By the end of September the hotelier expects that half its 270 properties will have a charging station. Angela Burns, the company’s chairman, a longstanding and enthusiastic electric car driver, said that she believes the company is the first hotel group in the world to offer electric charging stations on such a large scale.
Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell in London Emission-free hydrogen powered vehicles will soon be operating in London. The goal is to have five Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell models as an integral part of the London Hydrogen Network Expansion (LNHE) project. Hyundai Motors, as a supplier to the LHNE project, will join the existing consortium of companies working to establish the UK’s first hydrogen transport network.
New Mobility Concepts: Winglet Toyota has announced the first public trials of the Winglet mobility assistance robot. The three year programme is being launched in Tsukuba, a science and environment city in Japan. The Winglet will be “pavement” tested on the city’s streets to assess its safety and practicality for moving among pedestrians. The trial will continue until March 2016, with the emphasis in the first year being safety and from 2014 on functionality, convenience and prospective public demand.
The LHNE has initiated more than £50 million worth of projects already. Its partners have been involved in the implementation of the two existing refuelling stations, the operation of five fuel cell London buses which joined the Transport for London fleet in 2011, with another three to join in 2013, as well as a fleet of iconic London taxis, fuelled by hydrogen.
New lower price caps for mobile roaming As of 1 July 2013, the European Union’s Roaming Regulation lowered the price caps for data downloads by 36%, making it much cheaper to use maps, check emails and update social networks while travelling across the EU. The new prices caps are: • Downloading data or browsing the Internet - 45 cents / Megabyte (MB) (charged per Kilobyte used) + VAT. (36% reduction compared to 2012) • Making calls - 24 cents / minute + VAT (17% reduction compared to 2012) • Receiving a call - 7 cents / minute + VAT (12.5% reduction compared to 2012) • Sending a text message - 8 cents + VAT (11% reduction compared to 2012)
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Register today to be part of this unique event Programme and registrations: www.fleeteurope.com/events The Fleet Europe Forum will focus on the 2014 Outlook for International Fleet Management.
NEW
Forum starting at 8.15
The Fleet Europe Village will offer the attendees an ideal place to network and share.
With the support of:
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The Fleet Europe Awards will recognize the achievements of the finest international fleet managers and providers.
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Industry News
Tale of renewed cities reveals savings Policies that improve the energy efficiency of urban transport systems could help save as much as USD 70 trillion in spending on vehicles, fuel and transportation infrastructure between now and 2050, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. The report, “A Tale of Renewed Cities”, draws on examples from more than 30 cities across the globe to show how to improve transport efficiency through better urban planning and travel demand management. IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven urged policy makers to take a systems perspective and a long-term view to address the challenges. She said, “Governments must think beyond individual technologies and electoral cycles, and consider how to build – and how to renew – cities that will accommodate and transport nearly 6.3 billion people by 2050. We must plan infrastructure, logistics and energy systems now that make sense today and over the coming decades”. To read the report go to http://www.iea.org/publications/ freepublications/publication/Renewed_Cities_WEB.pdf
Everybody wants flexibility The Millennial generation seek more workplace flexibility, better balance between their work and home life, and opportunity for overseas assignments as keys to greater job satisfaction. A two-year research programme, conducted by the University of Southern California and London Business School, into attitudes of 44,000 PwC employees worldwide has both confirmed and dispelled Gen Y stereotypes. Millennials and non-Millennials alike want the option to shift their work hours to accommodate their own schedules and are interested in working outside the office. Given the opportunity, 64% of Millennials (and 66% of non-Millennials) would like to occasionally work from home, and 66% of Millennials (and 64% of non-Millennials) would like the option to occasionally shift their work hours.
CWT predicts moderate prices increases Carlson Wagonlit Travel has released its 2014 Travel Price Forecast, which shows worldwide travel prices will increase moderately next year. Christophe Renard, vice president, CWT Solutions Group, commented, “Prices in Europe are likely to decrease because of the continued economic uncertainty in the region, while emerging markets such as Argentina could experience far higher increases in 2014 due to high projected GDP growth and significant inflationary increases.” CWT’s Forecast is divided into four separate sections: air; hotel; ground; and meetings & events. For the full report visit CWT’s website (http://www.carlsonwagonlit.com/en/global/insights/global-forecast-2014/)
Positive Boarding at Heathrow Air passengers departing Heathrow will receive personalised advice on boarding to make their journey to the plane simpler and smoother. Heathrow is the first airport in the world to use pioneering technology across its terminals in an effort to improve passenger experience and departing flight punctuality. The personalised solution, named ‘Positive boarding’, will help reduce airlines’ last minute searches for passengers or their bags, as it enables airlines to see what stage of the departure process a traveller is at and gives passengers bespoke information to help make their flight on time.
Concur Perfect Trip Concur has announced new investments by the Concur Perfect Trip™ Fund, the Company’s initiative to allocate $150 million in capital to invest in and nurture emerging companies in the T&E Cloud. John Torrey, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy of Concur said of the investments,. “Smart companies like StayNTouch, Trover and Yapta share Concur’s spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship that will help us build out the services, functio-nality and global infrastructure available via the Concur T&E Cloud.”
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case studIES
Valliant
Valliant sees the opportunity for video The Valliant Group, headquartered in Remscheld, Germany, has been a market leader in the global heating, ventilation and air conditioning business since 1874. With a presence in over 20 countries and sales in over 60 the company was finding that employees were spending a lot of time and money travelling. Valliant took a look at video collaboration to see how it could improve business performance, optimise employee productivity and reduce travel costs.
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lobally the Valliant Group has more than 12,000 employees and has annual sales of €2.3 billion. The company develops and manufactures its products and services at sites in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Turkey and China. With offices located across Europe and beyond, the Group was finding that employees were spending a significant amount of time travelling between manufacturing and sales sites and incurring higher and higher travel costs as a result. In the quest to find a smarter way to communicate the company undertook a strategic review of its communication practices and investigated the viability of video-conferencing solutions. Key to success The success that the Valliant Group has achieved over the past 140 years has been based on being focused on the customer, and creating flexible work styles that ensure employees are able to respond quickly to customer needs and corporate objectives. The challenge for the Group was how to change existing working practices whilst maintaining the same level of customer engagement. Klaus Schied, Head of Group IT infrastructure, was given the task of finding a video based solution that fitted the bill.
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Building the solution Valliant was seeking a solution that would integrate well with its existing network, would deliver high quality video and would be easy for staff to use. The first step taken by Klaus and his team was to develop a clear understanding of the Group’s travel profile. The team wanted to discover who was travelling, when and why, and which of the dispersed teams across the company’s operations are working together. Gathering this information was essential if Valliant was to create a solution that did not compromise the company’s focus on customer orientation. The review concluded that by installing a tele-presence solution in each of the bigger Valliant Group locations, and giving employees other options to meet, one day trips would be reduced by 15% and two day trips by 5%. Within a year this would lead to a reduction of 700 trips, which was associated with 450 days of travel and 400 tonnes of carbon emissions. By quantifying the potential savings and explaining how a video based solution could support the business, Klaus and his team created an agenda for change. Valliant selected a suite of Polycom Room and Personal Telepresence systems with the system being up and ready for use in 8 months.
Keep it simple For a video solution to be adopted by employees it has to be easy to use explains Klaus. “Each location is registered on the address book. So, by clicking on the location you want to connect with you establish the video communications. As regular team meetings are held with several locations each meetings room has its own identification, such as the purchasing meeting room, making it simple for each person to connect to the meeting.” By putting simplicity at the heart of the solution video communications have been made accessible. The communication team at Valliant also developed an awareness raising campaign to introduce colleagues to video solutions and explain its functionality. Christoph Schnier, Group Purchaser IT and communications is a supporter. He says, “Video is great, especially if we are working on complex issues. Being able to see the person facilitates the conversation, and we are able to find solutions quicker.” His team of 15 used to meet several times a year in person for a five hour meeting and since the delivery of video he is able to meet with his dispersed team on a more regular basis. Schnier adds, “I can be in London in the morning, Paris in the afternoon, and home for dinner.”
«The review concluded that by installing a tele-presence solution in each of the bigger Valliant Group locations, and giving employees other options to meet, one day trips would be reduced by 15% and two day trips by 5%.»
Jack Knol is responsible for facilities and accommodation, mobility management and smart working strategy in the Netherlands.
Video is not a one dimensional solution for improving collaboration. Having been embraced by employees the video is now used daily for a variety of meeting across the business including team meetings, executive meetings, project management meetings, team collaboration, and customer and client collaboration. Sustainable value With an increasing focus on sustainability the sustainable value of the solution was an important element of the business case. Dr Jens Wichtermann, Director of Group Communications & Sustainability, is enthusiastic about what video solutions are achieving for the Group’s sustainability programmes. He comments, “As an international company with headquarters in Germany, it is important for us to be in close communication and collaboration with our
subsidiaries all over the world. The Polycom Realpresence Platform allows us to increase efficiency, reduce our travel costs, and improve internal communications. It allows us to be sustainable, which is important for us.” Next steps The aim is to increase adoption of video internally, and keep reducing travel. To achieve this aim the Group is innovating and giving employees more collaboration tools. Valliant is in the process of testing the Realpresence mobile solution on tablets to appraise their potential and the value to business processes and systems that can be delivered.
Overcoming Barriers to Video Adoption in the Workplace A Frost and Sullivan business briefing exploring the development of video based solutions and the business barriers that prevent adoption in the workplace is available for download at http://response.polycom.com/03DR-PS-Collaboration-EN-Q213. The briefing identifies a 4 key barriers and then offers a practical solution to overcome then. It also provides best practice advice on organising, managing and engaging in video conferencing calls with external clients and colleagues.
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VISION
Ecomobility
World Largest Mobility Showroom: Eco-Mobility World Festival 2013 The city of Suwon, South Korea, is hosting the world’s first Eco-Mobility Festival. Taking place for the entire month of September Suwon will offer us a peek into the eco-mobile city of the future by transforming an urban neighbourhood into a people-orientated environment
«With this festival, we will work together to show what an eco-mobile city looks like and deliver the message that this new urban lifestyle is possible.» Mayor Yeom Tae-young
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ying 30km from Seoul, Suwon is the capital city of the province of Gyeonggi-do and is South Korea’s first planned city with over one million inhabitants. As well as being home to UNESCO site of Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon is also the global headquarters of tech giant Samsung Electronics. With a mixture of old and new shaping the city, Suwon is about to pioneer something completely different: eco-mobility. The EcoMobility World Festival co-organized by ICLEI and the City government of Suwon, with support from UN-HABITAT, will see the Haenggung-dong neighbourhood transformed into a car-free zone. For the entire month, citizens and festival participants will experience an eco-mobile lifestyle by favouring walking, cycling and transport means that are low-emission, safe and resource-efficient. Konrad Otto-Zimmermann, Secretary General of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, initiator and Creative Director of the Festival project, said “The EcoMobility Festival will be exciting for all: the Suwon citizens will demonstrate healthy and environmentally-friendly mobility; the EcoMobility industry can promote their vehicles and test innovative products; city decision makers and urban planners from all over the world will visit Suwon and gain an impression of ‘urban EcoMobility in action.” Showroom of green tech The city will be turned in the world’s largest green mobility showroom. The Haenggung-dong neighbourhood, with a po-
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pulation of 4,300, will see its residents 1,500 fossil fuel vehicles moved off the streets and placed in temporary parking lots. In there place manufacturers of bicycles, scooters, tricycles, segways, velo-taxis, cargo-bikes, light electric vehicles from around the world will feature their latest innovations. Mayor Yeom Tae-young said, “With this festival, we will work together to show what an eco-mobile city looks like and deliver the message that this new urban lifestyle is possible.” The festival starts with a four-day forum for debates, and knowledge exchange between experts, businesses and local governments from the four corners of the world. Gil Penalosa, Ambassador for EcoMobility World Festival and the Director of 8-80 Cities, said “EcoMobility is not just about improving transportation. We also end up with cleaner air and a better environment, improved public health, and a more vibrant economic development.” ‘Minimove’ is one of the latest e-mobility suppliers to join the Festival as business partner. The German company will be demonstrating its unique 3-wheel electrically-powered scooter, kickTrike. With two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back, the kickTrike is designed for the simultaneous transport of both individuals and goods. When not being used, it has a foldup mechanism, which allows the device to be brought into buildings and onto elevators. Jonathan Green
VISION
An office on four wheels
An Office on Four Wheels Finance, construction, transport, media and entertainment – barely an area of commerce remains untouched by technology. Hardware innovations just a decade old have all-too-easily been pixelated and stuffed behind a touchscreen in the name of progress. Now we’re taking it up a gear.
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he column inches after Google pitched their self-driving car, or Volvo unveiled the SARTRE project leaves us in no doubt: the connected car is coming for us. But this isn’t like an Angry Birds upgrade or a Spotify re-skin, the connected car is the next digital frontier and unimaginable ramifications will follow. The digitisation of music, eBooks or SatNav systems are small potatoes in comparison. Fleet, transport, travel, tourism, and logistics will soon be unrecognisable, but the changes to our industry are merely the tip of the iceberg given the seismic societal, social, and psychological shifts required for the global population to accept and adapt to a world dominated by connected cars. No surprises then that research firm SBD reckon it’ll take five more years – a lifetime in the technology stakes – for almost a third of new cars to have in-car embedded technology. Connecting the Car Before looking at the repercussions for the industries that run on wheels, what exactly do we mean by a connected car? Although we’re blown away by Google and Volvo self-driving technology, it’ll be a while before the machines take over and start driving themselves on any grand scale. Currently there are two main systems for plugging the car in – an in-car embedded system which connects via a Dedicated Short Range Communications (similar to Wi-Fi), and tethering the car to the driver’s smartphone. Connected cars relay information from the surrounding road in to the driver, and from the driver out to the road; creating a community of cars that work towards a common purpose – getting everyone to their destination safely and quickly whilst providing the driver with all the usual updates. While the driver is connected to the world via the usual netavenues like email, social, SatNav, music, news and infotainment, all powerful communication tools allow neighbouring vehicles to “chat” to each other thus alerting drivers of road works, delays or accidents, allowing them to take evasive or defensive action.
«The automotive industry - after a century of consistency - is prepared for the lifecycle of the car to change dramatically.» What’s more, the driver may be alerted to potential accidents before they happen. Predictive algorithms, data-swapping and the ability to evaluate the state or posture of the driver could enable connected cars to stay out of trouble. It might sound a little iRobot but Intel research scientist Jennifer Healey told a TED Talk audience: “We can predict the accident, and we can predict which cars are in the best position to move out of the way.” Connected communities It sounds slick, safe and sturdy in theory. The Connected Car Forum – a newly assembled co-op of mobile providers, technologists and car manufacturers tasked with optimising the project – is aiming for almost exclusive market penetration in ten years. It sounds ambitious – and the process has begun. Nearly two million cars with smartphone integration, such as the Ford Applink or Toyota Entune, and 5.4 million cars with the embedded system – from the likes of BMW and General Motors – were shipped in 2012. Research firm SBD forecasts that by 2018, smartphone integration will feature in 21 million new cars sold – or 18% of all cars sold. In-car embedded technology – which experts reckon will
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VISION
Office on four wheels
become the predominant system – will be found in 36 million new cars sold, that’s 31% of the all cars shipped in that year. Telefónica Digital’s Connected Car Industry 2013 report reckons the number of vehicles with built-in connectivity today stands at 10 per cent of the overall market and that figure will rise to 90 percent by 2020. By this time, the relationship between customers, mobile and internet service providers, and car dealerships will have evolved beyond the 2013 experience. Soon could come the day where we pay more to our mobile provider for in-car data than we shell out at the petrol pump. The automotive industry – after a century of consistency – is prepared for the lifecycle of the car to change dramatically. Service bundles, delivery channels, product pipelines, pricing and customer support – we’re talking about entire new business models, a blueprint that won’t be perfected overnight. Keeping safe and sound Connected car safety is a global concern. It’s all-too-easy to think that the news, traffic updates, social media and emails whizzing into the driver’s field of vision are too distracting when eyes really should be on the road, after all: a connected car is still a car; a two-ton hunk of steel and glass. As of 2013, the rules outlining how one may use their connected car haven’t been written. Two distinct approaches have emerged: one is to ban or severely restrict the use of tech while driving, and the other promotes new interface designs and voice recognition commands, so the driver isn’t swiping, tapping and texting on the go. I’m sure we’ve all been in a car with a driver who has sent a sly text or made a non-hands-free mobile call, so in-car the onus will be on the driver to subscribe to best-practice. One high profile accident, public image catastrophe or PR nightmare could set the project back,
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and do untold damage to a company’s office-on-four-wheels prototype. When the first connected car accident happens we’ll likely see the first legal precedent set for blame and liability. The driver’s education, training, and competence – especially if he’s in a company car – will no doubt come under scrutiny and employers may expect to absorb some of the heat. In time it’s a message that will have to come from the top down, but driver responsibility really is key. The temptation to finish one’s work on-the-road for an extra hour or two in bed may prove irresistible so locking the software to abuse by stressed staff could add to the project’s integration time and expense.
Tech takes care of your drivers The issue of stressed drivers in a mobile office is one area project leaders are taking very seriously and mind-blowing new technologies are coming to the fore that aim to keep road users safe; starting with the driver. A number of big car manufacturers are equipping vehicles with so-called bio-metric sensors that keep tabs on a driver’s vital health signs, such as their pulse, breathing, and palms. The information is fed into the car’s on-board system and may advise the motorist to rest first, potentially it may even lock itself if the driver is in an unfit condition to drive.
Future of fleet management in the connected age So whilst the automotive industry waits on its full-blown sex change, and the public at large prepare for a full lobotomy as to how they interact with their wheels, industries such as ours are left to plan the inevitable. Fleet managers familiar with The Third Place and the logistical and financial burden associated with mobile office space, roadside meetings and expensive conference space may dance a jig at the thought of a fully loaded in-car office. Mercedes, Daimler and Volvo have already produced cars with rotating seats; making for a pleasant in-car meeting spot. Yet the connected car solution will come – as everything does – with its hidden charges, problems, and sticking points. The mobile office might sound like it’ll shave zeros off the fleet’s expense account, but all that data – which will inescapably need to be bundled to a mobile ISP – isn’t free. Large amounts of storage space will be required to host each interaction and transaction so companies can expect big server bills. Emails, GPS and live traffic updates might sound like low intensity data usage; but it all adds up from a cost point-of-view and that’s before the necessary training programmes and bespoke software your fleet may require to eliminate (as much as possible) the potential for human error.
Some Lexus models use in-car cameras and some Mercedes-Benz vehicles have steering sensors to detect drowsy-driving behaviour. Biometric testing could also extend to the atmosphere around the driver and pick up toxins – such as alcohol – in the cabin. These measures are being designed to keep the driver, and the public, out of harm’s way as well as keeping the company’s name in the public psyche for the right reasons. But another concern when discussing the mobile office is the idea of privacy and where the data goes.
Who knows what? From emails sent to miles driven, manoeuvres made, unscheduled stops and how one’s body reads in test conditions, there’s a lot of info – personal, physical and professional – to be recorded. If a driver is essentially at work his employer may think it their right to analyse and scrutinise their workers to this degree. Workers may feel it over-bearing. If it’s safety versus autonomy, and professional versus personal data, a happy medium that’s to everyone’s satisfaction may be hard to find.
The issues, and potential issues, is more the tip-of-the-iceberg stuff, but provides food for thought on a development that’s set to shake up the transport and travel industries henceforth. It’s a long time until 2018 and these become practical rather than theoretical problems. Given the speed at which technology evolves, a fix-all solution might zoom round the corner; at a safe speed, avoiding the road works. Alistair Millar
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case studIES
Cisco
In discussion with Hans der Hollander, CISCO Systems Mr Hans den Hollander is the Fleet Manager for the EMEAR region at CISCO Systems. He sat down with Paul Herremans to outline the key features of Cisco’s Fleet and Mobility program. Here’s what he had to say.
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he CISCO systems fleet program has received international acclaim with Hans der Hollander picking up 3rd prize in the International Fleet Manager of the Year category at the 2012 Fleet Europe Awards. The recognition for Hans and the CISCO systems program has not stopped there. This year he was nominated for the Dutch 2013 Mobility Manager of the Year Awards. Hans shared what he sees as the building blocks of success at CISCO systems and how innovation in fleet and mobility is helping to create sustainable value at a corporate level, and support employees deliver their business objectives on a day to day basis and realise their personal mobility goals too. Pan-European car policy: The building block of success CISCO Systems has rolled out a single
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harmonized pan-European car policy across 28 countries. This is the building block for the international fleet program and ensures that the program aligns with corporate aims and objectives. The mandatory elements of the panEuropean car policy include: > one single preferred operational leasing company > one single fuel card service provider > one single invoice control service provider > fully outsourced fleet operations and driver contact > five preferred car OEM’s > fixed CO2 emission caps at 140g for diesel and 160g for petrol > contract term extended to 48 months This single, mandatory, pan-European car policy supported by a single pre-
ferred car leasing service provider is a key success factor that enables the international program to deliver value. It provides the framework for measuring success whilst presenting individual countries with the ability to tailor the fleet solution to meet the specifics of their local market and business needs. Car allowance is always an option In each of the 49 EMEAR countries, essential fleet drivers are offered the option of a car allowance. In the 28 European countries, essential drivers may decline the car allowance and opt for a company car under the pan-European program. The flexibility offered here is highly valued by employees. It presents them with the opportunity to appraise their business and personal mobility needs, and create a solution that fits both. At a time when the mobility needs of emp-
«At a time when the mobility needs of employees are evolving it is important to present flexibility without compromising the core principles of the corporate program and the value that it creates»
loyees are evolving it is important to present flexibility without compromising the core principles of the corporate program and the value that it creates. Alternative power train vehicles offer opportunities In the Netherlands there is intensive field testing of electric and hybrid vehicles, and the value that they can present to CISCO systems program and the employee. CISCO’s system’s Dutch employees that are eligible for a lease car can select an electric vehicle that fits within their lease budget. They are also supported with charging infrastructure being installed at their homes as part of the package. The plan is to broaden the offer of electric and hybrid vehicles to employees across Europe from the 2nd half of 2013. From this time, eligible employees will have the opportunity to select an electric or hybrid vehicles subject to the existing condition of their assigned lease budget. By presenting electric and hybrid vehicles as standard options in vehicle selection CISCO systems is treating all vehicles, regardless of their powertrains, as equal. Work from any place, anytime, anywhere and bring your own device Teleworking from a home office and utilizing satellite offices has been practiced for some time. CISCO systems is a supplier of advanced web based communications systems and virtual office solutions, so the widespread adoption
of these solutions in the business will not come as a surprise to readers. The effective deployment of smart working practices has been created because CISCO systems measure performance based on outcomes. This outcome based approach means that anywhere, anytime working is seen as a cultural norm. The illusion that being seen in the office means that work is being done has disappeared. The value of employees contributions are tangible, rather than taken from a subjective perspective. Further evolution of smart working has seen the implementation of a bring your own device policy, enabling employees to use their own devices for work purposes in any location that they choose. Performance Management and evidencing value Benchmarking provides a way of measuring success and demonstrating to stakeholders that new policies and business practices are making change happen and delivering business focused outputs. By concentrating on outcomes and measuring them in a meaningful way CISCO systems has also been able to identify new opportunities to create sustainable value. Financial savings have been the result. For example, the use of virtual team meetings, web based conferencing and the use of tele-presence meetings solutions, combined with travel bans, has been credited with reducing air travel expenditure by more than 50%.
CISCO systems EMEAR Fleet: The Facts and Figures > 6 000 company cars out of a population of 10 000 eligible company car drivers > 49 EMEAR countries > 28 countries in Europe with company cars on the road > Funding method: full service operational leasing > Preferred leasing suppliers 1 > Preferred car OEM’s 5 > Annual fleet spend 110 Mio EUR > Annual travel spend 225 Mio EUR
It is not just the expenditure where value can be measured however. CISCO has also invested in systematic evaluation of employee satisfaction through independent surveys. The results show that employee satisfaction is excellent, and overall satisfaction levels are continuing to rise. It’s a simple equation. A satisfied worker is also a productive, effective and efficient worker. The goal for mobility professionals everywhere is to create fleet and mobility solutions that lead to opportunities for corporate value and employee wellbeing. They have the potential to deliver a win – win. Paul Herremans
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BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Industry News
774% difference in mobile phone charges Mobile users across the EU face huge price differences for the same services. The biggest price difference is in domestic mobile calls – a 774% difference between Lithuania, the cheapest country, and Netherlands, the most expensive. European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said: “As these numbers clearly show, the 28 national telecoms markets in Europe today are not benefitting consumers like a single market would.” In September the EU will present a new package aimed at strengthening the Telecoms single market.
Driverless shuttles in Singapore Singapore’s first clean and green driverless shuttle transportation system will see passengers shuttling between Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and JTC Corporation’s (JTC) CleanTech Park.In a partnership between NTU, JTC and Induct Technologies, and supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), an autonomous electric shuttle manufactured by Induct is expected to ply the two kilometre route providing a safe, reliable and environmentally-friendly alternative mode of transportation The two-year collaboration will see the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) test and optimise Induct’s electric shuttle named NAVIA and enable it to intermingle safely with traffic in Singapore. As part of NTU’s drive to be at the forefront of electromobility research, the partnership will also see the development and testing of various new charging technologies such as wireless induction and new super capacitors for electric vehicles.
Wireless capacity concerns Smart Parking France Orange has teamed up with Streetline to offer French cities and citizens the opportunity to revolutionise parking provision and access. Streetline which is already active in Germany, the UK and US, uses sensors to detect the presence of vehicles and signal open spaces to drivers. Drivers can then find the spaces using an app which provides vocal directions to the space and offers additional information, including hours, prices, and other information.
Pay to park on my drive The UK Government has issued guidance to clarify the requirements of drivers renting out their driveways. The guidance will allow home owners to rent out their driveways with planning permission so long as “there is no public nuisance to neighbours, or other substantive concerns”. In recent years there has been an increase in the use of private driveway parking with internet ‘dating’ sites introducing drivers to homeowners who have a empty driveway to rent.
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An EC study has recommended that extra capacity is urgently needed to support rising demand for WiFi. The study found that 71% of all EU wireless data traffic in 2012 was delivered to smartphones and tablets using Wi-Fi, and that this is expected to rise to 78% by 2016. The EC believes that systems which share WiFi networks with others are a great example of how the EU can crowd-source a better internet for everyone.
VISION
Becoming the change you want to see
Becoming the change you want to see Daunting and flabbergasting. Such is the speed of progress in our industry, and its supporting technological infrastructure, it’s hard to sell change – especially when that change contradicts the culture of what’s been comfortable.
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n-the-road staff are getting used to swallowing new rules and methods at the whim of employers. Emerging technologies, budgetary restraints, green options, and health and wellbeing initiatives continue to dictate the corporate mobility agenda. But with Web 2.0 opening up so many avenues for the traveller how easy is it to normalise and impose widespread corporate change? Scaling back on car-travel for shorter trips, promoting travel through a preferred supplier, or using new technologies for the sake of ease might sound great, but the seasoned traveller may see the game differently to a desk-bound manager. The mobility manager wants to know where staff are in case something cataclysmic happens, there are budgets to be managed and supporting on the road productivity is in vogue – but asking staff to stick to the script can be a tough sell. Loyalty schemes, vouchers, cash back and labour saving apps and websites can have staff prioritising personal gain before company benefit. Few would dispute the theoretical benefits of train-travel over using the car: it’s green, quick, often cheaper and better for the temperament of the staff member – but such practical benefits may be eclipsed by fuel points, flexibility, and autonomy in the mind of the car-driver. Creating the conditions for change Product chiefs and marketers spend all their waking hours’ road mapping the best way to sell lasting change to consumers; it’s not an overnight process. For our industry it might be easy to think that simply communicating change to your staff via a slick presentation and extensive briefing notes may precipitate lasting change in their behaviours and attitudes – but it’s not quite that simple. Marketers will advise that the global conditions have to be right for change, otherwise those you’re selling to will switch-off, forget, or relapse back to the comfortable old way. Changing behaviour – in a lasting and meaningful way – is increasingly important skill in our industry. By turning our heads and looking around to see how others engage an audience and
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VISION
Becoming the change you want to see
«Changing behaviour - in a lasting and meaningful way - is increasingly important skill in our industry.» create the conditions for change we can start to get an idea of the techniques that work and those that don’t. Change doesn’t just happen Tablets, iPods and smartphones might seem like products that basically sold themselves – but the conditions were carefully manicured to forge the mental shift needed for global penetration. In just seven years, iPhones and smartphones have become the dominant communication vehicle of choice across all countries and most demographics; right up to the over 50s. Marketing a product-innovation to the population, and selling a business change to staff are propositions that may sound different. But they’re not. Business change agency Futerra have, for a decade, made it their business to encourage and stimulate meaningful change in behaviour to allow new products and practices to penetrate our psyche. Their report, 13 ways your brand can change the world, published this June, describes how the conditions and culture around sustained change are as important as the strength of the innovation itself. It’s equally important to manage change before, during and after its implementation. Futerra’s presentation enforces that two-way communication is an important fact-finding and fact-facing process to let the customers – or in our case the staff – feel invested in the process. The timing of change too is vital. It’s said that humans embrace change when there’s an environment of change around them. Students going to university are more likely to buy or access a car for the first time and are more likely to sign up to a new bank account. Home-movers too are more likely to shop around for new insurance, internet and TV providers – they’re also more susceptible to try cycling, recycling and local volunteering to better plug themselves into their new locale. Time for change So timing is the key. Perhaps a company re-brand, re-launch or new season is the time to introduce change while staff are mentally prepared. Toyota successfully cultivated a culture of change – especially the green movement – and watched an untested product captivate their audience. Pushing the Prius to those used to driving petrol-consuming status symbols would have to be a military operation. A decade on, the Toyota Prius has become the manufacturer’s best-selling car ever.
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It didn’t hurt that they had a few extra tools at their disposal in selling the change itself. In trying to be ‘cool’ new products are steeped in a surrounding culture of fresh, bold, vibrant colours, imagery and packaging. In the case of the Prius, having Hollywood A-listers to sell the idea was an effective trick. Although it’s unlikely a fleet manager will have ready access to George Clooney to sell a proposal it’s the principal that has merit. Wrapping a new idea in fresh colours, using new techniques to broadcast it and offering it as the better way, the new way, the progressive way is a tune many will want to dance to. Change may need to be led by influencers at the top, and – if George Clooney is not available - it may fall on the higher-ups to lead by example. Although we’re wary of corny company photo-ops showing the MD with his sleeves rolled up, there is a trickle-down effect from subtly and quietly showing change at the top. The change you want to be Thus change is normalised, familiar, desirable, and importantly: visible. For a wholesale procedural change, a memo isn’t going to cut it. The language, the colour and the essence of that change has to be woven into communications, rhetoric and culture wherever possible. Reward for those who adopt, embrace and lead change may feel appropriate, as might punishment for those who resist. While this article only scratches the surface of implementing long-term change, what’s clear is that the process isn’t to be underestimated. What’s normal and comfortable and fixed in workplace culture now may be deep-set. It must be fought on all fronts, using the right processes at the right time. Change must be in the air and re-enforced visually, mentally, culturally and practically to take effect. Just asking nicely ain’t going to work. Alistair Millar
VISION
Facility for mobility
Facility for mobility Given the changing nature of work space are professionals based in facilities management in the best position to manage corporate mobility in the future? Tim Harrup spoke with three Facility Managers to find out how the industry is responding to the mobility agenda.
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t is perhaps not unsurprising that facilities managers are active in the mobility management agenda. A recent survey by Smart Mobility Management found that although the majority of mobility managers still report into Procurement, Finance or Human Resources departments, 10% are now based within their company’s Facilities Department. The changing face of Facilities Management Up until recently Facility Management (FM) was associated with the administration and management of an organisation’s office estate. In the last decade an increase in outsourcing activity has broadened the scope of activities that FM Managers are engaged in. FM is now an interdisciplinary field associated with the management of a plethora of non core business functions. With a FM taking care of these peripheral yet essential business issues, an organisation is able concentrate on its core business. The changing brief has given rise to a new breed of FM managers and suppliers. FM today can include areas as diverse as corporate and regulatory compliance through to the provision of information technology, its maintenance and management. The shift from operational management to strategic engagement in FM changes the dynamic that exists between supplier and an organisation. As a result, FM Managers in many organisations are now responsible for the creation of optimised, cost effective and environmentally responsible working environments. Facilities Management meets Mobility Management FM is a highly competitive market. Suppliers are continuously innovating to reduce business costs and differentiate themselves from their competitors in a quest to add value. Given FM’s interdisciplinary nature and its strategic focus, suppliers and professionals in the sector are increasingly being tasked with drawing together non core business functions and re-designing them to create new solutions.
As a result the management of corporate mobility is now on the FM professional’s radar – and suppliers in the sector are taking note. Mobility management presents yet another opportunity for FM suppliers to expand their portfolio of services, differentiate themselves and add value. Thought leadership in mobility management A broad spectrum of business areas and mobility players from across different industry sectors are vying to be the thought leaders within integrated mobility management. FM is well placed to lead and innovate. With FM responsible for an increasing array of non core business services its practitioners are able to see how different business functions interact. This big picture perspective is invaluable in devising a mobility management strategy. Perhaps more importantly still, FM departments have a brief to realise savings by changing business culture and practices. And mobility management requires a change of mindset.
As mobility management is not, in many organisations, directly linked to meeting the requirements of clients and consumers, it is a non core business function that has the potential to sit within the FM professional’s brief.
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VISION
Facility for mobility
Stéphane Vanbever of Euler Hermes played an important role in the Insurer’s ‘New Way of Working’ strategy and its subsequent implementation.
David Grammendis is ‘Head of Back Office’ for facilities services provider Facilicom. This role includes fleet and facilities management.
Patrick Waûters
Facility Management Consulting Manager, for real estate consultant AOS Studley is perhaps the most bullish about the value of integration.
“I have always had responsibility for the company’s car fleet, so in that respect the domains of office estate management and mobility is integrated at Euler Hermes. I also have responsibility for meeting rooms and meetings management, which means that I am not only responsible for managing meeting provision amongst our personnel but also for clients and others who come to our offices for meetings. I have very little involvement in managing business travel for my colleagues, another aspect of corporate ‘mobility’, but this is a small activity at Euler Hermes. Overall, there are a number of different elements that I am responsible for in my role, but as of yet they are not really integrated with each other.”
“I believe that mobility management, including facilities, is fully integrated at Facilicom. We are seeing facility and mobility coming together because, for example, we no longer talk just about company cars but of a total mobility solution. We are also seeing the role of the FM Manager evolve with new responsibilities. This includes some aspects of the Human Resource function becoming the responsibility of the FM Manager. We are currently undertaking a cost saving exercises within fleet management which is taking account of employee commuting to the office whether it is by car, bike or train, and how different needs can be accommodated.”
“I am certainly observing the coming together of ‘facility’ and ‘mobility’. I think there are three elements in the context of this change. The first is that organisations are increasingly de-centralising their offices and locating them away from congested areas. This is a trend which is being seen in a number of countries across Europe. The second element is that organisations are looking to design an office estate and workplace environment which is increasingly flexible and responsive to employee needs. This involves mobility because the location and the structure of the office estate is influenced by how employees are able to travel. Thirdly, the trend towards home-working is impacting the facility manager’s role. So along with the word ‘mobility’ I would add ‘variability and flexibility’ as the key issues impacting FM today.”
Tim Harrup and Jonathan Green
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