What is a travel management company?

And what can they do for manufacturing companies?

As the manufacturing industry invests in smart technology to innovate and automate, they have a lot to gain by partnering with a travel management company (TMC) that’s making the same strides.

Keeping all parts of a system running smoothly is a critical factor for manufacturing companies, and business travel plays a key role by getting field service technicians, quality engineers, and other employees where they need to be to minimize costly downtime.

But smart business travel is much more than simple logistics. A TMC can act as a strategic partner to unlock a slew of benefits, from realizing significant cost savings to augmenting efficiencies to increasing employee retention.

In an era where online booking tools abound, some enterprises may opt to let business travel remain decentralized, allowing employees to handle bookings independently and later expense their trips. But for businesses that have outgrown this approach, aligning with a well-suited TMC can yield exponential benefits.

Here’s what you need to know about what a TMC can do for your manufacturing company.

What does a TMC do?

Travel management companies excel in managing the intricate details of business travel, like flight or rail reservations, hotel accommodations, duty of care support, and car rentals, among a host of other services.

But the role of TMCs extends well beyond coordinating travel.

With cost savings being a top focus for manufacturing companies, TMCs empower your employees to secure optimal travel deals (to save your company money and keep your travelers happier) while promoting adherence to your company’s corporate travel policy.

What is a travel policy?

Think of your travel policy as a set of guidelines, with some flexibility and exceptions, aimed at guiding your travelers to make choices that benefit both the traveler and the company. But a business travel policy transcends mere dos and don’ts. It serves to reinforce company culture, optimize cost savings, and ensure the well-being of travelers. Your travel policy should be crafted (alongside your travel management company) to fit the needs and nuances of your company and can cover things like preferred fare classes, per diem expense limits, and even eco-friendly travel practices.

In the manufacturing industry, it’s all about improving efficiencies by optimizing processes and performance. Business travel is much the same, and your travel policy is like a living operating manual. Every time a traveler books through your TMC, data is captured that can be used in near real-time to measure performance against your business objectives.

Plus, access to this rich data allows you to measure the cost of a trip against the value it generates, whether that’s deploying a field service technician to service an unplanned disruption or nurturing a new supplier relationship. Your TMCs data stream provides valuable insights when calculating the ROI of various business endeavors.

How are travel management companies different from online booking tools?

Travel management companies offer a multitude of advantages that extend well beyond the capabilities of standard online booking tools. These benefits include:

• Special Negotiated Rates: Because of the substantial volume of bookings they handle on behalf of their clients and the relationships they cultivate with suppliers, TMCs can negotiate exclusive rates and privileges with a wide spectrum of airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and more. These benefits are only available to their customers and are not accessible to the general public.
• Advanced Technology: Many travel management companies now make it easy to book and manage travel on just about any device for a seamless experience from desktop to laptop to smartphone. And top travel companies are investing in advanced technology to personalize the travel experience for their customers. They use advanced technology to tailor search results to each traveler, so they’ll likely find the best choices at the top of the page. They also use advanced algorithms that keep checking for lower prices even after a traveler books a trip to a project site. If the system finds one, it will change the booking to save money, without any additional time or effort.
• Traveler Safety: Certain TMCs employ advanced technology to pinpoint travelers’ real-time locations in case of emergencies and provide immediate notifications to keep travelers informed and answer their FAQs about unforeseen security concerns or last-minute changes in travel regulations.
• Corporate Travel Policy Integration: Travel management companies bridge the gap between employee booking practices and your corporate travel policy by configuring search results that guide travelers — whether employees or contractors — to make choices that align with company objectives. Some TMCs even use advanced technology to craft automated approval processes for when travelers try to book an out-of-policy itinerary, which saves managers significant time and effort.
• Informed Decision-Making: The data aggregation travel management companies provide makes it possible to analyze travel trends, assess risk management, and implement budgetary oversight. These data-driven insights transform travel from a cost center into a strategic initiative, with comprehensive reports to share with stakeholders for ongoing policy optimization that’s in alignment with company initiatives.
• Round-the-Clock Assistance: Travel disruption is not an uncommon occurrence, especially with international travel, and, even in this digital age, travelers often need personalized help. Certain TMCs offer full-time comprehensive off-line support from skilled travel counselors, so travelers can always get the help they need through whatever communication channel they prefer, whether that’s by e-mail, chat, or a phone call.

Travel management companies offer numerous benefits beyond the reach of simple online booking tools to bolster traveler well-being while actively contributing to your business’s growth. Don’t settle for a part-time TMC. Partnering with a TMC, with years of experience, that’s innovating in smart business travel can transform travel management into a strategic asset, helping you gain an edge in achieving your smart manufacturing objectives.

Looking for more? Read ‘When is the Right Time for your Manufacturing Company to Hire a TMC?’