The Impact of Online Booking Tool Configurations on Global Travel

Whether you’re planning to “go global” or if your company already has a globalized corporate travel program, it is crucial to understand the role of your online booking platform. The technical configuration of the tool, along with strategic agency and content access, will impact your ability to manage travelers across the globe.

What are the best practices for OBT configurations on a global scale? How can implementation ensure that your travel and expense program is managed efficiently?

World Travel, Inc. Vice President of Enterprise Technology, Julie Deppe, sat down with us to shed some light on this topic. After reading her insights below, if you want to learn even more, check out her session at next week’s SAP Concur Fusion 2019.

Technical configuration

When using SAP Concur Travel as your OBT of choice, it’s important to remember that no matter how much international travel your program has, you will always have one Concur site.

However, there can be multiple configurations of the site (including subsites) based on your travel program needs. Multiple configurations have different use cases in Concur Travel but will always be used in a multi-agency service set-up.

Multi-agency configuration

If you have chosen to utilize a global partner network to support your travel program (learn more about the benefits here), agency access to different configurations of the site is another consideration.

A global reseller of Concur would be able to access all configurations of the Concur site, essentially having a global view of all travel.

If other TMCs are contracted to provide local expertise, country-specific GDS and direct-connect content, and ticketing in the local currency, these could be set up as fulfillment agencies. In this case, a fulfilment agency would only have a divisional view of the Concur site, seeing only the travel booked through them.

World Travel, Inc. is a global reseller of Concur, and we often work with our international partners as fulfillment agencies to provide localized service while maintaining best practices for data security, risk management, consolidated reporting, and maximized site configurations. This allows the World Travel, Inc. Global Account Manager, as well as the client’s Global Travel Manager, to be able to view all users and report on all company travel.

Learn more!

Want to learn more about optimizing a global travel program with SAP Concur solutions?

Julie Deppe, along with World Travel, Inc. Executive Vice President of Business Development, Michael Farrell, will be sharing additional insights at next week’s SAP Concur Fusion 2019.

Their session, Going Global with World Travel, Inc. and SAP Concur Travel and Expense Solutions, will dive deeper into best practices for a global travel program, including HR data feeds, multi-agency configurations, reseller vs. fulfilment agencies, expense integration, global data consolidation, global implementation, and more!

Sign up for the Going Global session here.

Also, be sure to meet with the World Travel, Inc. team at booth 300 in the expo hall! World Travel, Inc. is a preferred and certified Concur partner, and we’re more than happy to talk through online booking tool optimization or answer any questions you have. See you in San Diego!