Deborah Jones, Director, Wholesale Cards Implementation Head, Global Transaction Services, Citi
The benefits of commercial card programmes for travel & entertainment (T&E) are widely accepted, but this comes as little comfort to resource-strapped companies that do not have the time or resources to implement them. At Citi, we are also seeking to ‘do more with less’ and channel our expertise into delivering valuable programmes whilst reducing complexity, cost and project risk. In this context, we wanted to create a model that allowed our customers to take rapid advantage of our commercial card programmes without the need to expend significant resources.
Using cards to reduce
cost and risk Chief financial officers and procurement managers of companies of all sizes and in all regions are focused on developing greater intelligence related to their expenditure and implementing intelligent policies, with a view to reducing costs and increasing control without compromising business performance. Implementing card programmes for expenses is a valuable way in which they can achieve these objectives. Cardholders benefit from the convenience of a corporate card as opposed to using a personal card for business travel or going through lengthy invoicing processes. In addition, the company is able to enforce T&E policies, and gain greater visibility over costs. With full transparency over expenses information, companies can work with preferred suppliers to
achieve greater economies of scale and closer relationships.
Finite resourcing to
project fulfilment Despite the advantages of implementing a card programme, business managers have a finite number of staff to allocate to a seemingly infinite number of projects. Consequently, implementation risk and effort, as well as quantifiable benefits, are critical factors in determining the feasibility of a project. By designing a pioneering Fast Track implementation model, which is already bringing benefit to companies globally, we enable both new and existing customers to take rapid benefit of our card programmes. To achieve this, we have rationalised the project management agenda to just three items: program design, delivery and launch. Each step is fully supported by a professional
project manager to ensure seamless implementation and adoption.
From a customer’s perspective, this approach is particularly attractive not only because of the short period between project initiation and delivery, but also due to the greatly reduced amount of time that the programme administrator needs to dedicate to the project. For example, while a large, complex card programme across multiple countries or regions may take some months to implement, with the programme administrator often dedicated full-time to the project. Citi’s new Fast Track model puts cards into the hands of employees within as little as 10 days. Programme administrators need only to devote a few hours to the project over this period, making it much easier to integrate a card programme implementation into a finance or purchasing team’s daily routine.