PAUL BROUGHTON, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR of Chambers Travel Management, says there has been a marked increase in the number of external consultants being used to run request for proposal (RFP) processes in the past two years, linked with the rise of procurement. He says Chambers has embraced this change, and is seeking to build relationships with consultants. “When consultants are working on opportunities, they understand when it might be the right kind of opportunity for Chambers to participate,” he says. However, it is not all positive. Broughton says that sometimes consultants regurgitate the same RFP document from client to client. “Good consultants clearly adjust their RFP template to reflect the idiosyncrasies of their client,” he says. Traveleads’ joint managing director, Elaine Holmes,
agrees. “It is often frustrating that so much of the tender documentation is not relevant to doing the job,” she says. Andy Hampshaw, managing director of Travel by Appointment (TBA), says his experiences of consultants differ but that they seem to add unnecessary complexity to the process of selecting a TMC. “Consultants obviously have a living to make and the more complex the process, the more they are going to earn,” he says. “I think they are wont to make the process more difficult because of the greater final remuneration. Whether that helps the end client has to be highly debatable.” Chambers does see the value they bring the client in many
cases, however. “They can also make it easier for us as a TMC,” says Broughton. “On a lot of occasions, they are reinforcing and confirming what we’re saying.” He says the recipe for a good consultant is “rounded experience in most areas of travel management, a good grasp for the technology and awareness of the service options that are available”. And TBA’s Hampshaw admits consultants can be a godsend in some cases. “One major retailer had been going through an exhaustive tender process for two to three years and the process had become a total farce,” he recalls. “They then brought in a consultant who gave the process the direction which it badly needed and brought it to a conclusion.” But Hampshaw does question the neutrality of some. “With certain consultants, it sometimes appears the contracts always go to the same TMC,” he says. “For some tenders, we have been invited to take part, only to no-bid it when we see who the consultant is.” He believes some corporates employ consultants because
they will reduce the amount of work they have to do. “Unless they are looking to totally revolutionise how your company procures travel, I think a good procurement director should be able to conduct the exercise themselves,” he says. Some consultants do not display the necessary awareness of a client’s policy and history, argues Traveleads’ joint managing director, Gary McLeod. “Often the RFP is an arm’s-length process and you are kept away from the client. The problem is finding out what the client’s goals really are.”