NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010MARCH/APRIL 2013
KPIs
the success of the company. The next generation of dashboards has to include more elements of the profit-and-loss. Travel managers are going to have to be more outwardly focused and market aware.” One attempt to link business
travel indicators with the wider world is the ACTE Index, launched by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives in 2011. Munsey says of the Index: “I do think that being able to provide the travel community with broader insight into external trends affecting T&E expenditure holds immense value. If the average ticket price has risen, you need to provide insight into why that has happened. Broader integration can only be beneficial.” He adds a note of caution.
“Having a dashboard is one thing, but getting the data in the first place is different. We are still finding customers who are not getting any quality data. It is the key to anyone’s travel programme.”
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CHANGING TECHNOLOGY The Data Exchange’s Hopley believes that the days of expensive proprietary data reporting tools are numbered, and that free and open-source alternatives, such as Tableau Public and Wolfram Alpha, will come to the fore in the next few years. “Changing technology is enabling an entirely different approach to managing data, and companies risk getting left behind,” she says. Hopley believes that today’s dashboards are already worryingly outdated. “The way of doing reporting today is like riding a horse-and-cart next to a Pendolino – I really believe that.” The problem, she suggests, is that existing dashboards exist in a silo of travel management information with few, if any, links to the wider world. Weaving travel management information together with external data will be the key in the future. “In the past it was a case of: he who has the most data and doesn’t share it is the winner,” she says. “Nowadays, the algorithm has changed. He who goes for smart data rather than big
HOW UBS
USES DASHBOARDS
MARK CUSCHIERI, regional head of travel for the EMEA region for Swiss investment bank UBS, uses a dashboard created by a third-party data consolidator. He says: “We have spent considerable time and effort, and a significant level of stakeholder participation [developing it]. We rewrote and rebuilt our reporting suite in order to deliver global and regional dashboard reporting. It was no easy task by any means – however, the effort from the outset was significantly worthwhile.” The dashboard is able to show a range
of different key performance indicators graphically, as follows:
• Transactions/spend by traffic type (air, hotel, rail, ground transportation) by origin country
• Average transaction values • Cost per mile (air) • Top routes/vendors • Top travellers • Fare type by class • Advance booking ratio/savings • Achieved/lost opportunity • Contract performance goals • Policy compliance • Trip purpose • Online booking tool adoption • Credit card leakage
Cuschieri believes dashboards complement, rather than replace, traditional travel management data
data, and who understands how to use it, will be the winner.” Things are changing, though, and predictive technology is starting to emerge that weaves together data from a range of sources and allow companies to predict forward budgets with some accuracy. HRG and KDS are among the companies working in this area. “People want more for less, and they want things faster,” says Hillgate’s Munsey. He also believes, like Hopley, that the future is about bringing together data sources from outside.
suites. “Within the report audience, there are differing levels and requirements,” he says. “As a consequence, a selection of report categories and formats are required, one of which is a dashboard style. Graphical dashboards are an excellent format for quick performance reviews of our strategic KPIs. However, the importance of any data reporting is to ensure it is relevant to business needs.” Cuschieri sees the value in dashboards in helping to convince management and business functions to change their behaviour – particularly if they are underperforming – but he believes dashboards on their own are not enough. “The report cannot provide analysis
behind travel trend changes and questions emanating from viewing the dashboard,” he says. “Therefore, subject matter expertise will always be required to provide additional detailed commentary, to add further value.” The dashboard is already providing UBS with significant insight into its programme; however, Cuschieri is not resting on his laurels. “We believe we’ve got the right data-sets measured, but we’ll continue to review them to ensure they meet the needs of our programme. If our corporate strategic goals change, then this will certainly drive a further review. Ultimately, we believe the two are linked.”
“Exchange of data is being made
easier,” he says. “The availability of web services in a broader context is something that can be used to improve data flow and availability.” Hopley believes the future is
about smart, rather than big, data. She says: “Big data in and of itself is a waste of time. It has no relevance as a stand-alone. Smart data comes from big data, and it is the smart operatives who know what to get where, can quantify its value and can demonstrate a return-on-investment.” ■
CASE STUDY
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