BBT


CORPORATE CARDS SUPPLEMENT 2015


Stakeholders By Amon Cohen


Citi’s head of EMEA wholesale cards product management, Steve Robson, on the other hand, reports increasingly frequent and detailed interaction with clients’ legal departments. “We have found recently that we have almost signed the contract before we have won the busi- ness,” he says. “This may become a trend.” With so many different departments


throwing in their two pennies’ worth, there is a danger that one other important – arguably the most important – group may be overlooked because often they have no formal representation. “The travellers themselves require a solution that’s accepted no matter where they are, so that reliance on cash and the challenges associated with reclaiming out-of-pocket expenses is minimal,” says Melissa Gargagliano, head of EMEA com- mercial cards for Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML).


So much for the different stakeholder


groups – but that leaves the tricky ques- tion of which of them gets to choose the payment provider once all the voices have been taken into account. BAML’s Garga- gliano cites best practice that has emerged over the last few years, of “procurement working closely with their treasury col-


Corporate clients are increasingly inserting


leagues” to select a supplier. Diners Club International head of global commercial payments Ricardo Leite agrees – up to a point. “In my experience, the culture of the company is what determines who takes the lead,” he says. “It can also be predicated by the size of the corporation. For larger global organisations, travel management will fall under the procurement function, and will typically take the lead, working


clauses about data use and protection into contracts that are totally


non-negotiable Implementation


GETTING A CARD PRO- GRAMME RIGHT does not end with choosing the provider – a point that is sometimes overlooked,


according


to Mastercard’s Martin Chapman. “A lot of time and effort can go into RFPs to make the decision, but then it is left to one person to manage implementation without any stakeholder involvement,” he says. Diners Club urges com- panies to plan implemen- tation at the same time as planning the RFP. “Travel managers should act as the ringmaster, bringing the necessary audiences


In association with


together,” says Diners Club’s Ricardo Leite. “A cross- functional team should be formed to manage the RFP process and to use a scorecard methodology, taking into consideration the different interests of all stakeholders. The team should also work to ensure that the solution they choose is fully integrated and all benefits promised are delivered. We see a lot of leakage of service from point-of-sale to point-of- implementation.”


Implementation can often bring in more stake- holders who were not key


decision-makers in the RFP process, although they should also have been consulted from the outset to avoid unforeseen obstacles. According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, important implementa- tion stakeholders include card programme adminis- trators, accounts payable, the IT department and human resources, working with (in relevant countries) workers’ councils. To that list, Master- card’s Chapman adds the communications depart- ment, to tell people how and why the card provider is changing.


very closely with the finance department. If the company sees managing travellers as an extension of the organisation and considers the employee a brand ambassa- dor while travelling, then a travel manager often will lead the process and help make decisions based on how to best support the traveller.


“If the company sees its travellers


purely as assets, then procurement is often the driving factor. While the well-being of the traveller is of concern, decisions are often made based on what drives the bottom line.” American Express Global Corpo-


rate Payments vice-president of sales Alan Gillies is another who points to the crucial nexus between procurement and finance, but from his perspective it is the latter which is very much in charge. “The travel manager is involved but doesn’t usually make the deci- sion,” he says. “Procurement normally manages the process but finance directs the selection because it accrues most of the benefits and has the highest cost base. We are seeing more convergence between them in terms of process ownership. They’re coming


BBT CORPORATE CARDS SUPPLEMENT 2015 11


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