“SMEs want to have access to technology, just as much as a large company”
that’s suitable for this kind of operation.” Europe? “Not right now, but we will look at any opportunities.”
SMALL BUT SUSSED They may be small, but SMEs are far from naïve. “I think SMEs are quite savvy when it comes to travel,” Crompton says. “It’s not as though they come to us and ask for things they can’t have. “They want to have access to technol-
ogy, just as much as a large company. They expect the turnaround times to be quicker. Travel is often very last-minute, and they need to know they can ring up saying: ‘I have to go to Germany’ – the account man- agers will know the traveller’s profile, they will know where in Germany he needs to be and which hotels he likes to stay in. It can be high-touch, but not in a bad way. We work in teams and each team has a portfolio of clients. We want them to come to us with their travel because ultimately we want to give them the best service we can.”
WHEN SMEs GROW UP... Of course, as Fraedom clients grow, they can always migrate to HRG’s full-service offering. Is that what chief executive David Radcliffe has in mind? Meyer is non- committal. “You’ll have to ask David,” he says, before adding: “If we win a customer, and that customer grows, then of course we would seek to work with HRG to fulfil the solution behind the scenes.” Which is a safety net that Corporate
Traveller’s Crompton doesn’t appear to have. Asked what she likes least about the SME market, she is unequivocal. “The bit that I don’t like,” she says, “is when they get bought out by global companies – it does happen, and you can’t continue the relationship.” Donna, there’s a little outfit called FCM, down New Malden way. You might want to have a word.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
SMEs BY NUMBERS
ACCORDING TO THE UK GOVERNMENT’S DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS (DBIS), last year marked the first time that the nation’s ‘business population’ exceeded five million private sector businesses.
• Non-employing businesses – sole traders – increased by more than 7 per cent. The number of new companies with employees grew by 66,000, or 5.5 per cent.
• Of 5.2 million private sector businesses registered in 2014, 99.3 per cent were classified as ‘small’, and 99.9 per cent counted as SMEs – only 0.1 per cent of UK businesses are classified as ‘large’ companies.
• Small businesses account for 48 per cent of UK private sector employment, and command 33 per cent of all private sector turnover. The DBIS calculates this at £1.2 trillion.
• 31,000 medium-sized businesses employed 3.1 million people –and had an annual turnover of £480 billion.
• Small- and medium-sized businesses employ 15.2 million people, 60 per cent of total UK private sector employment, and have a turnover of £1.6 trillion, 47 per cent of all private sector companies’ turnover.
• Across the European Union, the European Commission reckons there are some 21.6 million SMEs – defined as having fewer than 250 employees or an annual turnover of less than €50 million – employing nearly 90 million people and accounting for 28 per cent of the EU’s GDP.
• The Commission reports that two out of every three employees works for
an SME and, between them, they generate business worth an estimated €3.6 trillion a year.
BBT JULY/AUGUST 2015 55
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92