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Seven steps to travel success: Vendor negotiations

18th Oct 2018
Brought to you by
SAP

SAP® Concur® is the world’s leading brand for travel, expense and invoice management solutions.

Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Travel is the second largest spend on average after payroll, so how can you reduce costs whilst still giving their employees a great work experience?

In the second webinar of the 7 Steps to Travel Success webinar series, Ian Davies, head of supplier management at SAP Concur and Mark Bevan, head of strategic partnerships, Business Travel Direct, discuss the key areas around vendor negotiations.

The four key points identified in a supplier lifecycle were:

1. Preparation

Clearly define what your objectives and business needs ahead of thinking what the vendor will want to get from you. These need to be objectives that can be clearly actioned and are in line with your business’s key goals, whether that’s reduce cost or control the amount of end suppliers you have.

2. Negotiation

During the negotiation phase, try to be realistic with the vendor and enter discussions with the objectives you identified in the preparation phase. Choose your language carefully and don’t let it undermine your position. Try not use words such as “hopefully” which can leave you in a weakened position. Have honest timelines in place for when you want to achieve your goals to keep you and your supplier on the right path and closely aligned.

3. Contracting

Make sure you understand internal approval and use legal resources effectively to help you streamline the process of drawing up the contract and to avoid any major setbacks.

4. Ongoing management

Ongoing management is a process often overlooked.  After contract signing, implementation is key, making sure all negotiated rates are uploaded correctly and efficiently into your booking tool systems. Furthermore, ensuring that you are consistently reviewing your data to understand how you’re performing which will in turn help in preparing for any future negotiations.   

Would you like to know more? Listen to the full webinar on demand here. To view the other topics in this series, take a lok at the 7 Steps to Travel Success webpage.

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