Yaron Perlman

Corporate travel has undergone dramatic changes in the past few years as a result of the economic turmoil that has affected companies worldwide. In the wake of layoffs, downsizing and significant reductions in sales volume, some companies have reduced travel by up to 75% and some have even stopped traveling altogether. Transitioning to video conferencing, webinars and other methods, they are trying to reach out to suppliers, customers and others through the exclusive use of technology.

Expense reports for travel are the bane of most companies. They are hard to manage, difficult to review, and are fraught with errors. Throw in all the time that employees waste to complete them, using a system that's probably out of date, and the total disregard that most employees have for actually saving the company money on hotels and airfare and you clearly have a system that is broken and needs major repair.

Mismanaged travel programs is the sleeping giant in the corporate world. Why? Because most companies have no idea what is a happening with their traveling employees. Most also don't realize the level of competition in the hotel and airline industries. As one of the most dynamic, ever changing industries in business today, there are new specials; deals, discounts and opportunities announced everyday by the largest vendors in the travel space.

Whether we are talking about a local school district, community college or major university or college, we know that they rely on public funding for their successful operation. With federal, state and local government budgets in constant fluctuation, it can be a challenge to run our schools at a high level of efficiency. There are so many factors at play at any given time: political squabbles, mismanagement of funds, pet projects, a lack of priority - and the list goes on.

If you work for a corporation, you know that there are many areas of the business operation that are routinely outsourced. Whether for cost savings or to bring about new efficiencies, these activities are better handled by firms that specialize in the specific activity. Things like customer call centers, collections, marketing collateral design and development - these are all areas that are routinely outsourced for the majority of companies in business today.

Government contracting is a complex activity that can require significant investments in time, people and funding. From large scale, multiple year programs that involve dozens of suppliers to simple, one off projects for a local agency, there is no such thing as a "simple" government project. The same is true for government travel spend management.

If the last three years are any indication, things can go wrong very quickly in the business world. Fraught with complexity, interdependency and in some cases, outdated ways of doing things, businesses everywhere can find many areas of inefficiency in their operation, if they simply take the time to analyze the current environment and try to find better ways of doing what they have always done.

Most of us in business understand that a "best practice" is a technique, method or process that is the most effective at solving a particular issue. By using a best practice, a desired outcome can be achieved with fewer complications and your ability to experience a successful outcome is significantly increased. As the most efficient and most effective way of accomplishing a certain task, based on the success that others have with the same practice, you can streamline your processes and accomplish more with less.