Is your company a “laggard” when it comes to tracking travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses? If you’re not closely linking the two cost centers, there’s a good chance you might find yourself in those shoes.

According to an Aberdeen Group survey, “laggard” companies:

• pay 37% more to process expense reports
• take three times longer to issue employee reimbursements, and
• are generally clueless about the big picture of controlling travel expenses.

Fortunately, the Aberdeen Group survey looks at more than laggards. The high performers in monitoring and controlling T&E expenses — “Best in Class” — have learned to link procurement of T&E services with the experts in procurement: the Procurement Department.

The existing framework of a well-run Procurement Department is ideal for getting a handle on runaway T&E expenses.

First, there’s the existence and adherence to established rules on spending.

Next, there’s the practice of bidding for services — specifically, travel management — in order to provide the best-qualified and most reasonable services or products.

Finally, there’s the ability to track T&E data — as Procurement Department data is tracked — to look for weak spots or areas that require more attention.

Tags: bidding, data, procurement, T&E