Leadership and IT Partnership Investment

As the leading specialist academic TMC globally, we understand that our IT Partnership investment must go beyond just providing the online booking tool and the continuous innovation in technology outlined in our roadmap. A defining factor that sets us apart from generalist TMCs is the unparalleled depth and breadth of our knowledge concerning every touchpoint between a TMC and academic customers. Our annual investments, post pandemic regularly exceeded £500,000, exclusively supporting customer solutions.

How this Investment Benefits Universities

We leverage our expertise to assist academic customers in optimising their “end to end” travel management processes, from user registration, data capture, and approvals, to risk controls and the intricacies of reporting and invoicing. Without this expertise and investment, many members are unable to make the transition needed to a cost-effective, frictionless user experience, remaining “stuck” with laboured Purchase Order (PO) processes and clunky workflows that users simply turn away from and, consequently, spend away from the contract, generating substantial “hidden costs” of managing travel for their institution.

Consultation and Practical Solutioning 

By utilising our expertise, we collaborate with academic client stakeholders to adjust the volume of bookings that require approval, thereby enhancing control through a focused approach. If the approval percentage stands at 100%, it often indicates that the approval process may be drowning in superfluous requests, diminishing its genuine control function.

We spotlight the hidden costs associated with a PO-based approach. By transitioning to a Cost Centre/Project-based approach, we have observed a 7% reduction in the time taken from quote to confirmation and a 12% decrease in the number of price changes affecting the university.

Results to Date

  • We have a 100% success rate in on time implementations.
  • We have 40+ successfully implemented on time, integrated “end to end” travel solutions.
  • We have increased online adoption in integrated members to above 90%, one is 94%.
  • We have increased on contract spend across members ranging from £1.2m to in excess of £7m.
  • User satisfaction levels are regularly reported at 97%+ “Very Satisfied”.
  • We have realised efficiency savings with members ranging from £150,000 to in excess of £600,000.

Mini-Case Study

  • Major, prestige University with an £8m+ travel spend, de-centralised campus.
  • We conducted a study identifying £300,000 in efficiency savings moving from PO to workflow.
  • The workflow process mapping highlighted that 60% of the “touches” could be removed.
  • Our booking costs analytics highlighted a target saving of £100,000 in travel costs.
  • The user experience improvement was dramatic, with on-contract spend growth of c.£3m.
  • The project is now moving to implementation.
  • The Sustainability and Safety reporting is enhanced as is the funding compliance that will pass the most robust audit requirements.

Comment from Dan Morris – Key Travel CTO (Chief Technology Officer)

"In my work with academic clients, I always ensure that we take a step back to examine the root issues we are trying to solve. It's important to understand why these are issues before we embark on the journey of solution design together. At this stage, we leverage our sector expertise but also draw upon insights from non-academic sectors as well as best practices across the wider travel space. By integrating these elements, we can guide members away from high-cost solutions that aren't tailored to the travel industry."

Saad Hammad – Key Travel CEO, commented as follows on investment and IT partnerships:

"Key Travel is the leading provider across the academic world not by accident but by leveraging our 40+ years of sector expertise to develop and implement best of breed travel solutions that deliver for universities, underpinned by targeted IT investment. We work in partnership with academic clients to ensure our IT solutions are cost-effective, maximise efficiency and make a difference to the user experience. We pride ourselves on the fact that our IT solutions are co-developed with academics for use by academics.”