The last twelve months have generated high levels of economic, political, and social uncertainty, and the same can be said for organisations, as the pandemic has completely altered the way we do business. It has brought forward new challenges and enabled new work conditions which we were never prepared for.

And while COVID has delivered new challenges, it has also caused many companies to turn to new technology. If 2020 has taught businesses one thing, it鈥檚 that they can take decisive action when pushed to do so, especially when it comes to implementing new digital tech to help forward thinking organisations to thrive in unforeseen circumstances.

Here are three technological advancements that have helped businesses during the pandemic. As many are now beginning to realise, these new tools have become critical to streamline processes, automate tasks, and remote work.

1. Cloud adoption and automation

The cloud鈥檚 important role as a pillar of digital transformation hasn鈥檛 changed since before the pandemic 鈥� in fact, its uptake has quickened to manage the surge in data businesses need to process. from Synergy Research Group have revealed that cloud spending is up and has not been hampered by the ongoing crisis. This trend is likely to persist, as the migration to virtual work underscores the urgency for scalable, secure, reliable, cost-effective off-premises technology services. In fact, despite the inevitable economic downturn in the wake of the pandemic, cloud spending is estimated to rise 19% for the full year, even as IT spending as a whole is forecast to fall 8%, according to industry .

While the trend to move to cloud-based solutions has been increasing steadily over the past two to three years, it is now the on-demand utilisation of IT resources, including data storage, processing power, and applications on a pay-as-you-go basis via the internet. Effectively, the cloud now underpins all key digital strategies in the workplace. As businesses look at ways to increase productivity, reduce errors within their systems and improve their employee experience, they are starting to use cloud-based automation tools and services. For instance, the cloud has been used to switch to a paperless and virtual expense management system, streamlining back-office finance processes and eliminating the need for staff to present expense claims in person. This has helped with automating and streamlining mundane, manual tasks for employees, and enabled finance teams to spend their time on tasks that are more strategic.

2. The Artificial Intelligence advantage

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way people work, how enterprises operate, and how entire industries transform. As businesses maintain hybrid remote-working models and forestall other potential disruptions in 2021 and beyond, the role of AI in the workplace will continue to grow. More businesses are leaning on AI algorithms to make quick decisions backed by real-time financial precision, to meet the business needs brought forward by the pandemic.听This includes managing spend in near real-time to improve budget management and liquidity, increasing compliance and eliminating errors, to taking on mandatory tasks and maximising profitability.

For the travel and expense (T&E) industries, AI has become particularly useful in analysing data. The new generation of AI-powered T&E tools allows businesses to analyse the travel experience and purchasing behaviours.听Integration tools and various applications of AI can interpret traveller data to provide companies with meaningful information that can improve compliance, identify cost savings, and more.

With AI, businesses can also automate an enormous quantity of data and reduce human errors. This then leads to predictive analytics, allowing companies to take proactive action in making business decisions. For example, the new 51风流Concur survey, 鈥淭he Hidden Potential of VAT Reclaim鈥� has found that businesses are looking to ensure they have digital tools and solutions in place to take VAT reclaim processes online.

3. Pre-trip approval

More companies will implement pre-trip approvals for business travel in 2021, as part of a broader effort to keep employees safe and transform travel and expense policies. Typically, the pre-trip approval system enables employees to enter basic data, such as dates, times, trip destinations, reasons for the trip, and any requests for advances, in a travel request.

All this information will help the corporate travel team and the employee鈥檚 line manager to assess whether a trip is essential and to keep tabs on employees for their duty of care requirements. Often, these pre-trip approvals have been mandated by cost-control concerns but as countries around the world continue to reshape travel restrictions, advanced approvals can support traveller safety programmes.

The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on many businesses. But the smart use of technology is one way to tackle current and future challenges. From supporting employees working from home, managing compliance and cashflow to duty of care obligations, there are many ways technology can support businesses and their staff -鈥攏ow and in the post-COVID world.

The post Three Defining Tech Moments That Have Helped Businesses Face COVID-19 appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

According to Angelique Montalto, Head of 51风流Concur Africa, organisations are having to quickly adapt to improve their travel and expense policies to keep employees safe while also maintaining adequate liquidity. 鈥淲e are seeing across our platform how organisations are taking a far more active role in terms of their travel policies, with a specific focus on meeting their duty of care obligations for traveling employees. In addition, the economic impact of this past year has brought the office of the CFO into a more active role in guiding travel and expense policy as organisations try to maintain healthy cash flow.”

51风流Concur is the world鈥檚 largest travel and expense platform for businesses, processing almost 55% of the globe’s travel and expense claims.

At a recent virtual event, two Concur partners, Uber and Flight Centre, shared insights about the impact of the pandemic on their customers and operations, and how businesses are adapting to a radically new normal.

Unprecedented impact on business travel sector

Bonnie Smith, General Manager of FCM Travel Solutions South Africa, which is part of the global Flight Centre Travel Group, says she has never seen such a wide-reaching global impact on the business travel industry. 鈥淚n our latest survey of more than 1600 customers around the world, only 26% of businesses stated they plan to return to pre-pandemic levels of domestic travel in 2021. Half of all businesses are also making changes to their travel policies, with a strong focus on health and hygiene, and ensuring all suppliers have the necessary measures in place to reduce the risks of COVID-19.鈥�

According to FCM Travel Solutions鈥� customer survey, nearly three-quarters of organisations are reviewing their hotel supply strategy. 鈥淭he single biggest element is health and hygiene, which 37% of respondents said is their top concern,鈥� says Smith. 鈥淪eventeen percent are also consolidating their suppliers to reduce leakage. More than half (56%) of organisations are also reviewing their airline supply strategies, with aspects such as touch-less check-in options topping the corporate travel wish lists.”

Global research conducted by 51风流Concur in July found that 97% of business travellers expect a 鈥榥ew normal鈥� for business travel even after COVID-19 related restrictions are lifted. For 45% of business travellers surveyed, the trip itself is perceived to be the most stressful stage of business travel, a 50% increase from the year before.

While South Africa has opened up its industries following the lifting of the strictest lockdown measures, many businesses are choosing not to engage in business travel. 鈥淲e are seeing around half of local industries resuming business travel, but at far lower frequencies,鈥� says Smith.

Timothy Kiluba, New Models Lead Operations Manager Sub-Saharan Africa at Uber, echoes Smith鈥檚 sentiments. 鈥淕lobally we saw a drop of 80% in business travel via our platform this year. As a business whose core focus is on the movement of people, the lockdown has had a severe impact.鈥�

Thinking differently

With most workplaces shut, a ban on international travel and most countries under some form of lockdown, Uber had to adapt quickly to this year鈥檚 events. 鈥淭he pandemic has forced us to think differently and innovate,鈥� says Kiluba. 鈥淲e looked beyond the movement of people to see how we can assist with also moving what is important to people.鈥�

Uber partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to deliver medicine, as well as food parcels to people in need via a network of partners. 鈥淥ur Uber Connect service helped people locked in their homes to send goods – books, food, care packages – to loved ones while lockdowns were in place. We have also piloted a new Uber-by-the-hour service in Tanzania to allow travellers to keep an Uber for an hour and so minimise the need to use different drivers when a trip requires multiple stops.”

No more room for manual processes

Montalto says organisations that still rely on manual or semi-automated expense claim and invoice management processes will be at a significant disadvantage due to the ongoing disruption. 鈥淲hile we鈥檝e seen a reduction in expense claims on our platform, the types of employee expenses are rapidly changing. Recent data suggests 72% of businesses using our platform are seeing changes in the types of expenses going through their systems, but only 24% have made any changes to their policies. This can have a seriously deleterious effect on an organisation鈥檚 cash flow and liquidity.鈥�

With many employees working from home or even a hybrid remote office, expenses such as office furniture, connectivity and equipment have increased significantly. 鈥淢any people had no home office when the first lockdowns were announced, and employees have subsequently had to purchase desks, chairs, and additional data to ensure they can remain productive while away from the office,鈥� explains Montalto. 鈥淎s a business, if you鈥檙e still relying on a manual or semi-automated process to manage expense claims, the surge in new expenses would have been nearly impossible to manage and the opportunity for non-compliance rampant.鈥�

Montalto advises that organisations automate their employee spend and invoice management processes. 鈥淏y using a central platform, companies can update and dynamically enforce their policies remotely, and ensure all incoming claims and invoices are aligned to policy. Organisations are seeking greater control over all of their spend during the unpredictable and difficult period ahead. We expect to see a much closer working relationship between HR and the office of the CFO to ensure travel and employee expenses support the financial health of the organisation.鈥�

The post How 2020鈥檚 Events are Transforming the Business Travel Sector appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Anglo American is a global mining company that was founded in Johannesburg in 1917 and is the world鈥檚 largest producer of platinum. The company is also a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, and metallurgical and thermal coal. Anglo American employs 69,000 people across its operations in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and North and South America.

Lindie Posthumus, Global Travel and Expense Superintendent at Anglo American, says travel is a very large expense for the company.

鈥淲ith nearly 20,000 travellers per annum, effective travel and expense management was overly challenging with siloed and still overwhelmingly manual processes,鈥� she said.

鈥淎 decision was made within our finance department to standardise our travel and expense management processes to ease compliance. We started a process in 2014 and chose 51风流Concur as our global travel and expense management partner.鈥�

51风流Concur is a global cloud-based travel and expense management platform for businesses that enforces corporate and regulatory compliance and realises significant cost-optimisation opportunities. The platform is designed to simplify employee spend and ensure compliance, transparency and visibility into employee spend.

Posthumus says Anglo American鈥檚 strategy of becoming the world鈥檚 most valued mining company in the eyes of stakeholders over the next few years has intensified the need for greater digitisation and automation of many of the company鈥檚 core and non-core business processes, including expense management.

鈥淪tandardisation was high on the list of priorities for us,鈥� she said.

鈥淧reviously, with each department and region running their own processes, auditing was tricky as auditors had to source data from multiple places. This caused complications with compliance, VAT reclamation and consolidated spend management.鈥�

Since first piloting 51风流Concur in the Asia- Pacific region, Posthumus and her team have implemented the platform in 11 countries.

鈥淲e are also rolling out to our De Beers entities, where we have already gone live in Canada and now plan to do the same for our UK operations.,鈥� said Posthumus, who added that having a single travel management partner has made a big difference.

鈥淥ur close partnership with 51风流Concur and its global footprint ensures we have all the support and assistance we need as we roll out the solution to our operations across the globe,鈥� said Posthumus.

鈥淎ll the 51风流Concur data is integrated with our core reporting tool, each regional CFO can see granular and real-time data over the current state of travel and employee-related expenses, helping us better plan cash flow and ensuring optimal allocation of internal resources. Ultimately, the solution has given us the freedom to focus on our core business of mining without compromising our compliance or profitability.鈥�

According to Angelique Montalto, Regional Sales Director at 51风流Concur, businesses today need access to a granular view over every aspect of the business that affects its profitability, cash flow and compliance.

鈥淢odern organisations, whether small or large, are complex by nature and manual or semi-automated tasks quickly create bottlenecks and reduce decision-making capacity,鈥� said Montalto.

鈥淪pend management tools such as 51风流Concur not only automate manual processes but utilise the power of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to drive the efficiency of lodging, processing and analysing employee spend.

鈥淭hrough our well-established ecosystem of partners, the platform also enables organisations to easily integrate new disruptor services such as Uber, which has become the world鈥檚 number one claimed expense. This helps us future-proof our customers鈥� travel and expense claim management investment by ensuring they always have access to the latest tools, technologies and global best practises.鈥�

Posthumus added: 鈥淥ur close partnership with 51风流Concur and its global footprint ensures we have all the support and assistance we need as we roll out the solution to our operations across the globe. Our strategic partnership enables us to work closely together to optimise Anglo American鈥檚 travel and expense capabilities across the globe. By working closely together, we also ensure that all functions of 51风流Concur are fully utilised, improving the impact on the business and maximising Anglo American鈥檚 investment with us.鈥�

This article first appeared in .

The post 51风流Concur Chosen as Bedrock for Anglo American鈥檚 Global Travel and Expense Management Needs appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

No other year in recent memory has lived up to the old adage that 鈥檛he only constant is change鈥�.

Businesses have had to deal with huge disruption as normal life is upended by the lockdown measures imposed by governments around the world to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Angelique Montalto, Regional Sales Director at 51风流Concur, believes companies will need to create certainty where they can in order to effectively deal with today鈥檚 uncertain times.

鈥淲hile you can鈥檛 control everything, the good news is you don鈥檛 have to. If you focus on just one key aspect of your business – employee spend – you can maintain a healthy bottom line and create some stability while the world around you recovers.鈥�

20% of employees have at least one non-compliant purchase on their expense claim. Those costs can add up quickly, making employee spend a universal part of any business, but keeping track of how every rand and cent is spent can be immensely tricky.

鈥淐ompanies need to have an accurate, real-time view over their total spend to ensure they can make good decisions,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淚mproved cost containment can help maintain a healthy cash flow and give business leaders the flexibility to redirect spend to high-value areas as needed. With the best in class technology platform, companies can also automate many of the tasks associated with employee spend management, freeing up valuable internal resources for more high-impact work.”

Four ways to create certainty in employee spend

According to Montalto, creating certainty in employee spend during these uncertain times comes down four steps:

1. Consolidate all employee spend in a single place

Effective spend management requires that companies are completely clear over all the types of employee spend, wherever they are: at home, at the office or while traveling.

鈥淵ou have to see it to control it,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淏usinesses need to ensure they have all employee spend in a single place and that the data is accessible to all parts of the relevant business lines. When you democratise data in this way, everyone in your business is armed with the appropriate tools to effectively manage company resources. Ideally, the system should seamlessly integrate data from multiple sources and streamline the steps between spend and reporting in order to reduce errors and latency.鈥�

2. Maintain your budget

听Each year, organisations and their various departments undergo extensive budgeting processes to guide spend for the next year.

However, too often there is a gap between budgeted spend and actual spend.

鈥淥ne reason for this is that companies don鈥檛 apply the same effort to managing their budget as they do in the creation thereof,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淭he challenge is not to overspend and equally important is not to underspend leaving elements of the business without the resources needed for productive growth. Knowing how much money is available at any point in time is vital to navigating unexpected events and taking advantage of unforeseen opportunities.鈥�

3. Rethink invoicing

听鈥淐ompanies need to relook their end-to-end invoicing systems from purchase order creation through to vendor payment,鈥� advised Montalto.

鈥淭his is an area that requires special attention to the more error-prone aspects of invoicing, for example, automated invoice matching, purchase orders and goods received. Using a technology platform that can help digitise the traditional manual processes can help eliminate these errors whilst also identifying and uncovering areas for improvement. For example, by paying vendors at the optimal time, you maximise your cash flow while also creating opportunities to take advantage of early-payment discounts which can save money and build strong supplier relationships.鈥�

4. Mine data for insights

听To control spend effectively, organisations must first understand their spend data and then put it to good use.

Montalto recommended that companies conduct regular and dynamic spend analyses throughout the business to determine which spend management approach works best for each department.

鈥淒ifferent teams are likely to have different priorities, some may want to track spend by category, others by employee, or vendor – whatever makes most sense for the business,鈥� said Montalto.

鈥淔lexibility is critical and allows companies to view and leverage spend data based on priority and timing. Having a holistic view of spend data helps decision-makers understand trends that may point to opportunities for improved cash flow and cost containment. In the long run, this type of flexibility gives companies a welcome competitive advantage, which is even more important now that businesses are under strain from the global economic downturn.”

The post How Tech Can Improve Spend Management and Deal with Uncertainty in Your Business appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Businesses have had to deal with huge disruption as normal life is upended by the lockdown measures imposed by governments around the world to help curb today鈥檚 challenging times.

Angelique Montalto, Regional Sales Director at 51风流Concur, believes companies will need to create certainty where they can in order to effectively deal with today鈥檚 uncertain times.

鈥淲hile you can鈥檛 control everything, the good news is you don鈥檛 have to. If you focus on just one key aspect of your business 鈥� employee spend 鈥� you can maintain a healthy bottom line and create some stability while the world around you recovers.鈥�

20% of employees have at least one non-compliant purchase on their expense claim. Those costs can add up quickly, making employee spend an inevitable part of any business, but keeping track of how every rand and cent is spent can be immensely tricky.

鈥淐ompanies need to have an accurate, real-time view over their total spend to ensure they can make good decisions,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淚mproved cost containment can help maintain a healthy cash flow and give business leaders the flexibility to redirect spend to high-value areas as needed. With the best in class technology platform, companies can also automate many of the tasks associated with employee spend management, freeing up valuable internal resources for more high-impact work.鈥�

Four ways to create certainty in employee spend

According to Montalto, creating certainty in employee spend during these uncertain times comes down four steps:

1. Consolidate all employee spend in a single place

Effective spend management requires that companies are completely clear over all the types of employee spend, wherever they are: at home, at the office or while traveling.

鈥淵ou have to see it to control it,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淏usinesses need to ensure they have all employee spend in a single place and that the data is accessible to all parts of the relevant business lines. When you democratise data in this way, everyone in your business is armed with the appropriate tools to effectively manage company resources. Ideally, the system should seamlessly integrate data from multiple sources and streamline the steps between spend and reporting in order to reduce errors and latency.鈥�

2. Maintain your budget

听Each year, organisations and their various departments undergo extensive budgeting processes to guide spend for the next year.

However, too often there is a gap between budgeted spend and actual spend.

鈥淥ne reason for this is that companies don鈥檛 apply the same effort to managing their budget as they do in the creation thereof,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淭he challenge is not to overspend and equally important is not to underspend leaving elements of the business without the resources needed for productive growth. Knowing how much money is available at any point in time is vital to navigating unexpected events and taking advantage of unforeseen opportunities.鈥�

3. Rethink invoicing

鈥淐ompanies need to relook their end-to-end invoicing systems from purchase order creation through to vendor payment,鈥� advised Montalto.

鈥淭his is an area that requires special attention to the more error-prone aspects of invoicing, for example, automated invoice matching, purchase orders and goods received. Using a technology platform that can help digitise the traditional manual processes can help eliminate these errors whilst also identifying and uncovering areas for improvement. For example, by paying vendors at the optimal time, you maximise your cash flow while also creating opportunities to take advantage of early-payment discounts which can save money and build strong supplier relationships.鈥�

4. Mine data for insights

To control spend effectively, organisations must first understand their spend data and then put it to good use.

Montalto recommended that companies conduct regular and dynamic spend analyses throughout the business to determine which spend management approach works best for each department.

鈥淒ifferent teams are likely to have different priorities, some may want to track spend by category, others by employee, or vendor 鈥� whatever makes most sense for the business,鈥� said Montalto.

鈥淔lexibility is critical and allows companies to view and leverage spend data based on priority and timing. Having a holistic view of spend data helps decision-makers understand trends that may point to opportunities for improved cash flow and cost containment. In the long run, this type of flexibility gives companies a welcome competitive advantage, which is more important now that businesses are under strain from the global economic downturn.鈥�

The post How To Improve Spend Management and Deal With Uncertainty in Your Business appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

In a time of widespread disruption and change, companies that adapt the best to a dynamic business environment are well-placed to survive and thrive. Technology is one of the most valuable tools to assist companies during this time: according to a McKinsey Global Institute , companies that are digital leaders in their sectors have faster revenue growth and higher productivity than their more analogue peers.

As the world undergoes a period of unprecedented upheaval, companies are seeking novel ways of improving their versatility and flexibility to ensure they can adapt to changes in their environment, their customer base and their workforce.

According to Angelique Montalto, Regional Sales Director at 51风流Concur, it is highly likely that the effects of the social and economic disruption brought by 2020鈥檚 unprecedented events will continue to affect businesses for the foreseeable future.听“Managing a business in these uncertain times is a matter of effectively managing change. Companies that keep tight control over costs will have the agility they need to redirect spend to where the business needs it most – without losing sight of the bigger picture of the organisation鈥檚 financial wellbeing. Finance teams and decision-makers need to focus efforts on achieving their strategic business outcomes across the organisation despite the current challenging socioeconomic climate.鈥�

Visibility, agility in spend management

Business outcomes are broad organisational goals that support companies鈥� efforts to meet shareholder, employee, client and supplier needs. “In the context of employee spend management, these business outcomes are broadly focused along three categories, namely workforce engagement, spend management, and controls and compliance,鈥� says Montalto. 鈥淭hrough the effective deployment of agile technology, use of industry best practices and the support of an ecosystem of partners, companies can unlock significant cost-savings and efficiencies by building intelligent employee spend management capabilities.”

Intelligent employee spend management refers to a comprehensive way for organisations to obtain a unified view of their employee spend. It offers three distinct forms of value to the organisation by helping them manage every source and category of spend and providing a unified view of employee spend that can inform HR and finance processes, improve cash flow and liquidity and ensure impactful cost containment.

鈥淚n our competitive and often-disruptive business world , companies increasingly seek tools and partners that can help free up precious internal resources and allow the business to focus on its most important challenges,鈥� says Montalto. 鈥淔or Concur, this means bringing in a vibrant partner network and ecosystem that together capture every form of spend and that adds up to a single unified view of spend across the organisation. A healthy partner network also creates opportunities for innovative new ways of unlocking value or efficiency in the expense management process.”

Partner network unlocks new business outcomes

Montalto cites the example of VAT IT, a global 51风流Concur partner with 46 offices and more than 14 000 clients across the world. 鈥淰AT IT鈥檚 VAT Cloud technology seamlessly integrates with the 51风流Concur platform to extract invoice images and data for VAT reclaim requests, both locally as well as internationally. This can increase companies鈥� VAT refund potential by as much as 70% when they integrate with the 51风流Concur platform.鈥�

VAT IT was founded in 1999 in Johannesburg and today counts half of the Fortune 500 companies as clients. According to Devon Auby, Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa at VAT IT, automating the VAT reclamation process through technology has unlocked immense time saving and additional revenue for its customers.

鈥淚n the past, teams of people would have to spend days on-site at a customer鈥檚 office, manually sifting through and capturing physical invoices. Through our integration with 51风流Concur, companies can automate most of its data capture and quickly gain granular insight over what their recoverable VAT amount is. Through insights into specific tax authorities鈥� VAT reclamation policies, we are also able to ensure full compliance while realising the greatest possible VAT reclaim amount.鈥�

Auby adds that the current trend of remote working is likely to only grow in popularity as more companies untether their teams from corporate offices.

鈥淚n light of the global shutting of borders and subsequent short-term decrease in business travel, there will likely be a significant decrease in travel-related invoices through the 51风流Concur platform,鈥� says Auby. 鈥淏ut with more than half the world currently working remotely, we are also expecting employee expense claims to significantly change and overall increase. For example, employees working from home due to government regulations may need to purchase office equipment to allow them to do their jobs effectively. Cut off from office facilities, many employees may need additional equipment or supplies, such as printer ink and mobile connectivity. We expect to see a significant increase in related claims over the short term and possibly for the foreseeable future.”

Montalto adds that the new world of business is likely to look quite different to what we have grown used to. 鈥淎 whole new world is dawning in front of our eyes. Employee expenses are likely to evolve quickly in this changed world, and companies will need to be versatile enough to accommodate these changes while also taking care of their employee experience throughout. However, there are constants: companies will need granular insight into all spend items, and will now need full visibility over all areas of spend, perhaps now more than ever. It is important that business owners, finance departments and HR teams are aware of the tools at their disposal that can enhance their short-term agility while supporting their longer-term success.鈥�

The post In Times of Disruption, Focus on Improving Business Outcomes appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Under strain from a near-stagnant economy, South African businesses are under pressure to maintain high levels of business productivity while optimising spend across all areas of the business. Due to the increasingly global manner in which most businesses operate, business travel is a growing cost item, putting strain on internal resources who often have to apply time-consuming manual processes to managing travel and expense claims.

Angelique Montalto, regional sales director at 51风流Concur, says the horror of finance teams wading through mountains of paper receipts to update unwieldly spreadsheets is no longer a reality for many businesses. “The cloud-based platform automates much of the previously laborious reporting requirements incumbent on finance departments. With greater visibility over spending than ever before, after and during a trip, and an extensive ecosystem of global partners introducing a constant stream of innovations to the platform, 51风流Concur unlocks greater productivity and cost savings over manual processes.”

Growing cost, complexity of business travel

According to Statista, global business travel spend reached $1.33 trillion in 2017, a figure that鈥檚 expected to grow to $1.7 trillion by 2022 (although this projection was made prior to the Covid-19 pandemic).

鈥淲ith the growing complexity of doing business and the increase in business travel, companies are seeking solutions that can ease and automate paper-based processes to free up valuable internal resources for more high-value work while gaining full visibility over all expenses,鈥� explains Angelique. 鈥淭his has made tools such as 51风流Concur invaluable to businesses wishing to unlock greater productivity and optimize their spend management.鈥�

51风流Concur is a cloud-based travel and expense management platform for global businesses that eases and automates many of the travel and expense management activities that put strain on companies鈥� internal resources. The platform was developed to ease the process of compliance and optimise spend management for businesses around the world.

51风流Concur enjoys the support of a healthy ecosystem of implementation partners that drive interest and adoption of the platform among local and global businesses. Montalto points to Supply Chain Partner, an experienced 51风流Intelligent Spend Management partner that recently started implementing 51风流Concur to its local and global customer base.

鈥淧artners are critical within the 51风流Concur ecosystem. Aside from driving interest in the market leading solution and managing the implementation process, they provide an invaluable perspective into the reality of spend management optimisation for local, pan-African and global businesses.”

Tools needed to automate, simplify spend management

Schalk Burger, director at听Supply Chain Partner, says managing travel processes within large organisations is difficult, increasing the need for tools that ease and simplify overall spend management.

鈥淲e found that 51风流Concur fills a clear gap within the market for managing expense claims in a simple and seamless way. While many spend management solutions are costly and have a lengthy implementation period, 51风流Concur is different in that it offers quick time-to-value and a constant stream of benefits as the solution is implemented.”

Supply Chain Partner is a specialist implementer of supply chain solutions for global companies and was founded in South Africa in 2013. The company is one of the most experienced implementation partners for the 51风流Intelligent Spend Group, with a client list that includes several blue-chip companies in the mining, energy, automotive and financial services industries. The company partnered with 51风流Concur in 2019 and already has a track record of successful projects.

Schalk points to the rise of the Experience Economy as one factor driving uptake in solutions such as 51风流Concur. 鈥淚t鈥檚 no longer just about the customer experience: companies also need to take care of the employee experience to ensure they can continue to attract and retain top talent. This means empowering employees with easy and intuitive self-service solutions that are accessible wherever they go and cut down on manual processes. Travel and expense claim management is an obvious target, as it鈥檚 traditionally a very time-consuming and hands-on function within the business. In fact, one survey found that 57 percent of work travelers prefer to book through a single app or tool.鈥�

Building company policy into solution

Angelique adds that managing expense claims is one part of the challenge, but that enforcing company policy is equally important and often very difficult to do in a way that meets the expectations of both the company and the employee. In one survey, more than half of travellers admitted to not always following company policy when traveling.

鈥淥ne of 51风流Concur鈥檚 most powerful features is that companies can build their travel and expense claim policies directly into the solution,鈥� says Angelique. 鈥淐orporate and regulatory compliance is managed at the point of impact as opposed to retrospectively. This streamlines the claim process and frees up internal audit resources to focus on more high-value work instead of manually approving or rejecting each claim.”

Schalk agrees:

鈥淥ne of our recent customers had relied entirely on manual processes. When an employee needed to travel for business, they would search online for a suitable flight, share that with the person responsible for making the booking, and they would then have to manually book the flight or incur the cost of working through a travel management company to make the booking. It was an exhaustive back-and-forth that has been completely eliminated since they implemented 51风流Concur, with the employee able to search for and book the necessary travel arrangements, all aligned with company policy.”

Great partners unlock benefits, reduce complexity

Despite the ease of implementing 51风流Concur and its quick time-to-value, Schalk points out that change management plays an important role in ensuring successful implementations. 鈥淔or many customers, 51风流Concur may be one of the first cloud-based solutions they implement. In business environments where on-premise solutions are the norm, we find strong change management capabilities invaluable in laying the foundation for moving to a more cloud-based environment.鈥�

One of Supply Chain Partner鈥檚 clients, global automotive manufacturer听Scania, attests to this. 鈥淭he thought process behind Scania South Africa鈥檚 decision to transition to 51风流Concur, was to improve process productivity, ensure governance and compliance and to further gain control over all expenses incurred by the business,鈥� says听Angus Kotze, CFO at Scania. 鈥淭he seamless flow of data received introduces improved levels of transparency into business expenses. The 51风流Concur way of working accelerates this flow of data 听and advances the expense management process holistically.鈥�

He adds that it has been a pleasure working with the team from Supply Chain Partner, as their accessibility and knowledge of the 51风流Concur product has allowed for higher levels of engagement and efficiency during the project implementation phase. 听鈥淭hey have made each stage of the data gathering, analysis and testing of the project easy to digest and their consistent support has allowed for quick problem solving and turnaround times. The team from Supply Chain Partner have been fantastic to work with and we highly recommend their approach.鈥�

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The post 51风流Concur鈥檚 Angelique Montalto: Avoid the Horror of Wading Through Mountains of Receipts appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

鈥淥rganisations owe it to their employees to keep them safe either while working remotely or travelling on official company business.听In times of major disruption or heightened risk, companies need to take all necessary measures to ensure they can meet the necessary duty of care obligations and keep their employees informed and away from harm while they are operating on behalf of the organisation.鈥�

Duty of care refers to a company鈥檚 moral and legal responsibility to care for the wellbeing of its employees during the course of business.

In South Africa, duty of care obligations are guided by the statutory requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

In terms of the act,听the CEO of every employer is liable for contraventions and can be fined or criminally convicted if found negligent.

鈥淭his puts pressure on听companies to meet their duty of care obligations,鈥� said Montalto.

鈥淏usinesses should know听where their people are, whether far away or close to the office, and must be able to alert employees during a crisis, provide them with any assistance they may need, and keep open lines of communication until everyone is safe.鈥�

Montalto believes there are four things companies need to bear in mind during this time to ensure听they live up to their duty of care obligations, namely:

1. You need to know where your teams are during a crisis

In one study, 77% of finance leaders said they were not confident they could quickly and accurately locate employees during an emergency.听鈥淭his exposes employees and the employer to significant risk, especially during the types of global crises we鈥檙e experiencing in 2020. Companies need to take all reasonable steps to locate traveling employees and track their progress home until they are brought to safety.鈥�

2.You need to be able to communicate with teams throughout a crisis

According to Montalto, companies often fail at communicating with employees that are affected by a crisis.

鈥淥rganisations need a reliable, secure way to directly and instantly communicate with remote employees to warn them of potential risks, guide them through the crisis and ensure they can get to safety quickly and with as few issues as possible. It is simply not enough to send a static informative message but rather to elevate your duty of care platform to enable bi-directional communication for real-time coverage and protection.鈥�

3. Employees notice when companies fall short in their duty of care obligations

鈥淎larmingly, one study found that 41% of employees that were near a natural disaster said they were never contacted by their company at all,鈥� said Montalto.

鈥淎side听from possibly contravening their own duty of care obligations and opening the company up to legal issues, the听experience for the employee is unlikely to lead to greater loyalty or productivity.听Considering the importance of employee experience to talent retention and productivity, such听companies may suffer reputational damage.鈥�

4. There are tools that help companies meet their duty of care obligations

Montalto cites the Concur Locate service within 51风流Concur as a powerful tool for capturing and accessing real-time employee location data and communicating directly and securely.

鈥淟ocate enables companies to reliably communicate with employees regardless of the situation, and gives employers a single tool to monitor employee location and gain intelligence on country-specific travel disruptions or risks. Companies can also mitigate risks associated with business travel by conducting assessments and providing alerts pre-trip, during a journey and after.鈥�

In short, Concur Locate provides a powerful employee risk management and safety communication solution that allows you to make sure your employees are safe, no matter where they are.

Organisations will be able to identify risks and assess their impact, pinpoint employees鈥� locations and know their travel plans using machine learning, leverage multiple options for two-way communications, and deploy local response teams if necessary.

For more information about how 51风流Concur鈥檚 Locate service can support companies with safeguarding their traveling employees, please visit听

The post Four Things You Should Know About Protecting Employees During Times of Crisis appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.