The inaugural forum centered on how companies can optimise cost savings from business meetings, incentive travel and business travel, and was led by industry practitioners Ms. Alicia Yao, GM of IME-Consulting (Beijing) Ltd and Ms. Elaine Huang, Category Manager of MS Travel, Microsoft Global Procurement Group.
Some 30 professionals with influencing and decision-making responsibilities concerning their company’s travel, meetings and incentive policies, planning and procurement were exclusively invited to attend this event. Together, they represented local and international corporations based in Beijing including BP (China) Holdings Limited, China Development Bank, China Ping An Life Insurance, China International Capital Corporation, Didi Taxi, Fresenius-Kabi, General China Life Insurance Company, Linksus, and Tetrapak.
Structured as a round-table that facilitated in-depth discussions, the forum explored the cost saving benefits through the collective management of business meetings, incentive travel and business travel suppliers in the procurement process. Topics fielded were covered in three phases. The first placed the spotlight on the current MICE and FIT travel environment, if they were managed separately or collectively, as well as the pros and cons of each model. Second, the discussion progressed to the possible internal and external challenges under each model from the buyer’s perspective and their potential solutions. Finally, thoughts on market readiness were raised with participants sharing their knowledge of vendors who offered a consolidated solution, and finally concluding the circumstances when a separate MICE and TMC arrangement may prove more beneficial.
“According to a survey by Arizona State University, it was observed that corporate travel procurement is characterised by features such as lack of control, intangible, flexible, subjective and customised service. This is unlike other functions like marketing and promotion, incentive and human resource development that may be achieved with a standardised solution,” said Yao who drew reference to the availability of such services that became more prevalent in the MICE industry with the development of the internet.
Supporting this notion, Huang likened business travel management to a long-term endeavor that must not only fit corporate culture but should also be reviewed regularly. She remarked, “The search for suitable and better suppliers is a daily engagement, which requires both rationality and sensibility. Depending on the corporate culture, the solution and outcomes will differ. For example, some companies think that a standardised process is more important, while others think that the employee is more important, hence they will pay more attention to employee benefit and comfortability.”
Inputs and perspectives gathered from the attendees’ first-hand experience and recommendations on this topic produced these valuable take-aways:
- The advantages of a consolidated management approach to business meetings, incentive travel and business travel include: cost savings, improvement to data security, increase in procurement efficiency, and better management of suppliers.
- The downside becomes relevant when suppliers are unable to provide a consolidated solution, it affects the professional and individual service outcomes where customised service cannot be ensured during incentive travel.
- The feasibility of combining business travel and MICE events is dependent on the industry and the nature of the event. For example, the finance industry focuses on content, while medical industry focuses on communication. They have a high requirement on detail management and need a professional MICE company to organise this.
- New online companies that are trying to provide solutions for the MICE industry need to understand the essence and idiosyncrasies of the market to find a better and more relevant solution to integrate internet technology with the needs of the industry.
The next episode of the 2015/2016 BT-MICE Forum will be held in Suzhou on 24 September 2015.
For more information on IT&CM China, visit www.itcmchina.com.
ABOUT IT&CM CHINA 2016
IT&CM China 2016 will be held from April 6 to 8 at Shanghai Exhibition & Convention Center of International Sourcing. This is the 10th instalment of the international MICE event that seeks to “Promote China to the World and the World to China”. The 2016 event expects an attendance of 3,000 MICE professionals from sectors including DMCs, PCOs, corporate travel and associations, some 400 hosted delegates, over 10,000 business appointments as well as over 60 business, education and networking sessions.The event is organised by TTG Events, a business group of TTG Asia Media, CITS International M.I.C.E – a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITS (China International Travel Service) and MP International. It has the support of Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration (SMTA), Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Industries Association (SCEIA), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), euromic, International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), MICE Committee of CATS, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Society of Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) and World PCO Alliance.
Co-located with CTW China – The Leading Corporate Travel Management Conference For China, IT&CM China is proud to be the anchor event of the Shanghai Business Events Week 2016 for the 6th year running. More information is available at www.itcmchina.com
More information is available at www.itcmchina.com
More information is available at www.itcmchina.com
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