In France more than anywhere else, the business meal occupies a special place in the corporate world. A special, almost Rabelaisian moment, where the logic of rationalisation does not necessarily have a place. Could this be because of a certain idea of gastronomy that has been elevated to the rank of UNESCO's intangible heritage, or more concretely, the force of habit? The fact remains that these expenses are partly beyond the company's control. While it is relatively easy for a large group to conclude framework agreements with the main hotel and airline companies, the fragmentation of the restaurant offer reduces their negotiating power. Above all, it makes the task of listing restaurants in a market of some 124,000 traditional restaurants particularly time-consuming.
Very personal tastes
The complexity of the market is not the only answer, far from it. "The subject is a sensitive one in France, a nation of gourmets where the idea is to leave it up to each person to reserve their own table".says Laurent Gabard, Managing Director of Business Table. "This was not a priority for most large companies. They lack visibility on what appear to be small expenses, but which can add up to a substantial sum at the end of the year. In some cases, the catering budget exceeds the hotel budget".he continues. According to a study published by the consultancy EPSA, this item will even flirt with two billion euros in 2012 alone (+5% to 1.9 billion).
To put in place a genuine catering policy without reducing the number of business meals, you need the right tools... This is precisely the niche into which the Business Table solution was launched in 2010, with the aim of channelling bookings upstream via an ergonomic B2B platform. One of its other aims is to better identify the specific needs of each company in relation to different types of catering, ranging from 'classic' business meals to product launches, catering orders and study days. Finally, the solution also aims to provide companies with all the relevant data on this budget. With paperless invoicing, detailed reporting and centralised payment, the tool integrates with the company's ecosystem to provide a seamless user experience, both online and offline. All for an annual subscription fee and transaction costs proportional to the number of users. While these fees are certainly high, they also generate substantial savings in terms of administrative costs and VAT recovery: "up to 20 euros on a bill of 100 euros".says Laurent Gabard.
Following in the footsteps of Business Table, other players are getting organised to meet the growing demand. "This is an area that has yet to be explored".says Jean-Claude Tacnet, Chairman of BTravel. The business travel agency is preparing to launch the BTravel Restaurant solution in mid-2014, in agreement with La Fourchette. "We are convinced that an offer that includes business meals makes sense in the corporate world, insofar as the volume is significant and, because it is not automated, beyond the company's control".says Jean-Claude Tacnet. It remains to be seen what form this 'pro' version will take, the result of a partnership between a specialist in business travel and a heavyweight in the consumer catering sector, which in 2012 passed the 10 million covers mark, including 5% of 'business' customers.
This quest for optimisation is not limited to business meals. Another essential link in the business travel chain is also tending to integrate better with the corporate world: taxis. As the market leader in France, Taxis G7 has long offered its corporate customers a detailed invoicing and management service, and has even extended its services internationally. "All our key accounts can book a taxi not only in Paris, but also in a hundred or so French towns and cities and in fifty European destinations via a single telephone number. All of this is based on a single invoice that covers all usage in the various countries".says Serge Metz, CEO of Taxis G7. And he concedes: "What remains for us to do, and what we are working on, is to interconnect our tools with those of other specialist suppliers, particularly in expense management, so that customers can find the taxi section in their usual management environment. In the years to come, we can expect convergence between systems that communicate with each other".
Integration of taxis
The battle that traditional taxis and chauffeur-driven vehicles (VTCs) have been waging for several months now is partly being played out in the field of business travel and reporting. SnapCar, which targets corporate customers in particular, bases its offering on real-time reporting, which companies can filter according to their own criteria to better monitor their consumption. In January, KDS announced a partnership with ground transport aggregator Groundscope. The aim of the partnership is to add taxi booking to the KDS Neo door-to-door travel booking tool. "Most companies rely on separate systems to manage bookings on the one hand and expense reports on the other. So management doesn't have a complete picture of the trip".says Stanislas Berteloot, Marketing and Communications Director at KDS. This situation is set to change, thanks to the flexibility of the latest tools: "Neo is built on a very open IT standard, which simplifies the development of new connections".insists Stanislas Berteloot.
In a context where the search for new sources of savings is the top priority according to the global Travel Management Priorities 2014 study published by Carlson Wagonlit Travel, we can expect awareness to accelerate. Indeed, travel managers surveyed by the business travel agency cite taxis (40 %) and food and drink (36 %) as the top three "secondary sources of savings" to keep a closer eye on this year, in addition to roaming charges (42 %) applied to mobile phone use abroad. It remains to be seen whether these good resolutions will be enough to put these issues on the business traveller's menu.
