New organisation chart, new strategic directions, 'new' premises: without claiming to be unveiling any major innovations, CWT was approaching the day of 6 December with a relatively dense agenda. To do so, Bertrand MabilleManaging Director for Southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Partnerships, was able to call on the support of Brigitte Nisio, who has been in charge of France since 1 December. During this first event organised at the Boulogne Billancourt offices - where the business travel agency, like Havas Voyages, took up residence last February - CWT managers also spoke about the new recruits who have joined the company in recent weeks. Starting with Kurt Ekert, who was appointed Chairman and CEO last spring, replacing Douglas Anderson.
The questions "where?"andWho?"With that out of the way, all that remained to be seen was the "what"and thewhen". Two questions to which Bertrand Mabille will not have failed to answer. concrete answers. Faced with ever-shorter innovation cycles, business travel agencies are opting for the medium or even the short term, by setting the most ambitious targets. course for 2018. In the meantime, new strategic directions are set to fundamentally reshape TMC's offering and its positioning in an increasingly competitive market. " In 2017, we will be refreshing all our interfaces, taking our lead from the BtoC market. "warns B. Mabille.
A third phase of digitalisation
Unsurprisingly, technology is at the heart of this "3.0 strategy"which aims to be part of the "third phase of digitalisationAccording to CWT, the travel industry is undergoing a "new era". Following on from the automation of processes brought about by the arrival of GDSs, and the digitisation of customer relations driven by online booking tools, this is now the time for a new chapter for the business travel industry. A shift that is forcing the main TMCs to make choices: "When we were faced with the possibility of acquiring KDS, we didn't think it was a good idea because it's a technology from the second wave of digitalisation."says Bertrand Mabille, casting doubt on the option chosen a few months earlier by competitor American Express GBT. " We work with all the OBTs, and in the majority of cases our customers want to choose their online booking tool. This means that we would have had to impose a solution on our customers that they didn't necessarily want. In the US market, 90% of transactions are carried out using tools other than KDS, such as Get There or Concur. So I have my doubts about the value created by this approach"..
Version 3.0 of CWT will be based on the development of the mobile application. In addition to the hotel industry, which has already been integrated, CWT To Go will cover end of year 2017 l'all mobile booking requirementsstarting with air travel. The business travel agency also intends to integrate a networking to its mobile platform, enabling business travellers to get in touch with colleagues in the same business destination. A chat system with the travel agent will also be integrated.
TMC have failed to make their mark on the hotel industry
Data will be the other pillar on which Carlson Wagonlit Travel will base its new strategy. " We are gigantic data factoriesbut we don't do much with it" confesses a lucid Bertrand Mabille about the needs of the market. He is equally clear-headed when it comes to the hotel business, " the TMC blind spot "According to the Managing Director for Southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Partnerships, this is a clear statement of fact. TMCs have failed to make their mark in the hotel worldthat we had no reason to leave to intermediaries" . CWT is therefore setting up an in-house start-up dedicated to this issue, headed by Scott Brennan, with the ambition of also serving travellers who are not clients of the agency.
Whereas bots are gradually taking over in the world of travel - with some players even seeing it the Travel Manager of tomorrow - CWT remains cautious on the issue. " Ct's not on our roadmap for 2018, but it's clear that the possibility of engaging with customers through messaging systems like Messenger or Slack is on the horizon." Bertrand Mabille agrees. " We're not there yet, let's try to be efficient with CWT To Go first, but history isn't written with static application systems." .
Looking back on the year just ended, Carlson Wagonlit Travel's managers draw a mixed picture, marked by the arrival of new customers - notably the pharmaceutical group Novartis - but tarnished by the fall in prices and the impact of the terrorist attacks in France. Business growth was therefore not reflected in business volumes, which fell slightly. As a result, TMC is now looking to new territories where it may be tempted to make acquisitions in the more or less long term. Asia, Africa and the Middle East are the markets followed by CWT, which has made its geographical coverage a decisive selling point with the largest accounts. This external growth could also involve Meetings & Events: after having joined the Ormès teams in France, while other acquisitions are being considered for the German and UK markets.
