Gaining insight into corporate travel

World Travel is using business intelligence software from Business Objects to provide its corporate clients with better insight into the cost-effectiveness of their travel management programs. World Travel has a staff of 325, and 90 percent of its business is based on high-volume corporate travel and clients.

The aim of the extranet solution is to help World Travel offer top-quality customer service to enhance its ability to add new customers and retain current ones in a competitive market. One of the solutions World Travel has deployed is BusinessObjects XI Release 2, which will provide customers with self-service access to a large quantity of interactive reports. The travel company has also implemented Crystal Xcelsius, a data visualization solution from Business Objects. With it, World Travel can create interactive dashboards that provide clients with immediate insight into current travel activities.

World Travel employees are using the solution to help executives improve operational efficiency, according to Business Objects. For instance, World Travel's chief financial officer (CFO) used Crystal Xcelsius to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the company's relationships with multiple global distribution systems (GDS) vendors. By moving sliders and gauges within the dashboard, the CFO showed which relationship provided the best fit for World Travel's overall corporate business plan.

"Our clients are increasingly savvy about technology, and they want the ability to access data themselves and use information that suits their particular business needs," says George Gadebusch, MIS director at World Travel. "In addition, Crystal Xcelsius allows us to add sophisticated, eye-catching dashboards that are easy to use--and provide cutting-edge services that enable our clients to better manage their travel expenditures."