CASE STUDY
Improving traveller engagement for Terumo BCT
Key Highlights
About Terumo BCT
Perfectly aligned with FCM in company culture. Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (BCT) believes in the power of collaborative creativity and cultivates a work environment where associates feel valued and inspired to contribute. It's about really making a difference in the world. Terumo is a multinational biosciences company and a global leader in blood component, therapeutic apheresis, and cellular technologies.
Background and objectives
Our partnership started in 2015. Terumo was contending with little compliance to the travel programme and fragmented traveller buying behaviour. This meant they could not:
- Obtain the best rates.
- Have full data visibility into their travel programme.
- Track travellers in case of an incident.
The team wanted to engage travellers in a positive way so they could benefit from cost savings and meet duty of care requirements. Hard mandates were not required.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Suddenly Terumo was faced with an entirely new travel climate. Cost reductions and employee engagement became even more important, but the ways to achieve them had changed drastically.
In both these climates, FCM focused on what we do best. That is, partnering with our clients in a strategic, proactive way; understanding their needs and using our experience and creativity to meet them swiftly.
“During the unexpected times that 2020 has provided in the travel industry, we have had a great partnership with FCM who has extended the normal travel relationship and duties to accommodate and keep us updated on any and all travel changes. They have been very proactive with moving airline tickets and updating any credits giving us a significate cost savings that we could have not done alone.”
Michelle Letbetter, Commodity Analyst Indirect Procurement, Supply Chain & Logistics, Terumo BCT
An engagement driven approach
Terumo wanted to attain savings by focusing on traveller behaviour, as opposed to mandating travel. How? By offering a great experience through traveller engagement to:
- Help meet their strategic goal of developing integrated global reporting and consolidation.
- Influence travel buyer behaviour to increase savings.
- Elevate traveller engagement with FCM.
Consolidation was organic through the FCM product suite. In quarterly reviews, FCM shared the technology and services available to travellers that would customise and bring real value to Terumo's travel programme. These included customised reporting, approval processes and risk management tools.
When COVID-19 hit, we offered facts and advice through:
- Webinars we conducted on travel tips and safety during COVID-19.
- Return to travel tool kits.
- Regular communication to assist in policy consolidation.
Checking in on hotel spend
Together, Terumo and FCM identified hotel spending as a key area to achieve cost savings, especially as traveller engagement and compliance increased. Our FCM Consulting division negotiated with more than 40 hotels for Terumo based on their travel patterns and spend for increased savings.
With the hotel contracts that FCM Consulting put in place, Terumo is projected to save 21% on hotels. All their negotiated hotel rates include breakfast and WiFi, and all permit Terumo travellers to cancel less than two days in advance (many are 24 hours or less).
These preferred partnerships further strengthened the reasons for travellers to book within the FCM ecosystem; to get negotiated rates and amenities that they can’t get anywhere else.
And then the pandemic happened...
Right in the middle of these successes, the COVID-19 emerged and transformed the business and travel landscape. Like many companies, Terumo had to adapt quickly and they turned to FCM for help.
Cost savings were more important than ever, but the way to achieve them had changed drastically. The traveller engagement built with FCM proved incredibly valuable. Terumo's employees knew who to turn to for accurate, relevant information and for help navigating this new world.
As travel came to an almost complete stop, FCM switched focus to keep the savings coming. The team monitored Terumo’s unused tickets in markets where they are in place. Refunds were applied and FCM provided data on how much money would be saved in the future by properly managing these tickets.
Terumo were also provided a breakdown of unused ticket usage, along predicted levels when travel begins to increase. In all likely scenarios (whether travel returns at 100%, 50%, or 10% in the next year), Terumo should have no problem utilising their unused tickets before they expire.
The value of traveller engagement in difficult times
Streamlined and efficient. Terumo's travellers were already engaged in FCM booking and information, which was instrumental in allowing FCM to quickly provide essential information to travellers once the pandemic hit. Information included travel bans and restrictions, to rates of new cases by location.