CASE STUDY
Making big travel moves in the mining industry.
Fortescue & FCM Travel
Fortescue Metals Group
When it comes to the subject of iron ore, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) know their stuff. Producing 170 million tonnes of iron ore every year, they lay claim to some of the most impressive mines in the world.
From being founded in 2003 to becoming one of Australia’s largest iron ore producers, this global mining organisation is no stranger to innovation. They’re constantly looking to improve and refine every process and system throughout the company, whether it be on site or in the office. Back in 2009, FMG partnered with us here at FCM Travel with the mission to create a progressive travel system that saves time, money, and effort.
The Challenge:
So many travellers, not enough support
For FMG, their biggest travel struggle was managing their FIFO staff roster. With as many as 500 travellers heading to and from multiple mines on the same day, keeping track of everyone’s travel needs was far from simple.
At the time, staff mostly booked their own flights. This meant no unified travel experience, no way to track all flights easily, no way to forecast savings, and no way to guarantee safety and support throughout the traveller’s journey.
What FMG needed was bespoke mining travel services, tailored to the way they worked.
Let’s get technical
Over two years, we worked with FMG to integrate their tech with ours. Why did it take so long? Creating a super management system that can handle their massive travel programme was no small task!
Before we even started the technical side of things, we looked at their travel needs from every possible angle. Our discovery and fact-finding sessions dug through the complexities of their FIFO system, analysing what worked, what didn’t, and what could be added to make their lives easier.
Once we finally nailed down every detail that they wanted from their mining travel services, our technical wizards went to work. We got rid of every con and enhanced every pro, inventing innovative software as we went to meet FMG’s specific needs.
After two years of creating the perfect system, the integration platform was ready to launch.
No more travel headaches
FMG’s travel management system is now fully automated, centralised, and easy to use. Where each traveller used to spend time booking their own flights, all travel is now automatically booked three months in advance.
- No more missed bookings.
- No more messy accounts.
- Just one easy system that takes care of hundreds of flights, every month.
Travellers can now fly with confidence, knowing that their flight is booked in line with their roster. On top of automating the bookings, the system also takes care of traveller safety. Flight tracking and better traveller visibility makes it easy to smooth out any bumps in the road with the help of our travel experts offering 24 hour support.
What about the bottom line?
Thanks to the advanced booking data, FMG can now accurately forecast their future travel volume and spend. By analysing the data that is now available, FGM save on travel with new discounts and budgeting opportunities that they couldn’t access before.
- Travellers save time.
- Management avoids confusion.
- FMG cuts costs through a central, automated system.
- Everyone can get where they need to go and focus on the job at hand, be it on site or supporting the crew.