Overview of Singapore’s corporate travel management landscape

Krizia Mojado
克里齊亞·莫哈多
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Recent reports have highlighted how the appetite for both leisure and business trips is very high among Singaporeans, making corporate travel management a priority for Singapore companies. Here are some of the most interesting findings.

  • 75% of Singaporeans state that they are eager to travel more, and roughly half of these expect to travel for business reasons in the near future. 
  • Almost 60% of Singaporean professionals see leisure trips more favourably than a work promotion, as they look for ways to break the monotonous home and work routine.

When booking both trips, travellers increasingly expect travel service providers to offer them a personalized, engaging, and connecting experience, as well as be able to interact with them over multiple technological devices seamlessly. The demand for modern solutions that could make business travel easier is especially high among Singaporean professionals, who feel these may greatly facilitate their work and make business trips more enjoyable. 

Interestingly enough, while Singapore is among the fastest countries to adopt new technologies in the ASEAN region, Singaporean companies have yet to take full advantage of the modern travel management solutions available today.

As a leading business 企業差旅管理 based in Lion City, we’d like to give you an overview of the challenges that companies and business travellers face. We will then dig into how the right corporate travel solution can be a game changer for your business in Singapore.

Challenges faced by companies and business travellers

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Manual Errors in Travel and Expense Reports

Many companies still rely on spreadsheets to create T&E reports. While organizations that have used this solution for years may be reluctant to change their ways, this exposes them to human error. If employees forget to enter a receipt into the spreadsheet (or if they enter it incorrectly), this could lead to incorrect reimbursements or even a violation of the company’s travel policy. Moreover, when receipts are misplaced or lost, it becomes difficult to account for all costs without them. Manual errors can also happen when workers insert incorrect formulas in the spreadsheet, leading to inaccurate time tracking, discrepancies in the budget and other issues that can prove costly to a company.

Inefficient reimbursement processes

一種 manual reimbursement process can present several issues. In addition to being prone to human error, it is often slow and requires workers to submit physical receipts before waiting for approval and receiving reimbursement. This often leads to payment delays and frustration among business travellers. At times, a cumbersome reimbursement process may discourage employees from logging their expenses, thus making budgeting and forecasting more difficult for the company.

Excessive pressure on business travellers

One recurrent problem of using outdated solutions for travel management is that travellers often end up being responsible for most activities without any meaningful support from management. Whether it’s about scheduling flights, booking hotels, or managing expenses, the lack of an integrated travel management solution can put much pressure on employees, which in turn may lead to stress, dissatisfaction, and possibly higher turnover rates.

Insufficient information on the trip’s destination

Health risks, geopolitical instability, and natural disasters are all potential risks that business travellers are exposed to during their work. Traditional travel management practices that don’t rely on integrated platforms and modern technologies may result in a significant lack of crucial information on the destinations the company’s workers need to travel to. This is particularly worrisome when travellers are missing data necessary to guarantee their safety during their stay. 

Not being thoroughly briefed about the local culture, customs and laws can also be very problematic for travellers, as it can lead to social problems, unexpected expenses or even legal troubles. In an age where it’s paramount for a company to put the well-being of their workers first, organizations should adopt solutions that allow them to keep track of all the safety risks to which their business travellers are exposed. It’s also a company’s duty to make sure employees are well-equipped with the right information necessary to make their stays as smooth and pleasant as possible.

Issues with traditional booking solutions

While individual travellers tend to book flights and accommodation online, it’s not uncommon for management to still use more outdated solutions such as emails and phone calls to book business trips. In addition to being more expensive, these methods also create other issues, such as difficulties in tracking and evaluating travel expenses for budgeting purposes, etc. As such, a traditional travel management system is rarely the best option for business travel management. 

How you can overcome these obstacles

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Highly customizable policies

A modern corporate travel management platform like TruTrip will allow management to create tailored policies that meet company goals and ensure business travellers follow the guidelines when travelling. Through these solutions, travel managers can quickly and easily set rules for reserving flights, accommodation and other services related to business trips.

Easy expense tracking and approval

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Integrated business travel solutions also give managers a handy way to track and/or approve business trip expenses. This can be done in a few steps and without any paperwork, creating an efficient process that doesn’t require as much time from management or employees. TruTrip can also seamlessly integrate with your expense management system, thus allowing companies to view all trip-related expenses in one place.

Advanced reporting and analytics

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Another way TruTip can support your business travel operations is by providing detailed insights into how your organization’s travel programme is performing, thus helping you make better choices about your travel budget. Advanced reporting and analytics tools include data on travel behaviour, spending trends and so on. This will help you determine in which areas you can achieve significant savings.

Detailed traveller and destination tracking

Duty of care is a top priority for modern companies, and no travel management solution is complete without features that provide detailed tracking of travellers and their destinations. TruTrip allows your company to track your business travellers’ movements and obtain real-time updates on any risks to their safety. It can also provide detailed reports on visited destinations, which include local laws, culture, and customs. This data can help travellers have a more informed experience and ensure they stay safe during their business trips.

Flexible online booking tools

With TruTrip, you will have access to an extensive inventory of airline fares, accommodation providers, and related services, as well as flexible online booking tools for both travellers and travel managers. As a result, you can simplify your business travel processes while enjoying significant cost savings compared to traditional travel management solutions, such as travel agents in Singapore.

Singaporean corporate travel management at its finest

In order to live up to their growth potential, global mindset, and tech-driven nature, Singaporean businesses must take proactive steps to streamline operations, achieve savings and integrate management in any area, including business travel. As a Singapore-based and world-class travel management company, TruTrip is the natural choice to reach these objectives. 預約演示 要么 註冊免費試用 to test its features and benefits.