Business Travel and Spend Management Trends That SAP Concur Will Focus in 2020

SAP Concur is a SaaS-based (Software-as-a-Service) company that specializes in providing business travel and spend management solutions to various organizations. According to research, SAP Concur presently has 56.1 million users and 44,000 customers across 150 nations. The company processed $160.4 billion worth of employee expenses in 2018.

As we prepare to welcome 2020, SAP Concur solutions is expected to comply with the latest business travel and spending management trends that will rule 2020 and beyond.

Therefore, it’s imperative to view all those burning trends that will allow companies to streamline their travel experiences and reduce expenses.

Leveraging the Benefits of Artificial Intelligence

The efficiency of travel and expense management software will increase with the integration of artificial intelligence tools. A report suggests that while few tasks have been automated, 60% of activities have at least 30% of automation. It is being anticipated 60% of the IT applications will process decisions based on machine learning and natural language processing by 2022.

Artificial intelligence will also play a pivotal role in enhancing employee productivity. It will also provide new opportunities for business organizations. AI tools have simplified the preparation of expense reports. This has allowed employees to upload all important documents from their smartphone devices.

This uploaded information gets populated into expense reports. Moreover, SAP has also introduced an SAP Concur Expenseit mobile application, which can even read handwritten documents.

The employees can receive real-time feedback related to the company’s travel policy with the help of AI-powered chatbots or booking tools. For instance, the chatbot would send them an alert if they are booking a hotel that exceeds the budget policy of the company. The advanced AI-based tools also encourage biometric payments and embed business intelligence to accelerate digital transformation.

The Use of Data Analytics

Another customer-centric area where SAP Concur will fix its attention is utilizing data analytics. Data analytics will offer companies with real-time data-driven vision. The accounts team can make fast invoice payments and consolidate employee and company transactions.

The SAP Concur in association with data analytics improves spend analysis and visibility. For instance, machine learning technology can extract a large volume of external data sources that fill up the missing information. These include extensive data and the location of the vendor.

Data analytics also assists companies in knowing the trends and imbalances of various data records in real-time. They can identify the modern insights and agile approaches needed to streamline business operations. It can even decrease costs and deter fraud.

The SAP Concur is about to visit a new destination – Cloud for Customer Integration. The Concur-based travel and expense platform is a unique solution that allows employees to plan their trips and develop expense reports.

The information gets passed on to financial systems to get posted. Also, when you integrate the solution with SAP S/4 HANA Cloud, you can export cost objects.

Focus on Improving Employee Travel Experience

Digital technologies are constantly pressing organizations to improve their employee travel experience. The new breed of employees expects a more comfortable and delightful travel experience when they are on a mission to visit the client on-site.

Global Travel Association conducted a survey, which states that 82% of the employees think that their organization should make travel plans ahead of time to reduce costs. 43% of the employees prioritize travel safety when they are going on a business tour.

The organizations have to make sure that their travel booking platform and policies are completely up-to-date. You also need to ensure that your travel platform is employee-friendly and automated.

SAP Concur provides a spectrum of features supporting Concur’s TripLink and App Center networks. These apps use API-first design and microservices, which are enhanced with third-party apps.

Often travel managers find it challenging to capture data related to bookings made outside corporate-sanctioned channels. Now, this is where Concur TripLink extends a helping hand providing a managed travel program. According to an estimate, more than 8.5 million people use Concur TravelLink with a global network of 28 partners. These may include hotels, airline companies, surface transport providers, and more.

Conclusion

SAP Concur is on a continuous roll. It is keenly following the latest trends in travel and expense management systems to streamline employee trip experience and reduce the travel cost. It offers a number of useful apps that simplify various tasks. Thus, if you are looking to implement SAP Concur, get in touch with the experts today!