Being able to access, analyse and visualize travel data is no longer a pipedream but a reality. The phrase, ‘Information is power’ has never been so apposite. In a world where data gives invaluable insights to a Travel Manager, it enables them to be proactive rather than reactive in managing the performance of their travel programme.
So, imagine this: a cloud-based management information system that is able to:
- report on multiple traded currencies into one currency in the reporting tool
- handle the currency conversion in real-time, every day
- make available data that is only one business day behind, not at the end of the month
- make available booking data that is only one-hour old
- run documents of 40,000 rows in two seconds, not minutes
- be available to clients wherever they are, on-the-go or at a desk, as it is on a platform that is online/mobilefriendly. This self-service system means that users only need an internet connection and a browser to be able to extract powerful data on traveller behaviour, costs and safety, at their fingertips
- customise the analytic displays to create dashboards that display the metrics they use all the time
- monitor travellers via real-time, interactive maps on its travellers’ tracker portal.
Those features are all incorporated into goData, the business intelligence MI system from Wings Travel Management, and available now. Quite simply, it helps companies measure and improve the performance of their travel programmes.
“goData™ provides Travel Managers with an almost real time, accurate reflection of their travel programme performance, to aid proactive management of costs and satisfy the likes of supplier deal management,” says Leon Weideman, Head of Business Information at Wings. “A Travel Manager can effortlessly identify metrics on a particular area or suppliers’ spend performance and quickly make the necessary adjustments to their organisation travel procurement behaviour, to mitigate any negative effect.”
Companies want their data sliced and diced in many different ways, by cost centre, department, supplier, by date, by individual traveller and so on, and GoData provides an infinite number of options. User-friendly graphs, charts, and drilldowns simplify complex analyses, while the landing page showcases a high-level executive summary.
The self-service or “Guided adhoc” facility can identify any number of trends, such as those travellers not adhering to the company’s advance booking policy. “It empowers Travel Managers,” says Weideman. “Imagine a large company procuring thousands of air tickets a month, where real-time intelligence coupled with proactive action, could save a significant amount of money on travel spend.”
goData will display the data or export it to HTML, XML, PDF, Excel, and other output formats, for example, ideal for when the business development team needs to extract data for quarterly reviews.
The development of goData began its journey a few years ago and is based on the analysis of thousands of client requests for reports, so that the Top 10 routes/suppliers/city pairs/ non-compliant travellers/ISO quality standards/savings data protocols and so on are imbedded into the system.
Powered by WebFOCUS, goData is currently being used by many client companies across the world, alongside thousands of travellers who wish to track their individual trips and travel expenses.
A great deal of time and effort was spent on the security architecture, ensuring each user and company can view only the data that they are authorised to see. The technology development saw a proprietary security layer that was built on top of metadata layer, to carefully control security and access compliance.
The MI team also created several internal portals for Wings staff to use. For example, a human resources portal helps the HR team monitor workforce metrics such as the number of employees per country, the number of people per department, as well as deploy analytics that summarise global salaries, health benefits, leave data, sick pay, and other information essential to managing employees, contractors, and costs.
“Our aim was to make goData as intuitive as possible, making navigation, usage and metrics as simple or as complex as you would like,” says Weideman “We also acknowledge not all travel data consumers are ‘power-users’, and some users may need more help than others which is why Wings willingly offers initial training during the onboarding phase and ongoing support while they find their feet.“
And the system is not standing still. The future aspiration for goData is for the tool to integrate with a company’s expense system to provide total trip cost.
To find out how to get the best MI in the industry, speak to your Wings business development manager or email our subject matter expert for MI on reporting@wings.travel