SAP Concur - Lost in Policy

Business or economy class, single room or suite, payment in advance or with the company credit card? Business travelers ask themselves questions like these before and during their trips. Travel guidelines defined by companies provide clarity. They supplement regulatory requirements or translate them into concrete recommendations for action.

In this way, they not only relieve the burden on employees and travel managers, but also increase compliance. If the guidelines also set binding budget ceilings for business travel, they create an important basis for balanced controlling and transparent management of the costs associated with travel.

German companies have recognized the potential: According to a representative survey by SAP Concur, around 91 percent use binding guidelines to regulate business travel. However, the guidelines by no means cover all aspects that are important for companies and travelers.

Expense reports, in particular, can be a source of confusion and errors: permissible upper cost limits for meals, cab rides, etc. vary from company to company, but also from destination to destination; moreover, when collecting receipts, it is easy for a receipt that is actually private to slip in between the expenses out of ignorance.

Employers still do not adequately address this source of error. Business trips are often digitally supported. Nine students from different disciplines proved that such innovative apps can make business trips more convenient.

At SAP Concur's Digital Bootcamp, they worked in three small groups to turn app ideas into prototypes. The winning team's idea: When booking, business travelers should be able to choose whether they prefer accommodations with certain features, such as a fitness room, and which hotel environment (forest location versus nightlife district) they prefer.

After all, a feel-good atmosphere also reduces the stress associated with business travel. In developing their idea, the team considered SAP Concur's partnerships with various booking platforms.

The jury praised the team for the further development of the platform idea, the consideration of already existing functions, the market potential and the ideas for monetizing the innovative concepts.