Cable & Wireless

The problem

• Previous process infringed on employees' time and productivity and provided inaccurate expense claims.
• Mis-keyed information forced accounting staff to check and verify hundreds of reports per month.
• Limited visibility of consolidated spend.
• Difficulties in identification of potential value added tax (VAT) re-claim.

The solution

• Standardized system to meet the needs of both UK and American employees.
• Worldwide, fully automated T&E expense claims process for 11,000 employees.
• Pre-population of expense data from employees American Express corporate cards.
• Streamlined process for re-claiming VAT on international expenses.

The benefits

• Over 60% reduction in expense claim processing times.
• Reduced staff required for processing expense reports from twelve to five.
• Employees are reimbursed in days rather than weeks.
• Improved VAT recovery.
• Numerous reports provided vital spend information, resulting in significant reductions in travel costs.

As a leading global supplier of data and Internet solutions, Cable & Wireless was determined to identify and concentrate on operational areas that could be streamlined. It gave top priority to Web-based business processes that could increase the productivity of its own workforce, reduce costs, and provide valuable data that would deliver maximum ROI. T&E expense management was the first area that was given the green light for improvement.

Prior to meeting Concur Technologies, Inc. Cable & Wireless' old expense claim process comprised a number of traditional paper-based systems requiring employees to manually prepare expense reports, attach receipts, and then obtain approval from the appropriate manager. The expense claims would then be submitted to the accounting department for processing with employees having to regularly wait three to four weeks to get their money back.

A solution that would allow Cable & Wireless to manage and control its T&E expense claims was needed, and as a multi-national company, Cable & Wireless particularly required technology that would complement its global business model and cater to its complex worldwide requirements. Concur Expense fitted the bill.

Fiona Croft, director of UK shared services group, Cable & Wireless, said: "As an internationally based global services company, we have complex requirements that differ from purely UK-based companies. We reviewed many different services and vendors. We chose Concur because of their proven ability to deploy their applications in large multi-national companies and because Concur Expense includes the international features needed to manage our T&E requirements globally. The fact that deployment was promised within 90 days was an attractive prospect, as it would mean minimal disruption. In actual fact, Concur delivered the solution, on both sides of the Atlantic, within 50 days!"

The company's workforce embraced the system and what was once considered a tedious chore is now a straightforward no-nonsense process. "Our employees were delighted with the new system which now reimburses expense claims directly into their bank account within four days," Croft commented.

The pre-population of expense data from an employee's corporate American Express card added a further dimension to the Concur solution, meaning employees only have to enter out-of-pocket expense claims, which have not been paid for via their corporate card. In essence, this has allowed Cable & Wireless to leave the management, compliance, and control of its corporate travel spend to Concur, which maximises their return on investment and creates an unsurpassed and e-friendly environment for employees to complete their expense claims.

Croft added: "Concur Expense has already brought us considerable bottom-line benefits, including creating better business practices and increased operational efficiencies. With Concur Expense we can spot changing trends in our spending patterns quickly, and with the detailed T&E spending data we now have at our fingertips, we are able to go back to strategic vendors and negotiate further discounts."

The Concur system comprises the functionality to enter country-by-country financial rules, and flags up areas that are exempt from VAT or ripe for reclaiming.

Time management and productivity is another area where Concur Expense has had an impact. The system has reduced expense processing times by 63 percent, from an average of seven days to two and a quarter days, which has freed up members of its accounts departments to concentrate on core activities. It also means that business travellers spend far less time on the completion of expense reports.

For back office staff, life has become much easier since the introduction of Concur Expense. Howard Barclay, who manages Cable & Wireless' expense process, says: "When we used a paper-based system, my department was constantly inundated with calls from employees enquiring about their expense claims; now we barely get any. It's better for employees as reimbursement times are very quick, and they no longer need to chase repayment. It means that we have ruled out the need for cash advances. The system never makes mathematical errors and we have eliminated cost centre and General Ledger posting errors. What's more, we now have access to a huge amount of information that can easily be extracted into various types of reports. We can even run one for bicycle mileage!"

Fiona Croft concludes: "Our expense reporting process has revolutionised the Corporate Expense Management culture in Cable & Wireless. The system has reduced company costs, increased productivity, and has delivered results to our bottom-line."