JCPenney

The Problem

• 30 to 45 minutes required per expense report to enter travel data on the company's paper form
• Approximately 60,000 travel expense reports processed manually each year
• Inconsistent travel expense management approval processes
• Three different methods of reimbursement, taking up to four weeks for payment
• Inability of the general ledger system to capture needed data for every travel expense category
• Complex per diem rules

The Solution

• Automated travel expense management over the company Intranet using Concur Expense
• Integration with the company's reimbursement and general ledger systems
• Online report submission, approval, auditing, and data analysis
• Corporate travel expense management policies and per diem rules fully integrated in the system
• Parallel approval processing and exception-based auditing

The Benefits

• Travel expense report preparation time cut in half
• Simplified rollout of the software and easy updating
• Centralized maintenance of corporate travel policies and audit rules
• Back-office electronic interface linking summary travel data to payment and general ledger systems
• Dramatically improved accuracy rate (98 percent do it right the first time) for travel expense management data
• Two to three business days for reimbursement
• Travel expense report processing centralized in a single location
• Improved vendor negotiations, budgeting, travel policy compliance, and expense reporting for non-travel expenses, such as relocation and small dollar purchases

JCPenney's Jim Strand has always been inspired to improve business processes that create a rapid return on investment and contribute to the company's bottom line. Strand pioneered the automation of travel expense management at JCPenney, where approximately 13,000 of the company's more than 200,000 employees are regular business travelers who generate more than 60,000 expense reports a year.

Travel expense management at JCPenney was entirely manual, not counting the random spreadsheets created by departments for "doing the math." As for getting expense reports approved and audited, each department followed basic guidelines, but handled review and approval quite differently.

JCPenney also had multiple methods of reimbursement, including payment through its proprietary Expense Reimbursement System, manual checks, or, in some cases, cash. Strand says that reimbursement could take up to four weeks, depending on the approval and payment methods.

To evaluate potential solutions for automating and standardizing these travel expense management processes, the company formed a cross-functional project team, co-chaired by Strand and JCPenney's travel manager. The team developed some strict criteria for the ultimate solution, which they believed should be able to:

• Speed entry of travel expenses
• Capture detailed data in every travel expense category
• Provide for electronic review and payment processing
• Streamline the reimbursement process for shortened reimbursement times
• Interface with the general ledger at the summary level
• Generate meaningful reports for budgeting purposes and vendor negotiations
• Reduce, if not eliminate, the company's dependency on paper

Beyond these objectives, the solution had to run over the company intranet. The team felt that Intranet deployment was the compelling alternative to installing and managing expense reporting software on the desktops of 13,000 business travelers. Strand explains that the Web offered simultaneous rollout, as well as a centralized method of integrating and updating corporate travel policies.

As a result, the team selected Concur Expense, not only for its successful track record in automating travel expense management, but also for its intranet capabilities. According to Strand, Concur Expense automation at JCPenney has already helped the company gain control over key parts of the process, including:

• Approvals—now a parallel process, in which expense reports are submitted for approval and reimbursement simultaneously
• Per diem support—with per diem rates for every country fully integrated into the system, speeding the entry of a typical domestic or international trip
• Auditing—whereby daily audit reports are run online for prepayment review and policy compliance
• Data analysis—which uses the Concur Expense reporting tools for detailed analysis by managers and the travel services department

Penny Laughlin, Manager of Learning and Self Development in the controller's department, says travel expense management automation with Concur Expense is "a natural for the Web." She explains that the sometimes difficult task of communicating and training on a new business process is much easier via the Web, since installation and training issues disappear in the Web environment.

According to Laughlin, through a combination of distance learning broadcasts to field locations, classroom-style training in selected locations, a Quick Reference Guide, and Web-based information, deployment of Concur Expense across the enterprise has made learning a new business process much easier. "In about one hour," she says, "we can pass on the key mindset changes of the new travel system, the basics of entering an expense report, and what users should expect after they submit the report for processing."