DOD Selects SAP Concur to Develop Business Travel System Prototype
The Department of Defense announced that SAP Concur will be developing a business travel system prototype to replace "the aging and inefficient" Defense Travel System, according to a DOD statement. The award came as part of a $9.3 million Other Transaction Authority (OTA) award. DOD spends $9 billion annually on travel, with temporary duty travel accounting for approximately 70 percent of expenditures. A new travel system would exponentially lower the cost of airline tickets and save more than 10 million labor hours annually needed to book the travel of more than 2 million active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel. SAP Concur's effort under the OTA will leverage the simplified and rewritten Joint Travel Regulations, which mandated the use of lower-cost non-refundable airline tickets in markets without pre-negotiated fares. The company will also launch a prototype capability to adopt commercially-available travel processes using information technology solutions. "In addition to reducing overall costs, the new capability must reduce process and workflow complexity, decreasing the time and effort spent by travelers, authorizing officials, and administrators planning travel and reimbursing travel expenses," the DOD stated. SAP Concur is expected to complete the business travel prototype within 24 months.
“We have a responsibility to ensure our resources are used in the most efficient and effective manner, and given this specific project has such a wide ranging and deep impact – reforms with results like these are crucial,” said Chief Management Officer John Gibson. “I’m proud of the work we’re executing through the Reform Management Group and initiatives like this from the Information Technology Reform Team.”
SAP Concur is a non-traditional defense contractor that provides integrated travel and expense management services and solutions. The award team also includes Accenture Federal Services, Booz Allen Hamilton and CWTSato Travel, which will deliver an end-to-end travel-as-a-service capability that is expected to reduce the overall cost of travel.
