Careers

ETAP-ON-LINE France is recruiting :

• A project manager
• A consultant

Work city : Paris / France

More informations

Testimonial : RHODIA

Rhodia group rolls out Ulysse T&E worldwide over the internet

 

Rhodia has selected Ulysse T&E in ASP mode in 2001 to manage expense claims for its European businesses. Key advantages are centralized information, automated procedures and greater visibility, all of which will be extended to the US business.

says Yves Bosne, European Director for Shared Accounting Service Centres and Financial Director of Rhodia Operations. Rhodia is a multinational industrial group which delivers services, research and production activities within the field of specialty chemicals.

Yves Bosne European Director for Shared Accounting Service Centers and Financial Director of Rhodia Operations

“We have used ULYSSE Travel & Expenses practically since it was created”,

Originally, the organization and its information systems were decentralized and each company handled expense claims locally. “The group has been completely transformed since 2001 and yet ULYSSE T&E has proved very adaptable over the years. One of the strengths of the Etap-On-Line team is that they understand the needs and practices of different clients and incorporate them in the solution, making the application more adaptable.”

 

Centralization and automation

Since 2005, all Rhodia subsidiaries have been using the  SAP ERP system. The group set up a Core System (Rhodia Core System, RCS) into which Ulysse T&E was integrated in ASP mode. The solution was rolled out by Rhodia in Europe, starting in the UK, then Italy. It is also being used by personnel in Spain and Germany.

“The translated versions were available very quickly and, starting with the UK roll-out, we began to extend it across Europe. Each roll-out was tailored to correspond to the respective tax regulations of the different countries, and we encountered no difficulties. The ASP mode provides great flexibility whilst ensuring that costs are controlled.”

The Rhodia group has a Shared Service Centre in Europe, which manages the Accounting function for the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and France. All the data generated via ULYSSE T&E from these countries is processed centrally, both in terms of accounting and payment processing. Data management is undertaken by a single administrator, apart from in the UK where they have their own administrator.

“We have implemented a shared organization and have applied the same group travel policy everywhere, via ULYSSE T&E. For example, we wanted to monitor international trips carefully and Etap-On-Line was able to integrate an additional level of validation according to our specification.”

 

5,000 users, all reimbursed within 10 days

No fewer than 5,000 users access Ulysse T&E online at www.ulyssetravel.com throughout Europe and before long in the USA. “The Travel Request module enables employees to formalize their travel requests within the programme, from any computer on the network. The hierarchy then approves these travel requests, also completely online, which completely does away with the need for paper.”

The same goes for expense claims, which can be matched up to travel requests if need be for auditing. American Express corporate card and Société Générale company card statements, are available right in Ulysse T&E. “The banks (Amex and Société Générale) provide us with statement files which are directly integrated into Ulysse T&E. Employees don’t have to input anything: they just need to verify the expense claim automatically generated for approval by the head of the cost centre.

Reimbursement is made extremely quickly: within 15 days of approval from the hierarchy. Users are extremely satisfied since they can regularly consult the tool for the approval status of their claims. The hierarchy has also proved to be conscientious in approving claims and overall, the processes are very fluid. Quite simply, Ulysse T&E has allowed us to greatly improve productivity with regard to managing travel expenses.”

 

Visibility

Thanks to the centralized and automated processes provided for by Ulysse T&E, those managers who so desire – especially supervisors working in project mode – can obtain comprehensive reporting. “In addition, using these same reporting statements, purchasing departments have maximum visibility of spend, which is essential for supplier negotiations, especially with regard to car rentals.”

Worldwide rollout

On the basis of the European experience, the Rhodia group is getting ready to roll out Ulysse T&E in the United States in 2008. “Even at the scale of a continent, rollout takes no longer than four months since it’s just a question of replication, so long as the project is well organized.” Rhodia plans to extend this project to other countries in 2009 in order to standardize the process throughout the group.

About Rhodia : www.rhodia.com

About Ulysse Travel & Expenses : www.etaponline.com

Testimonial : Indexel

Partnership between GetThere and Etap-On-Line

GetThere Joins Forces with ETAP-ON-LINE to Drive Enhanced Travel and Expense Management in Europe

-Press release-

Paris, France and Southlake, Texas – (14 May, 2009) – GetThere(R), the world’s leading online business travel procurement solution, today announced an agreement with ETAP-ON-LINE, the European leader in corporate expense management. The two prominent business travel brands will build an integrated solution targeted towards mid-size and large European and multi-national companies.

The technology and service partnership between GetThere and ETAP-ON-LINE gives corporations a formidable opportunity to manage travel and expense more effectively across multiple markets.

GetThere, a Sabre Travel Network business, is deployed in 60 countries today, facilitating the booking of more than $9 billion (USD) annually by a host of the world’s leading multinational companies. ULYSSE Travel & Expenses, ETAP-ON-LINE’s expense management solution, has 900,000 users in Europe and elsewhere, with rollouts in more than 20 countries and a major presence in France and the United Kingdom.

The companies announced the agreement today at the Paragon Business Travel Conference & Expo in Paris. “We are aligned with GetThere’s philosophy of providing choices to corporations as they seek the right combination of corporate booking and expense management solutions” said Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, managing director of ETAP-ON-LINE. ” The global recession has served as a tipping point for many corporations, with an increasing number of firms across Europe taking steps to implement automation across the entire travel chain. “ “Corporations are still traveling to visit clients and prospects, and they are squeezing more value out of every travel euro and pound,” said Jason Geall, director of EMEA for GetThere. “To help corporates meet that objective, GetThere and ETAP-ON-LINE will deliver a convenient solution for both travelers and travel arrangers, driving in-policy bookings, detailed reporting and seamless process gains that only accelerate as companies maximize use of the configurable options within the integrated solution.”

 About GetThere :  http://www.getthere.com

About Etap-On-Line : http://www.etaponline.com

Testimonial : AREVA

International Group Areva rolls out UL YSSE T&E through all entities

Harmonizing processes and improving internal controls while making the best of a modern, user-friendly solution that is easily adaptable to all the core business areas: such are the ambitions of the world leader in the energy industry in seeking to manage the 200,000 annual trips made by its staff.

Areva has launched an international rollout timetable for Ulysse T&E using an industrialized project methodology.

“We manage 200,000 trips per year, in France, internationally and within Europe” explains Anne Vilain from the Areva Financial Department for Cross-Company Projects. And the volume should increase even more, considering our strong organic and external growth.”

The Areva Group was created in 2001by the merger of CEA-Industrie’s activities: Framatome and Cogema, and then expanded through the acquisition of Alstom’s Transmission and Distribution activity in 2004. Because of its recent history, the group comprises a large number of companies, each with their own information systems and different corporate cultures.
The group intends to change this situation thanks to a convergence strategy. “We have launched cross-company projects in order to implement common management rules and solutions across all the companies”, in particular for managing business travel. “Managing business trips and expense claims was done manually for the most part amongst the group’s companies, resulting in a lot of time spent, many mistakes and a lack of visibility, etc. We wish to harmonize the processes, provide a modern and user-friendly tool and have an application that is easily adaptable to the whole world.”

Core model and project plan for an autonomous international rollout

Following an international call for tenders launched at the beginning of 2006, the Ulysse T&E solution, designed and distributed by Etap-On-Line, was selected out of the four responses.

“Ulysse T&E met our specifications very well. All the teams involved were convinced: accountants, IT specialists, buyers and Human Resources.”
Beyond the strictly functional criteria, the Areva teams appreciated the userfriendliness and ergonomics of the tool.“This aspect is all the more important since we want the staff to enter their own data concerning their travels”, adds Jean-Luc Martel, manager of the Ulysse T&E rollout at Areva.

“We have excellent relations with the Etap-On-Line teams, who are available, competent and open-minded. Throughout the project they proved genuinely willing to work in partnership”, adds Anne Vilain.

Once the application was chosen, the Areva teams worked on the definition of a core model during 2007. “This stage took longer than planned, but we wanted to have a configuration that was as standardized as possible for the group, so that the tool would adapt to the differences in organization, culture, processes and information systems. The goal being to offer it to all entities throughout the world”, says Ms. Vilain.
During the creation of a “pilot” company, the Areva teams, together with those of Etap-On-Line, wrote a detailed project plan. “The project plan covers all the aspects of a rollout, from the interfaces to be created with the current system to the communications plan designed to accompany the change management process”, explains Jean-Luc Martel.

Time savings and security

In October 2007 the rollout of the solution for the 800 staff members at headquarters made it possible to validate the functional and technical choices. “In the beginning, we planned to host Ulysse T&E internally. But we rapidly recognized that this was not the best way forward and decided to opt for the ASP, with the benefits of controlled costs, updates done by our application supplier in full transparency, and a lot of time saved”, explains Vilain.

The staff and assistants now connect directly to Ulysse T&E on www.ulyssetravel.com. “The tool is very well suited to our organization and the workflows work perfectly. The approval timescales are considerably shorter and all the travel orders received by the agency are signed electronically. No more fax or phone orders!”, adds Mr. Martel.

Furthermore, and this is a point that differentiates Etap-On-Line from other software companies, the solution is interfaced with travel agencies and car rental agencies, allowing for central invoicing. In short, the securing of flows and processes guarantees application of the travel policy.

250,000 trips managed per year in the long term

On the strength of this success, the Areva group has established a rollout calendar for all its subsidiaries. “When a subsidiary initiates the Ulysse T&E rollout, we give the core model to the project team. It then undertakes a gap analysis between their requirements and the core model offered. Etap-On-Line adapts the configuration to local constraints, such as the tax regulations of the different countries.”

The goal is indeed to integrate Ulysse T&E in all the countries where the group is present. “Two-thirds of French companies will adopt Ulysse T&E in 2008, and Areva T&D has begun to roll out the solution internationally.

In addition to an extraordinary comfort level in terms of maintenance, the ASP mode enables very fast rollouts.” A total of no less than 250,000 trips per year will be managed thanks to Ulysse T&E.
In the long term, corporate management will easily obtain reporting statements making internal controls and purchasing policies easier. “And we also plan to capitalize on the grand opening of Ulysse T&E to use online booking solutions.”

Areva in brief  www.areva.com

Present in 41 countries, the Areva group is a world leader on the energy market.
Employees: 70,000 people worldwide
Turnover: €12 billion (of which 2/3 outside France)

www.etaponline.com

Testimonial : Indexel

Now, the Business Travel Show 2009 !

NEW : Launch of ULYSSE Travel & Expenses V6

Press-release – 14 January 2009

ETAP-ON-LINE has announced the launch of ULYSSE Travel & Expenses Version 6.0.  This newest offering from ETAP-ON-LINE provides even greater connectivity and interoperability with the very latest versions of online booking and corporate travel agency solutions, plus, new international travel and expense management functions. The company also announced steep growth in 2008 with 900 000 users in Europe including 400 000 ASP users and rollouts in over 20 countries.

Connected to the full range of the business travel partners

The latest innovations included in the booking integration feature of ULYSSE T&E V6 include a link to the KDS V6 portal, a mutualised solution provided by the major corporate travel management companies.
It also offers connection to the dedicated online booking portals of major players; CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL, AMERICAN EXPRESS EASY RES CORPORATE, SELECTOUR and the online business travel agency EGENCIA.  ULYSSE T&E V6 also connects with CDS Groupe which offers an online hotel booking tool and call centre operation dedicated to hotel reservations. In addition, the ULYSSE T&E V6 solution can deliver continuous synchronisation of travel profiles without even needing to connect to the online booking tool.

ULYSSE T&E V6 also offers an ONLINE /OFFLINE switch screen. This functionality enables clients who use both online and offline booking methods to direct travellers automatically to the most appropriate booking method.  This tends to push up the adoption rates of the online booking tools for eligible trips.   Following a successful pilot run in France for the ORANGE group, the  ONLINE /OFFLINE switch screen has been adopted by the company and has led to a 55% adoption rate of the ONLINE AMADEUS e-Travel Management e-booking tool integrated with the ULYSSE T&E solution.

This improved functionality means that for both ONLINE and OFFLINE booking methods ULYSSE T&E can successfully integrate with the major B2B solutions currently available, for example: Amadeus, American Express Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, CDS Groupe, Egencia, KDS, Selectour, Traveldoo. The data integration between ULYSSE T&E and the partner solutions means that traveller profiles are automatically updated and synchronised between the client systems and the booking solutions.  In addition, travel requests can be validated by managers with full pricing information included.  The single point of entry for both ONLINE & OFFLINE bookings makes managing these processes simpler for both the traveller and the travel management companies.

“As the European leader in business travel expense management, we naturally pay close attention to changes in the marketplace and to the specific expectations of our clients.” commented Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, Managing Director of ETAP-ON-LINE. “We developed ULYSSE T&E V6 so that we could incorporate offerings from the major players so that our clients could have a choice of business travel supplier” he added.

More international capabilities

Listening to their client base also led the R&D team at ETAP-ON-LINE to include a number of new functions in the V6 which will optimise international travel.  For example the solution offers interfaces with long and short-term car rental suppliers, as well as to British and American banks such as Bank of America and Citibank; key players in North America where ETAP-ON-LINE opened an office in 2008.

ULYSSE T&E V6 also optimises the existing integration of BNP Paribas business cards and Airplus lodged cards. Other additional V6 features include expense management features adapted to German tax rules, which are among the most complex and demanding in Europe in the domain of business travel expenses.  

ULYSSE T&E 6 now enables German companies to manage expense claims in compliance with local regulations including the automatic calculation of per diem allowances.

“With ULYSSE T&E V6 we are pursuing our strategy of 100% focus and dedication to travel & expense management processes. We plan to focus on active, non-exclusive partnerships with the main players in the business travel marketplace. In addition we will offer the best functions in the market, be they for our domestic or international clients.” Tetaz concluded.

Happy New Year 2009

Seasons Greetings

ETAP-ON-LINE France, UK and Canada

wish you all the very best for 2009

Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz speaks to PayPerShop.com

Managing Director of ETAP-ON-LINE, Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, speaks to PayPerShop.com about the ULYSSE Travel & Expenses Management Solution.

Live demo at The Business Travel Conference & Softworld

Meet us at…

THE BUSINESS TRAVEL CONFERENCE

29-30 sept 2008

Park Inn Heathrow

Stand N°36

The Business Travel Conference is aimed at anyone that has responsibility for booking, buying, arranging or handling business travel and meetings at companies both large and small.

Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, Managing Director & co-founder ETAP-ON-LINE, will be moderator at the SBT workshop 3 and 4.

Contact us for more information : contact@etaponline.co.uk

——————–

Stand n°AF413

Contact us for more information : contact@etaponline.co.uk

New Clients

They have recently chosen Ulysse T&E:

> LANCEL
> EQUANT (ORANGE BUSINESS)
> HERMES
> FMC TECHNOLOGIES
> EUROFACTOR
> CONSEIL GENERAL DES ALPES MARITIMES
> MARIE BRIZARD
> INSTITUT DE VEILLE SANITAIRE

Welcome !

How to transfer authorization rights in Ulysse T&E?

Product focus

The summer holidays are nearly here, so how can I transfer authorization rights in Ulysse T&E?

The summer holidays are approaching at last and many staff are off on vacation, not least the line managers who normally approve travel requests and expense claims! What is to be done during their prolonged absence? Wait for their return and cease handling expense claims and travel requests for several weeks? Out of the question! The company can’t simply put all T&E requests on hold.

To overcome this problem, there is a specific function in Ulysse T&E which allows a manager to transfer his approval rights temporarily to another colleague, with just a click of the mouse, and as such ensure that the company and its entire staff can continue to operate normally.

Ghislain Devouthon, Head of the Etap-On-Line Support Unit gives us an overview of this function.

What is an approval right in Ulysse T&E?

Ghislain Devouthon: Well first, let’s recall that when an employee creates a document (travel request, expense claim, etc.) in Ulysse T&E, this document is sent to their line manager (the approver) for approval before it is passed up the line for handling by accounts staff, reservations with a travel agency, etc. Without this approval being made in Ulysse T&E, the expense claim cannot be reimbursed and the travel request cannot be accepted. This approval circuit is specified in advance by the client and configured in the software. When a document needs to be approved, the approver simply receives an email notifying them that a request has been made, which they can then approve in one click. But what is to be done when the approver is absent for a possibly undetermined length of time and no replacement approver has been configured in the system? (E.g. ill health, a business trip during which they cannot log on to Ulysse T&E, holidays, etc.) One of the benefits of the Ulysse T&E solution is the way that approval rights can be transferred, with the “usual” approver being able to transfer their own approval rights temporarily to a colleague, who may be their superior, assistant, or any other member of their team.

How does it work?

Ghislain Devouthon: It really is a very simple, quick procedure, which can be activated directly by any employee who holds these rights in Ulysse T&E. Approvers just need to log on to www.ulyssetravel.com using a basic internet connection (ASP users or those with an external connection) and simply tick the rights transfer box on their Ulysse T&E profile page. What’s more, Etap-On-Line has maximised this function, enabling users not only to limit the rights transferred depending on their nature, but also to grant them to different people and for limited time periods. As such, a distinction can be made between document creation rights (e.g. to allow an assistant to create travel requests for their account, etc.), and/or approval rights (the power to approve expense claims or travel requests from their colleagues) and/or administrator rights.
The usual approver can then designate the person who will exercise these rights during their absence and fix an expiry date. The rights are then automatically transferred and any documents sent for approval during the affected period follow a new workflow: during this period, the designated approver takes over granting approval according to the usual procedure. Once this period has elapsed, the approval rights are automatically reattributed to the usual approver. As such, perfect continuity can be ensured in company procedures, without any break in the flow, delays to processing or bottlenecks… The usual approver can also deactivate or extend the transfer of rights just as easily.

What are the benefits for ULYSSE T&E administrators?

Ghislain Devouthon: By setting up this function, Etap-On-Line’s principal objective is to simplify the work of Ulysse T&E administrators, so that they’re not submerged by requests to transfer rights when holiday time approaches, for example. As a result, there’s no hold-up in approvals, which represents real added value for a company, which can then maintain a constant stream of requests and high-quality processing all year round. The major advantage of the rights transfer function in Ulysse T&E lies in ensuring that approval rights are so precisely defined, with exceptional speed and simplicity, even when the approver is absent. Today, for example, three of our clients – Roche, Capgemini and Total SA – are already using this rights transfer function, and have already made nearly 1,000 transfers to date.

The French Association of Travel Managers is born

Founded on the common desire of a dozen travel managers from French blue-chip companies and chaired by Michel Dieleman, travel manager for the Orange group, the principal attraction of the French Association of Travel Managers (AFTM) is a real opportunity for all industry players to share good practice, meet experienced managers and acquire key skills.

What’s behind the creation of an association like this?

Michel Dieleman: The experience I’ve acquired over many years organizing and purchasing business travel has given me an insight into some of the shortcomings of the industry. Although the role of Travel Manager has long since been recognized in the USA, UK and other countries, it has only recently come into existence in France, and up until now it was difficult to introduce myself as a Travel Manager. What’s more, in the public sector which I know well since France Telecom started in the public sector, I tend to introduce myself as “Head of Business Travel”. Those who are just now coming into this market are not very sure of where it’s going. It’s only through forums like this one, Ulysse Travel Day, various meetings, dinners, cocktail parties and such, that people learn so much more about the role of a Travel Manager. It appeared to us that there was a gap to be filled and, at the initiative of a dozen Travel Managers from large companies, including some listed on the CAC 40, a decision was made to form the French Association of Travel Managers (AFTM).

What are the aims of the AFTM?

Michel Dieleman: This association is not reserved exclusively for the travel professionals from blue-chip companies, far from it; it seeks to unite all people interested in the organization and purchasing of business travel, regardless of the varying degree of influence they have in the industry, because a Travel Manager working in an SME will not necessary have the same responsibilities as in a large group. We would like to share good practice with these people, pass on our knowledge, skills and expertise. In short, we would like to help them.
The goal of this association is also to be independent. We all have partners and suppliers, and we need them. The association will need them to survive, but we are going to try to be dependent on them as little as possible.
The priority is for everyone to get the most out of it (Travel Organizers, Travel Managers, Buyers, etc.), and for each and everyone, whether they work in the public sector or for a large company, to be able to showcase and explain what’s going on elsewhere, but also make themselves known, because that is one of the difficulties.

So it’s a forum for exchanges, sharing and good practice…

Michel Dieleman: And above all, it’s not just for Travel Managers working with corporate accounts! We now have a website – http://www.aftm.fr – which is still under construction given that the association is still in its very early days. In fact, we really only came on stage officially on 12 June 2008.

Visit the AFTM website: http://www.aftm.fr/

AFTM founders:
Estelle Camusard (Aéroports de Paris)
Estelle Carucci (Groupe Lafarge)
Sonya Basmadian (Total)
Serge Bacchus (Unisys)
Abdelaziz Bougja (Veolia)
Pierre Blondeau (Limagrain)
Michel Dieleman (Orange)
Jerôme Drevon-Barreaux (Capgemini)
Marc Dumas (Business expression)
Bernard Herault (Orange)
Lucien Isnard (EDF)
Claude Lelièvre (Legrand)
Marcel Lévy (Voyages et business)

Editorial: Indexel – www.indexel.com

Corporate Manslaughter Law

- Zoom -

The arrival of the Corporate Manslaughter Law means that businesses of all sizes from SMEs to large international groups have to take a fresh look at how they manage the safety of their employees that travel. UK companies can protect themselves from potential prosecution by using their travel request and expenses solution to keep track of employees.

With the Corporate Manslaughter Law that came into effect on the 6th April this year, business travel procedures and policies are in the spotlight. Organisations are now legally responsible for putting measures in place to protect employees whilst they travel for work. This covers a myriad of areas from the very basic – ensuring that you have a company travel policy and that employees are aware of it through to maintaining employees safety and having knowledge of their whereabouts at all times. And the stakes are high if companies fail to meet the standards set by this new law.

Under the legislation organisations, if found negligent when a death occurs, will face hefty fines. To support the new law the Sentencing Guidelines Council are drawing up guidelines which are due to be announced in Autumn 2008. Although there is no upper limit to the fine it is anticipated that they it will start at 5% of annual turnover – added to that companies will have to fund their own name and shame publicity.

The new law will give the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) a better chance of finding employers guilty should the worst happen. Previously the CPS had to prove that a single individual was the “controlling mind” and therefore responsible for corporate manslaughter. Now they will have the opportunity to charge the company as a whole for the actions of the senior management and will be able to take a close and detailed look at what systems were in place and how these were maintained in order to protect employees.

The full impact of the Act is impossible to predict but it is becoming apparent that the health and safety of employees must move up the priority lists of all businesses and not just while they’re in the workplace but while they are on the move too. With this in mind businesses are looking for tools that provide immediate tracking solutions for their corporate travellers : travel policy compliance, reporting in real time etc.

Etap-On-Line opens canadian office

Leading European business travel and expense management solutions provider expands into North American Market.

London, 7 July 2008 – ETAP-ON-LINE, the leading European solutions provider for business travel and expense management has announced the opening of an office in Toronto, Canada as part of its international expansion. This comes just a year after opening a branch in London ensuring local support for its customers.

With more than 720,000 users of Ulysses Travel & Expenses in ASP (www.ulyssetravel.com) and on Intranet, in 15 countries, French company ETAP-ON-LINE has a strong position in the European market and hopes that the new North American office will offer the same presence in the US and Canada.

“The North-American business travel and expense management market is more mature than in Europe. Our solution, ULYSSE Travel & Expenses is already in use there by several of our customer’s American subsidies including ALSTOM, BNP Paribas and AREVA” said Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, Managing Director, ETAP-ON-LINE. “After opening our London office in February 2007 and the strong growth of our business (+20% in 2007), the opening of the Canadian office maintains our International development plans and we can also ensure a truly local presence for both our existing and future customers.”

Etap-On-Line is increasingly being asked by international organisations to deliver major pan-European and international projects. The opening of the North American office is the next step in a major overseas expansion program and will enable ETAP-ON-LINE to strengthen international development.

Today 650 customers trust ETAP-ON-LINE and ULYSSE Travel & Expenses to automate the management of their expenses, among which are L’Oreal, Total and LVMH as well as BNP Paribas, Orange, Suez and Rhodia.

More information :

ETAP-ON-LINE North America

2 Bloor Street West, Suite 700 Toronto M4W 3R1 – CANADA

TEL : +1 416 972 5077 Fax : +1 416 972 5071

Mail : contact@etaponline.ca

www.etaponline.ca

Testimonial : ROCHE France

When Roche France decided to overhaul its information systems throughout Europe, they needed to find an expense management solution that was flexible and powerful. The application they chose was ULYSSE T&E in ASP mode.

“As we moved to globalize our SAP applications throughout Europe, we decided not to renew the expense account handling module we had used to date. We therefore needed to find a tool that matched the specificities of our business in France”, explains Martine Godart, a project manager with Roche. As a leading provider of cancer treatment, Roche pharmaceutical laboratories employ around 500 medical representatives in France who produce a large volume of daily expenses using the Siebel CRM application. “We needed to find an expense management solution that would integrate easily not only with SAP but also with the Siebel CRM application used for sales visits”. On no account did they want to ask users to change their routines.

Rapid integration

A call for tenders was made at the end of 2006, and ULYSSE Travel & Expenses designed by Etap-On-Line was chosen. “The simplicity and user friendliness of ULYSSE T&E convinced us. What’s more, the ASP mode corresponded well with the move to globalize our information services. Finally, the e-booking connection module and the integration of the application with internet solutions really interested us.”

Four months was enough to implement ULYSSE T&E, with the aid of project teams from both sides. “Defining user needs was an easy process as the handling of expense accounts had already been computerized. The Etap-On-Line team had a clear understanding of our needs and also gave us the benefit of their expert knowledge in the field.”

A significant number of claims

Thanks to its configuration, ULYSSE T&E can mirror the structure and the organization of a company. “And the Etap-On-Line team fine-tuned the interfaces we needed, so that now medical reps continue to enter expense account information into Siebel, from where the data is automatically forwarded into ULYSSE T&E.” This data amounts to nearly one claim per day per person among Roche’s 500 medical representatives. “Etap-On-Line also provided us with a solution which allows every medical rep to receive a monthly recap of their expenses via “push e-mail” which is delivered directly to their inbox; they don’t have to do anything.”

Travel expenses from the 700 head office staff are handled directly via the www.ulyssetravel.com website in ASP mode. The workflows were defined in consultation with Etap-On-Line. Assistant staff enter the claims and then each staff member receives an email informing them that their claim has been forwarded for approval. Progress can then be followed online in real-time, and once approved, the data is automatically integrated into the company accounts system.

Positive user feedback

“The feedback we’ve had from users has been extremely positive, particularly as they’ve been able to come to grips with it very quickly. For the solution administrator here at Roche, the workflows have been easy to master, thanks to simple configurations and the fact that messages sent to staff members can be customized.” Choosing ASP mode enabled Roche to free up technical staff from supporting expense claim processing, whilst guaranteeing regular, hassle-free maintenance and updates.

Next steps

Roche is phasing in the multiple functionalities of the solution. “We have already begun to implement a partnership with the French bank Société Générale, which provides us with company card transaction data. Expenses are then extracted and integrated into individual expense claims.” As well as ensuring that company travel expense policy is applied, this partnership also facilitates the completion of expense claims for users as supplier information is already pre-defined in the statements. Users can now work in comfort and save time too !

Roche – a brief overview

Roche pharmaceutical laboratories work to provide health professionals with innovative medicines to prolong or save patients’ lives.

In France, Roche works in six therapeutic fields: Cancer treatment, anaemia / transplantation, virology, rheumatology, auto-immune diseases, metabolic problems.

The leading provider to hospitals, Roche is the 6th biggest pharmaceutical laboratory in France.

Staff in France (2006): 1,295

Turnover in France (2006): €1,110.7m

SME testimonial : DEVANLAY

 

ULYSSE T&E rolled out in 5 weeks flat at Devanlay

Devanlay, the licensed clothing manufacturer for Lacoste, realised that it was no longer practical to keep processing their business expenses manually.  The company, which produces and markets the famous polo shirts with the green crocodile logo, turned to Etap-On-Line and ULYSSE T&E to centralise their data and automate their processes.  The rollout via internet was completed in just 5 weeks, with better reliability, visibility and time savings as part of the bargain. 

“Up until 2006, all of our business expenses were processed manually, using Excel spreadsheets.  We were losing a huge amount of time, accumulating lots of paperwork, and ultimately had virtually no visibility”, explains Dominique Bastien, Financial Controller at Devanlay.  As the exclusive worldwide licence holder for Lacoste clothing, the company manufactures and sells the brand’s clothes to a network of retailers, via franchises and in owner-operated stores.

More than 100 people make regular trips to the numerous countries where Devanlay is based.  In the absence of any centralised, automated processing of expense accounts, reimbursements were paid out without any annual overview, especially with respect to the number of exceptions requested by each employee.  There was therefore no data history, summary or analysis, meaning there was very little control over travel expenses.

Choosing the ASP method
In 2006, a decision was reached to rectify this situation, and Devanlay carried out a market study.  Two software publishers, including Etap-on-line, were identified as being able to meet the needs and expectations laid out in the specifications.  “We then met both service providers and attended in-depth demonstrations of the tools on offer.  We selected ULYSSE T&E as its ergonomics and functionalities suited our needs perfectly.  The Etap-on-line teams also gave us extremely precise information about their references, which was what ultimately convinced us.”  For this “non-strategic” application, Devanlay opted to lease ASP-based hosting on www.ulyssetravel.com.  “We can access the application directly online, and don’t have to worry about things like maintenance and updates.”

Automating the processes starting at 50 users
Initially, the project involved a pilot group of about 50 users, mostly from the Marketing department. Etap-On-Line’s approach includes all the parties.  “We set up a project group, with representatives from all the posts that would be affected: the Head of Accounting, an IT manager and a management auditor, who also works with the Marketing department, and who assumed the role of User Project Manager.”  Two consultants from Etap-On-Line were assigned to integrate and configure ULYSSE T&E.  Members from both sides finally composed the team which finally launched the project in mid-February 2007.

The first stage was to validate the approval hierarchy, thresholds and workflow.  “We gave Etap-On-Line our workflow-related information and entered our company data into ULYSSE T&E.  Our internal procedures here at Devanlay were then perfectly replicated within ULYSSE T&E.”  Thanks to the ULYSSE T&E interface with the SAP accounting tool already in use at Devanlay, all expense account data was automatically transferred, without having to be re-entered manually.

A user-friendly tool
Five weeks after the project was launched, all the pilot group users were able to access ULYSSE T&E online.  “The User Project Manager attended a training course and now holds the role of Internal Support Officer, ready to supply first-level assistance.  The ULYSSE T&E interface is very user-friendly, and our team had little trouble learning to use it.”

Reliability and visibility in 5 weeks flat
Employees now enjoy simple one-click access to the records of their requests for reimbursement and pending payments. They are very pleased with the new system, which has drastically cut back on the number of phone calls that used to be required to handle their expense accounts.  “On the one hand, management now has a much clearer picture of the requests concerning business expenses, and can refuse to make reimbursements if necessary.  Our expenses policy can be applied consistently.”  In the accounts department, they now obtain their data automatically from ULYSSE T&E: everything has already been approved and typing errors are a thing of the past.  “Now that all our data is centralised, and our business expense processing is fully automated, we save a lot of time every day.  The data is also more reliable and we receive status reports automatically, particularly regarding the breakdown of expenses by department or the average cost of hotels.”

Extended use
With an average of 30 expense accounts to be handled each month since the pilot group rollout, Devanlay has no intention of stopping such a successful project in its tracks.  “Preparations are underway to extend ULYSSE T&E to all group personnel in France who travel for business purposes.  In time, ULYSSE T&E will be used by 200 staff members, and will handle more than 100 expense accounts every month. We should be able to do this more quickly than the initial rollout as we’ll just have to duplicate the first company setup we’ve created !”

Event: Business Travel Show

Business Travel Show, London Earl’s court 2, 5-7 february 2008

The Business Travel Show is a major European event that brings together business travel professionals and the main players in business travel management market. Etap-on-Line UK will be presenting and demonstrating new functionnalities of its Ulysse Travel & Expenses solution packages. 

“ETAP-ON-LINE has had a very busy year and has won and executed some major pan-European and International projects. e-booking solutions and travel agency portal integrations with Ulysse T&E have also been a great success this year. We also have some interesting customers to talk about in both the public and SME sectors” said Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, General Manager of ETAP-ON-LINE. 

Why not take the ETAP-ON-LINE challenge?  Visitors to the stand no 438 are invited to guess the number of connections to www.ulyssetravel.com made during the show 5-7 February midnight to midnight. The winner will receive a jeroboam of Roederer champagne.

More: http://www.businesstravelshow.com

Free invitation : contact@etaponline.co.uk

New Clients

They have recently chosen Ulysse T&E:

> AKER YARDS
> CAPGEMINI France
> COUNCIL OF EUROPE (Public Sector)
> DEVANLAY 
> DGAC (Public Sector)
> INSEAD
> GENERAL MILLS
> PITNEY BOWES ASTERION
> SC JOHNSON
> REUNICA BAYARD SYSTALIANS

Welcome !

Trends

600,000

documents (Travel Requests and Expense Claims) processed in 2007 on www.ulyssetravel.com for our ASP clients.

Capgemini France on www.ulyssetravel.com

-Press release-

www.ulyssetravel.com is chosen by Capgemini France to manage its business travel expenses

Etap-On-Line, the N°1 travel and expense management solutions company in Europe (travel requests, expense claims and travel supplier invoices) announces that its Ulysse Travel & Expenses solution was selected by Capgemini France, subsidiary of the Capgemini Group, one of the world leaders in consultancy, IT services and information management, to optimise its business travel expenses.

End of paper expense claims to externalise the process

With over 100,000 expense claims to administer each year, Capgemini France wanted to simplify and optimise the whole of its administration process of business expense and travel claims. “We wanted an Internet-based solution which would enable us to make our process flow better and to spread the management activity across the month.” explained Eric Michel, Financial Director at Capgemini France.

There were three major objectives:
• To reduce business expense administration costs by rationalising and externalising the management of the process.
• To keep expense management local,
• To improve the quality of service to partners by reducing the repayment periods and by ensuring that the whole process is completely traceable.

The choice of a European business travel expense expert

Having consulted several key market players, Capgemini France chose to use Etap-On-Line’s Ulysse Travel & Expenses in ASP mode (Application Service Provider). This takes the number of CAC 40 groups using Ulysse T&E to 18. Etap-On-Line knew how to satisfy its client’s objectives by offering a major innovation in the European market. The end of paper expense claims, by automatically linking them to the expense bill in the system with the help of a barcode allowing online consultation of the paper expense claims.

One of the key elements of Etap-On-Line’s offering lies in integrated digitalisation of the paper expense claims which are essential for rationalising and externalising the management of the process in order to avoid the lengthy validation of realms of paperwork. This in itself can be a source of errors and delay when treating expenses.

The transformation and rationalisation of the process were confirmed to the Capgemini Consulting teams, the management consultancy arm of the Capgemini Group.

A quick roll-out of a large-scale project

Implementation in ASP and a simple and quick roll-out of the solution meant that Etap-On-Line could adhere to very tight deadlines which this project imposed. It was at the very least an ambitious project as it meant the end of paper expense claims for over 8,000 users at Capgemini France.
The project was rolled out in the last quarter of 2006. A 3 month pilot scheme for national and international business travel started at the beginning of 2007 for 650 partners. This phase enabled the performance of the new process to be tested within the limits to be respected.

“The performance of our process for reimbursing business expenses is based on the quality and reliability of the scan images and validation workflows. We chose Etap-On-Line’s Ulysse Travel & Expenses because it offered an end to paper expenses.” said Birotheau, Principal at Capgemini Consulting. “We are also convinced of Etap-On-Line’s capacity to build innovative solutions and of their dedication to drive these projects through to completion.” she continues.

Capgemini France, building on the success of the pilot project, launched phase three of the roll-out for 3,000 users, which will start in May 2007. Since July 2007, the business expenses of over 8,000 professionals have been managed in this way at Capgemini’s European centre for Business Process Outsourcing via www.ulyssetravel.com.

Season’s greetings

ETAP-ON-LINE UK and France wish you all the very best for 2008.

EVP Barometer by AMEX

Main trends in the business travel Market – AMEX barometer 

The main trends in the business travel market in 2007 were unveiled at the EVP (business travel seminar in Paris), an annual event organized by American Express Business Travel.  Focus on the main developments in France and practices across Europe as revealed by the 2007 Amex-Concomitance consulting barometer.

Moves to control business travel policy continue apace!  More than half of the companies surveyed implemented a formalized travel policy in 2007 (against only 39% in 2006) that covers most processes.  The control of expense accounts heads the list (91%), followed by approval circuits for trips (85%) and the use of preferred suppliers (81%). 
These measures aimed to optimize travel budgets, increasingly considered as a strategic goal even by the smallest of companies (13% in 2007 against 8% in 2006).  Whilst 50% of companies in 2006 cited cost as the most important factor when drawing up a travel policy, this figure has increased to 68% in 2007.
At the same time, these policies are being applied more consistently: 96% of companies report an application rate above 70%, against 81% of companies last year.  The barometer credits this increase to the generalization of online tools, which automate processes and thus ensure that the rules in place are respected.
To optimize their business travel expenses still further, an increasing number of companies are implementing cost control procedures, primarily with accounting methods which provide a cost analysis of previous expenses.

Harmonized practices throughout Europe

The barometer also highlights increasing use of the internet to organize business travel, particularly by small companies.  Advantages include time savings, optimized purchasing, improved application of travel policy and optimized agency costs.
Finally, the EVP barometer has sallied out of its Franco-French framework for the first time to examine other European countries, only to find that practices among corporate accounts are, on the whole, managed in similar fashion.  There are some notable differences, however: corporate accounts elsewhere in Europe focus more on employee security (82% against 60%) and take better account of CO2 emissions (47% against 22%), whereas French companies tend to concentrate more on the processes themselves.
And what of the outlook for 2008?  For 80% of companies, the objective is to stabilize expenses.  However, the barometer reveals that, due to the increasing importance of developing operations outside Europe (particularly in Asia), companies will be obliged to resort more and more to air travel.  As such, EVP experts forecast an increase of 2.8% in the market in 2008 as compared to 2007, to reach €27.1 billion.

Want to know more?
The barometer can be downloaded in French and English at:  http://www.evp2007.com/postevent/barometre.asp
Video of the whole barometer: http://www.evp2007.com/app_webseminar.html

Travel Manager Award 2007

Michel Dieleman, Group Travel Manager of Orange-France Telecom, is awarded the TRAVEL MANAGER OF THE YEAR Award 2007

Monday, December 3, 2007: Michel Dieleman of Orange-France Telecom, received the award for Travel Manager of the Year 2007 in France, at the second annual Business Travel Awards held at the Casino de Paris, France. This award is presented to the Travel Manager who has successfully delivered the most ambitious and innovative project of the year.

Michel Dieleman also won an award in 2006 for the “big bang ”deployment of an automated solution for the management of business expenses at France Telecom, and this year won the award for the introduction of an ebooking solution, once again in “big bang”mode.

Michel Dieleman thanked his team and project partners including:

• Carlson WagonLit Travel – Travel Agency
• Capgemini Consulting – implementation support
• Amadeus etravel Management – Self Booking Tool provider
• Etap-On-Line with Ulysse T & E – Management Solution for travel requests and expense claims

The roll out was exceptional for its scope and success, covering:

• 40,000 employees
• An adoption rate of more than 50% from day one of implementation
• 180,000 trips per year

The ETAP-ON-LINE team sends their congratulations to the lucky winner and thanks him for his ongoing confidence & commitment.

SME Leadership Awards 2007

Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, General Director and cofounder of ETAP-ON-LINE, receives the Silver Trophy at the SME Leadership Awards 2007

Organised by the Chef d’Entreprise Magazine, Editialis group and with the support of the CJDE (the french young business leaders organisation), the 1st trophies “SME Leaders of the Year” honours the founders of ETAP- ON-LINE. The criteria retained for the awarding of the trophies were: audacity, strategic intelligence and success.

During the evening party of November 27, 2007 at the Musée de la Marine in Paris, Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz receives his trophy from the hands of Christine Coudert, Marketing Director of Sage.

Testimonial : BNP PARIBAS

Managing expense claims: BNP Paribas cuts the paperwork with Ulysse T&E,in Europe, Asia and the United States
  

With 138 000 employees in 88 countries and an annual net banking income of 29.7 billion euros, France based BNP Paribas ranks among the top international banks in continental Europe. The group has a strong worldwide presence in many different fields, including retail banking, asset management, as well as corporate and investment banking. In such an organisation, managing travel and expense claims can be quite an issue.

“On a group wide basis, we have to deal with close to 250 000 travel events each year, explains Francesca Harrison, deployment Manager at BNP Paribas. Our most frequent destinations are Paris, London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Geneva, Madrid and Moscow, where our largest sites are located. The average cost of transportation is 465 euros and the average cost of incurred expenses is close to 400 euros, including hotel room charges.” Yet, until recently, the submission of expense claims by the travelling staff and the associated approval process were mostly paper based. In many cases, an Excel spreadsheet template was used to gather transaction data in a uniform way, but the input of expenses in the local accounts payable system (from which the reimbursement process is performed) were managed manually. 

Moving to a paper free process

At the beginning of 2001, a decision was made to set up a group-wide solution for the management of travel expenses. The required features included an online expense claim creation process, interfaced with each traveller’s credit card account, for automatic inclusion of transactions in the expense claims. Also required was an automatic validation process to check items against BNP Paribas’ travel policy, an online approval workflow, as well as an automatic interface with the accounts payable systems for expense reimbursement.A study of the major travel expense solutions available on the market was conducted with the assistance of the consultancy firm Arthur Andersen. “We set up a series of evaluation workshops and at the end of the day, we finally settled for Ulysse T&E.” Among the features that made a difference was the multi-language translation of the Ulysse T&E application, including both user and administration screens. The BNP Paribas working group was responsible for defining the key requirements surrounding the hotel referencing feature, as well as Ulysse T&E’s ability to itemize invoices into different expense categories, which are now part of Ulysse T&E’ standard functionality. A hotel invoice can therefore be segmented into room cost, food, etc. Finally, the software’s three tier technical architecture was identified as a strong security feature. 

A hassle free rollout

Implementing the Ulysse T&E application was handled internally by the group’s procurement optimisation staff. Two initial pilot sites were set up, one English speaking based in London and one French speaking based in Paris. This was followed by a phase of marketing the Ulysse T&E solution to the group’s different entities, with a focus on those with significant numbers of travellers and volumes of travel claims. “After a pilot phase conducted in London, the software is now hosted internally on servers managed by the Paris IT staff. The system is accessed by all users and administrators over the corporate intranet. There have been no significant issue with the integration of Ulysse T&E with other BNP Paribas systems.” 

With no major incident in the rollout phase, BNP Paribas met its deadline of completing the deployment among all strategic group entities by the end of 2005. Over the course of 2006 and onward, deployment is continuing among other group entities. “User adoption has been relatively smooth and Ulysse T&E has been generally perceived as a user friendly tool that turns out to be quite self explanatory. Our corporate users appreciate Ulysse T&E’s benefits as an integrated solution”, says Francesca Harrison, who also expresses satisfaction in the level of support that was provided throughout the decision cycle: “From the early stages of project definition all the way down to rolling out the solution, Etap-On-Line has provided a valuable support and working knowledge of expense claim processes. They have always handled our requests with a high level of reactivity and interest. They have always been happy to receive feedback and, where it made sense, included our suggestions in their product plan.

“Today, at BNP Paribas, the system handles close to 20 000 active users in 10 countries, in Europe, Asia and the United States. Over 134 000BNP Paribas claims were submitted through Ulysse T&E in 2006.

In the press – Accountingweb.co.uk

Accountingweb.co.uk launches a new series of articles on expense management  

” Travel expense management: Counting the costs 

 A tougher business climate doesn’t stop people leaving the office, but adds to the advantages of bringing their travel and expense claims under closer financial tracking. In the first of a series on travel expense management, we look at what savings are on offer, how they’re delivered, and why users won’t object to having their movements more closely monitored…”

To read more : http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=175953

New Receipts Imaging module

Etap-On-Line digitises expense claim receipts with its new receipts imaging module

Etap-On-Line has launched its Receipt Imaging Module – this addition to the company’s ULYSSE Travel & Expenses solution will enable users to digitise expense claims and was developed as a direct response to customer feedback.  It will be of particular benefit to those on the ASP mode who deal with large quantities of paper receipts.

By enhancing the expense claim module on the ASP mode the Receipt Imaging Module will offer better visibility to the approver, an optimisation of audit controls and facilitate VAT recovery. 

The addition of the Receipt Imaging Module will bring serious business benefits to users of the ULYSSE T&E solution, moving customers closer to a paperless administration. Users will also see improvements in storage, filing and a reduction in management time.

The Receipt Imaging Module offers a simplified access to detailed information and receipts can be viewed online by the claimant, approver and the accountant at any time during the ULYSSE T&E expense claim management process.   As the digitised receipts are automatically attached to the relevant expense claim audit controls are quicker and installation of a Shared Service Center (SSC) means that the information is centralised and the control of expense claims can be carried out remotely and the recovery of VAT is easily facilitated. 

The digitisation process is quick and efficient.  Once the expense claim is entered into ULYSSE T&E, the claimant sends the receipts to one of three scanning centres run by Etap-on-Line’s specialist partners based in Dublin, Ireland and France.  The receipts are accompanied by a ULYSSE T&E generated report which incorporates a barcode.  Receipts received are scanned daily and attached to a PDF file, the barcode ensures that the name of the claimant and expense details is generated automatically. 

The Receipt Imaging Module allows companies to retain ink documents which previously may have faded. The original receipts are then stored at the scanning centre for up to 3 months,  companies can either collect the documents or archive them for up to 10 years in the Archive Centre run by Etap-On-Line’s partner.

Capgemini, ADP, SC Johnson, Antalis, General Mills are just a few of Etap-On-Line’s clients who have benefited and some 400,000 receipts have already been digitised using this new module.

To find out more ? contact@etaponline.co.uk

Trends

15,177

This is the number of connections on www.ulyssetravel.com, recorded on 5th November 2007 from midnight to midnight.

Managing overspends

Managing overspends: transparency and control, and extra savings too

Controlling spending policies especially means monitoring overspends properly. It is with this aim in mind that Etap-On-Line developed new functionality to identify and manage overspends in Ulysse T&E. One ULYSSE T&E client was able to identify €140,000 of non-reimbursable overspend in the first eight months after implementing this new functionality!

Stanley Hales, Manager, Integration & Consulting Department at Etap-On-Line, explains.

Drawing on the expertise of the R&D teams at Etap-On-Line, managing overspends with ULYSSE T&E today meets the most stringent requirements of businesses with regard to the automated processing of business expenses. As the final stage in the automation of processes relating to business trip expenses, this functionality was quickly adopted by a ULYSSE T&E client, a service industry company with several thousand employees. In a situation where expenses were tightly controlled, this client’s objective was to optimise an expense reimbursement policy using an extremely detailed management process. The results were good, and Ulysse T&E is now integrating more advanced options in overspends management.

Splitting expenses

The client must first define spending limits according to different criteria e.g. the nature of the expense, type of employee or area of expenditure.
Once the employee completes their expense claim, ULYSSE T&E compares the amount entered per expense type to any spending limit that has been defined and displays any overspend that has occurred. The employee may then fill in a dedicated line with the amount for which they are requesting reimbursement, a portion of which may be covered by the employee directly, in order to respect the spending limit as defined by the company.

If the employee requests reimbursement for an amount exceeding the spending limit, they must then enter a valid overspend reason, which will then be transmitted to the proper authority who will accept or refuse the difference between the expenditure and the spending limit .

Pre-defined workflow

The ULYSSE T&E workflow engine has also been amended to take this new functionality into account. The workflow can now be pre-defined with respect to overspends according to several overlapping criteria, and provides for two levels of authorisation:
Level 1 is hierarchical, to authorise the actual expenses submitted on the claim
Level 2 is accounting, to verify the accuracy of information based on receipts and to ensure that all necessary VAT information has been provided.
The advantages of this system are substantial savings thanks to a more thorough application of spending policy and a better control of overspends… all completely automated.

Reporting

ULYSSE T&E reporting has also evolved to manage the differences between the amount listed by receipt, the amount being claimed, and the amount authorised in real time. Very precise reports, sorted by employee, cost centre or structure can be generated. On one hand, the calculation of differences – for example between the amounts reimbursed and the amounts claimed – can be used to determine savings to a very precise degree. On the other hand, this new transparency will serve to increase upstream awareness by employees of the expenses that they incur, and encourage them to spend less than what is strictly necessary.

Initial feedback speaks for itself… With the help of this tool, non-reimbursable sums, which were identified as such and not reimbursed, amounted to more than €140,000 with this ULYSSE T&E client over the first eight months during which this new functionality was implemented.

To find out more: contact@etaponline.co.uk

Testimonial : ALSTOM UK

Streamlining Alstom UK’s expense claims management with Ulysse Travel & Expenses

With Ulysse Travel & Expenses on the corporate Intranet, Alstom UK’s Transport Information Solutions unit keeps paperwork under control and provides valuable cost analysis information.

The UK branch of the french industrial blue chip has taken steps, a couple of years back, to effectively turn a bureaucratic bottleneck into an efficient and streamlined process, with the implementation of Ulysse Travel & Expenses, Etap-On-Line’s intranet expenses management solution.This move has made the life of Alstom Transport Information Solutions’ chief accountant Martyn Jones a great deal easier.

This unit of Alstom UK, specialised in railway technologies, operates from two locations, in Birmingham and Borehamwood, in the north of London. “We have a work force of over one hundred, including close to ten home workers. Every month, about half of our employees submit an expense claim” explains Martyn Jones.

Managing expense claims electronically

With the implementation of Ulysse Travel & Expenses on the corporate Intranet, back in 2003, travel expense claims management has been turned into a paperwork free process. “We have a company wide agreement with American Express” explains Martyn Jones. “All of our staff have a charge card, that they use for all of their travel expenses”.

Every month, the accounting department receives a statement from American Express with the details of all expenses. This statement is loaded into Ulysse T&E. Employee copy expense items from their online Amex statement to their monthly expense claim. They only need to fill in the details to explain what each spending was for, by selecting from a list of predetermined codes (hotels, petrol, meals, etc). Once completed, the claim is directed to the team supervisor for approval, before being sent back to accounting for processing. “

The system is a great time saver” underscores Martyn Jones. “There is no need to fill in dates and amounts, all necessary information being already in the statement. Also, using codes to identify the nature of each spending makes it easier to log information accurately in our accounting system”.

Leveraging SAP

To make things easier for both employees and book keeping, Ulysse T&E is connected to the company ERP, under SAP. “For this matter, Ulysse T&E acts as a front end to SAP” explains Martyn Jones. In effect, there are three incoming data feeds from SAP to Ulysse T&E. User accounts in Ulysse T&E are created automatically using data from the employee list in SAP. General ledger account codes are also input from SAP as well as cost centre information and project charge codes, to allow for efficient cost analysis of all expenses.Ulysse T&E then sends back information on expense claims to SAP, in order to effectively post invoices to the right account.

This set up makes everyone’s life easier. Employees have access to a centralised expenses management system, with a very shallow learning curve. The company provides them with a comprehensive user guide that is enough to get them going in record time. Supervisors and management, on the other end, have a clear view of all expenses linked to every group or project.

Cutting down on overheads

At the end of the day, all involved seem to appreciate the way the system gets the job done, with limited overheads. “In general, everyone is very pleased with Ulysse T&E. Our previous expenses system was paper based, and Ulysse T&E has reduced the workload for travellers, approvers and the finance department” stresses Martyn Jones. The benefits are many.Ulysse T&E enables users to track their claims through the system. This is particularly beneficial for staff that are out of the office.

It also allows the finance department to track the number and value of claims at the various stages of the process.With the online American Express statements, users select items to load into their claims. The finance staff no longer have to input claim details manually. This effectively eliminates double typing.Claims with invalid codes are no longer received, since all codes are provided directly from SAP. Cost analysis is therefore optimised and accurate.Finally, Ulysse T&E allows for better expenses reporting. This is particularly useful in the UK, where it facilitates compliance with the tax rules on benefits and expenses. Also, management has a much clearer view on the real costs involved in each project.

With the current implementation of Ulysse Travel & Expenses, Alstom Transport Information Solutions has cut down the cost of managing expense claims by close to 70%.

But to reap the maximum benefit, Martyn Jones considers that providing staff with dedicated charge cards is a key driver : “Our staff now charge air flights to their American Express cards and receive reimbursement via Ulysse T&E. Previously, air flights were booked through our company travel agent and charged to the company’s account with the travel agent. Among the benefits, we see a greater use of low cost airlines. Also, we no longer have any accounts payable problems with the travel agent”. It is also true that having all travel expenses go through the charge cards helps the system reach its maximum efficiency, by eliminating all manual inputs and, ultimately, cutting down the laborious paperwork that nobody really wants to do, either in the accounting department or on each employee’s laptop.

DEMAT’2007 Convention

13 – 15 November 2007, at the CNIT Paris La Défense
ETAP-ON-LINE stand: B40

Receive an invitation

Environment & Business Travel

When the environment becomes part of business travel

At a time when environmental protection is becoming a central issue in all debates, the business travel world is becoming increasingly interested in carbon emissions and ways in which they can be reduced. The figures, it has to be said, brook no argument: according to the ETNO and the WWF ^[1], reducing business trips by 20% within the EU would lead to a drop in CO² emissions of 22.35 million tonnes per year.

At the same time, a study conducted by ACTE (Association of Corporate Travel Executives)^[2] underlined that the environmental impact of business travel is not a major concern for businesses… far from it! Accordingly, 67% do not have any sustainable development travel policies, 80% make no effort to measure the CO² footprint of their business travel and 77% do not intend to limit travelling to reduce pollution…

However, the issue of environmental protection is being addressed by industry experts and in Great Britain, the ITM (Institute of Travel Management) is determined to make reducing carbon emissions a priority for business travel professionals – and travellers – through the implementation of concrete actions and recommendations. The project is codenamed “Project Icarus”. Targeted at travel managers and purchasing officers, this programme has united buyers, consultants and experts since the end of 2006 to address the question of environmental protection, and has just recently received financial support from the British government in the form of a grant of £100,000.

On a practical level, Project Icarus is organised around a 10-point toolbox which aims to:
- help travel managers understand the need to reduce carbon emissions, and how to measure them;
- provide them with advice so they can meet their defined carbon emission reduction targets.

It’s a way to encourage and help businesses to implement “green” travel policies. The toolbox also contains three case studies of businesses which have succeeded.

Furthermore, several organizations and market players have decided to make tools available to businesses to help them with their carbon emissions reduction policies. In France, for instance, the ADEME (French Environment and Energy Use Agency) has developed the Bilan Carbone^® assessment method (), which aims to assess greenhouse gas emissions in organisations (including local authorities);

Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the world leader in business travel, for its part has been working with its client DEFRA (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in the UK to develop a carbon calculator. This tool allows travellers to compare CO² emissions from different modes of transport available to them when they book their travel arrangements.

Finally, AirPlus recently announced it would be helping its clients to automatically “compensate” for CO² emissions resulting from their travel: they will henceforth be able to pay compensation corresponding to their trip to a specialist body of their choice, straight from their business account.

In conclusion, even if the revolution still does not yet seem underway in some businesses, it’s clear that they can no longer ignore the environmental issues. This subject is likely to become vital, in the near future, to all business travel policies.

To find out more:
Icarus Zone on the Institute of Travel Management website: http://www.itm.org.uk/icarus/
ADEME portal: http://www2.ademe.fr
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives website: http://www.acte.org/

_____________________________________

^[1]Saving the climate @ the speed of light, first roadmap for reduced CO2 emissions in the EU and beyond,
^[2] Worldwide survey KDS-ACTE 2007

New Clients

They have recently chosen ULYSSE T&E :

> ROCHE

> SANOFI-AVENTIS

> OSEO

> ADP

> CALYON

> CNAM TS

> DECATHLON

> INRA

Welcome !

 

Bar coded boarding passes

Did you know ?

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a global standard that paves the way for global mobile phone check-in using bar codes. Deadline to implement 100% bar coded boarding passes : 2010 !

Partnership with MERIDIAN

Breaking new grounds in expense claim management, with Etap-On-Line and Meridian

A new partnership with Meridian, one of the world’s largest providers of added value business process outsourcing services, allows Etap-On-Line to offer novel turnkey solutions for companies willing to outsource their expense claim management.
You need the software? You need the services? Why not get the two together? This is precisely what Etap-On-Line, had in mind when it entered into a strategic partnership with Meridian, a global company with corporate headquarters based in Ireland, Meridian provides Managed T&E services.

With an annual turnover of €40 million and a core business in VAT reclaim services, Meridian diversified five years ago in the fast growing sector of business processing with a clear focus on travel and expense management services. “We provide our clients with a managed T&E service that focuses on the actual spend of the traveller and provides a comprehensive 3-way-check around the actual receipt paper against the data entered into the expense management application and the travel policy, business rules and regulatory requirements of the country in question” explains Gerard Eivers, Meridian’s head of BPO. “We control the receipts, audit the actual spend of the traveller, adjust over and out-of-policy claims and provide a friendly multi-lingual help desks for the traveller”.

The audits performed by Meridian enhance and complement audits performed by automated solution. The company addresses a customer base of global blue chip companies. “We have 15,000 active clients, many of them Fortune 500 companies” adds Gerard Eivers.

Bringing software and services together

In October 2007, Meridian and Etap-On-Line have announced their intention to bridge the gap between supplying software solutions and providing managed back office services in the area of expense claim management, by entering into a novel partnership. “Meridian provides complementary services to companies that, in most cases, have implemented an expense management tool or system internally. Our purpose is to ensure the total trip spend is audited, both booked and actual spend categories, and that our clients maximise the total T&E spend reductions available to them. Meridian is also uniquely positioned to provide our clients with a fully integrated T&E VAT recovery service for all claim countries. There are the obvious synergies of having all the paper under one roof. When combined with the fact that Meridian will maximise your VAT recovery while mitigating the fiscal risk associated with VAT over claims a compelling story emerges. Our service not only enables us to provide feedback to our clients relating to user experience, identification of potential new areas of savings / discounting and business rule modifications enabling the Travel Policy exist dynamically with your business requirements. ” explains Gerard Eivers.

To give an idea of the potential benefits of such a close integration of software and services: companies can now be equipped with the additional visibility into spend patterns, backed up by the assurance of the quality and accuracy of the information, to enable them maximise the discounting available and not just receiving a discount.

Meridian’s field experience shows that for every €1 spent on their service, there are up to €6 euros of potential direct savings to be gained in addition to having the comfort of knowing your VAT compliance is correct and your employees are happy. Adjustments on actual spend can account for up to 6% of your total T&E spend.
“Etap-On-Line provides the application, we integrate the application into our processes” explains Gerard Eivers. The end result is a seamless integration of software and managed T&E services that make the whole process of managing expense claims a great deal easier for companies and users alike. With this in mind, the two suppliers will have a turnkey solution to offer their customers, with many new benefits. “Our processes are underpinned by proprietary software that connects to Etap-On-Line’s Ulysse T&E product to go further with the data” adds Gerard Eivers. “This way, a company can make the most of Ulysse T&E’s reporting and data mining features, without having to manage the process by themselves”.

Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, General Manager, ETAP-ON-LINE adds : “Since ETAP-ON-LINE is the European leader on Expense Management Solutions, Meridian is a key European partner to help us provide our clients with additional T&E business processing and VAT services”.

LVMH in press-review

“We wanted to find a solution which had already proved its worth. A tool which had overcome any initial teething problems and would not require any specific development.”

Christophe Luard, Non-production Purchasing Coordinator, LVMH talking about ULYSSE T&E in use within the LVMH group.

Published in Decisions Achats, 2007

EVP Convention

12 – 13 November 2007 Paris – France, at the Palais des congrès

Business travel convention organised by American Express Business Travel in Paris

ETAP-ON-LINE UK team

Welcome to Etap-On-Line UK !

To respond to increasing demands for an international presence and to work hand in hand with its current client base (Alstom, Rhodia, L’Oréal, Veolia Water Systems, BNP Paribas,…) as well as future clients with operations in the UK, Etap-On-Line opened new offices in London in February 2007.
The Etap-On-Line UK team comprises five experienced UK staff comprising, including two managers and three consultants. The UK team have completed wide scale Ulysse T&E implementations in the UK, the United States and Asia.

Let’s get better acquainted… pictures are worth a thousand words!

Welcome !

Dear Readers,  

The Expansae.com newsletter for managing business trips & expenses is changing to become Ulyssetravelnews.com !  It’s now a quarterly newsletter and a bilingual newsblog where you can find up-to-date information about the best practices for managing travel expenses in Europe, as well as about the changing face of the business travel industry. Expert advice, feedback, case studies: the purpose of Ulyssetravelnews.com is to provide European decision-makers with a global insight into all business travel-related issues and how to minimise costs.

It’s also a chance for us to keep you updated with all the news from ULYSSE T&E and ETAP-ON-LINE.  

Enjoy…