American Express GBT Launches Data Visualization Tool

American Express Global Business Travel has launched Premier Insights, a data visualization tool that provides companies and their travel managers with a view of their travel program.

Designed to help improve efficiency and drive savings, the tool was built using big data to provide travel managers with access to a single-source view of their travel program, integrating credit card and travel data in one place.

Through Premier Insights, travel managers can assess program leakage (areas where travelers book travel reservations outside their company’s policy) and determine any potential savings opportunities by calculating the amount that could be saved by changing certain traveler behaviors.

“Improving data efficiency allows travel managers to spend less time interpreting data and more time improving the travel experience,” Christine Ourmières-Widener, chief global sales officer for American Express Global Business Travel, told eWEEK. “Traditionally, data came from disparate sources and was difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from, especially with new data sources of incoming data entering the mix. Tools such as Premier Insights make this process simple.”

By consolidating travel and spend data into a single platform and offering actionable metrics, travel managers can thoroughly understand their travel spend and easily identify potential savings opportunities, she said.

The platform also incorporates key elements of a company’s travel policy, enabling travel managers to view, track and compare their own travel programs and determine how specific business units and individuals are performing.

“Big data and predictive analytics are transforming how companies assess program performance and drive savings. Premier Insights allows travel managers to integrate card and travel booking data into a single source, giving them a complete view of their entire program,” Ourmières-Widener said. “As a result, they can spend less time evaluating data, identify areas where travelers are booking outside of policy and determine savings opportunities.”

She noted that with a deeper understanding of this data, travel managers also can uncover new ways to address and assess the impact of program challenges.

The platform is currently available in more than 20 countries. American Express plans to integrate other corporate card types and booking data into the platform later this year.

“Ease of use is not only a critical part of the design process, but in today’s world driven by consumerization, an intuitive user interface is expected. We work very closely with our customers to ensure our solutions meet their specific needs and offer simpler ways of doing so,” Ourmières-Widener said. “The platform’s user interface offers clear and concise metrics to centralize all areas that can impact the efficiency of a travel program, while bringing savings opportunities forward.”

Through at-a-glance summaries and in-depth reports, travel managers can view program details at the touch of a button and use sliding scales to experiment with different scenarios before policy changes and decisions are made, she said.