TQ3 TRAVEL SOLUTIONS REVEALS PIONEERING MOBILITY BENCHMARKING STUDY RESULTS

3 February 2004, London – TQ3 Mobility Solutions, a division of TQ3 Travel Solutions, has completed the first-ever worldwide benchmarking study on mobility costs and processes within larger companies. Mobility services, which extend beyond traditional travel management, include car fleet management, mobile communication, relocation services, insurance, cash and payment systems and mobile offices. TQ3 Mobility Solutions helps multinational companies manage and control costs related to employee mobility, ranging from fleet management and mobile communications to the specific needs of expatriates. According to Arnaud Ameline, vice president of TQ3 Mobility Solutions, the study was conducted in response to the increased need for companies to consolidate management and purchasing, and to control costs and improve productivity relating to an ever-growing mobile workforce. “The TQ3 Mobility Benchmarking Study revealed that today, large international companies spend more than €300 million yearly for their employee mobility, and 25% of employees are concerned with mobility, which is not optimised in any way,” said Ameline. “By 2008, this figure will grow by 5 to 8% per year, depending on the activity sector.” The study revealed three overriding trends, the most important of which is the acknowledgement that the development of a Mobility function is needed within larger companies. Secondly, the TQ3 study divulged the accelerating development of web-enabled solutions for most Mobility activities: 75% of respondents have developed web-enabled solutions to promote internal policies for Travel and Fleet Management, Relocation Services and Insurance and Assistance solutions. TQ3’s research showed that the next move for most of the respondents is to develop web-enabled processes in Supplier Relationship and User Support. The last trend revealed in this study centres around the development of outsourcing solutions, introducing third parties applying the ‘travel agency model’ to mobility activities such as multi-supplier management, cost control and data performance monitoring. This new outsourcing model will allow companies to focus solely on negotiation, optimisation and decision making technique. “Whereas mobility covers all aspects of employee trips – business travel, fleet management, expatriate services, payment management, and traveller assistance and safety – mobility management means consolidating all of the elements to improve financial and operational performance within companies,” said Ameline. About 60 TQ3 Mobility Solutions client and non-client companies participated in the study from 1 July through 30 September 2003. Each company completed a detailed analysis of performance and financial issues related to mobility ratios and productivity performance for mobile employees within their own organisations. In exchange, TQ3 Mobility Solutions is meeting with each participating company to provide a comparative analysis against similar companies in the study. Participating companies include: AOL, BBDO, BearingPoint, Cisco, Infineon Technologies, Mastercard, mg Technologies, Oracle, Pearson plc, Victoria Versicherung and ZDF. TQ3 Mobility Solutions conducted the study in collaboration with its partners Axa Assistance, Prudential Relocation and Cisco, due to their in-depth knowledge of the mobility needs of large companies. – ENDS – Notes to Editors TQ3 Mobility Solutions is a division of TQ3 Travel Solutions and headquartered in London. TQ3 Travel Solutions is the leading provider of quality, innovative travel expense management solutions to companies worldwide. With system-wide revenues in excess of $9 billion, TQ3 operates 1,600 locations in over 70 countries. For further information, please contact: Melanie Garrett, Director of Marketing EMEA Greater London House Hampstead Road London NW1 7HQ Tel: +44 (0) 207 153 3310 Fax: +44 (0) 207 153 3334 [email protected]