Shared Travel Service Initiative (STSI) –Lessons Learned
Michael Corbett, P. Eng. Public Works and Government Services Canada
Presented at: 19th Annual Material Management National Workshop
May 14, 2008
Outline History of managed travel in the Government of Canada The “New Solution” Project/Program Progress The Future (?) Lessons Learned related to procurement
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History
Prior to 2003, Travel Services in GC:
Travel agency services
• BTI (formerly Ryder) • Administered by PWGSC
Travel card services
• American Express • Administered by TBS
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“New Solution”
Government Travel Modernization Project (GTMP)
Initiated at TBS Included PWGSC “End-to-end travel services” RFI – 2001 RFP – 2002 Contract Award – 2003/04 First operational services April 1, 2004 Final component operational June 2006
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What’s Driving this Change?
OAG 1995*
• • • “….. information is not organized for senior management to efficiently assess the need for and costs of travel in relation to program benefits.” “Overall, we found that the management and accountability for travel can be improved.” “Automation and streamlined procedures have the potential for improving control and reducing the cost of travel administration.”
Increasing pressure on expenditures New program needs – accountability & transparency of expenditures Better information for negotiation purposes Security & Privacy Legislation Interoperability Citizen expectations
*http://209.71.218.213/domino/reports.nsf/html/9507me.html
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What We Could Account For:
(000’s)
$1,800,000 $1,600,000 $1,400,000 $1,200,000 $1,000,000 $800,000 $600,000 $400,000 $200,000 $0
19 97 /1 99 19 8 98 /1 99 19 9 99 /2 00 20 0 00 /2 00 20 1 01 /2 00 20 2 02 /2 00 20 3 03 /2 00 4 20 04 /2 00 20 5 05 /2 00 20 6 06 /2 00 20 7 07 /2 00 20 8 08 /2 00 9 20 09 /2 01 20 0 10 /2 01 20 1 11 /2 01 2
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Data Collected to Date
n dictio e pre ion) s crea inflat % in o 5.0 wth, 2.5% %t 3.3 5% gro 2. (0.8-
5.0% 3.3%
Actual
Hotel, Car, etc.
No breakdown of spend yet available - NOT MANDATORY (to be provided by the Expense Management Tool)
Unknown
Air Spend
Detailed data available because Amex Card is MANDATORY for Booking Air
Known
How the STSI’s Travel AcXess Voyage (TAV) Solution Works
* * 1 – Travel within Headquarters area – No overnight stay Module
Module 2 – Travel outside Headquarters are – No overnight stay Module 3 – Travel in Canada and Continental USA – Overnight stay Module 4 – International travel – Overnight stay
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Designated Travel Card (DTC)
Use of the DTC allows GC and departments to:
Obtain volume discounts Leverage the card data to negotiate lower rates with travel suppliers Save on insurance claim payments Reduce cost associated with cash advances Best-in class insurance coverage for cardholders Employees save time when completing expense reports (automatic DTC upload into EMT)
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Travel Call Center (TCC)
• Full Service TCC available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day • Transactions completed through the TCC provide the GC and departments with valuable information used to improve travel management • Additional services offered:
Trip Planning Assistance Lowest Fare Guarantee Services for travellers with special needs Access to government –negotiated air, rail, hotel and car rental discounts and Web fares for major Canadian airlines Destination information and health and safety advisories
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TAV On-line Portal
• Secure Intranet gateway to all of the TAV travel services and information • Allows GC travellers, travel arrangers, and those with responsibility for approving travel requests and expense reports to access all the TAV on-line travel tools and services in a secure environment
https://travel-voyage.gc.ca
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On-line Booking Tool (OBT)
• The OBT allows Government of Canada employees to book air, rail, accommodation, and rental vehicles securely from their own desktop • Uses the market-share leader, Get There
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Expense Management Tool (EMT)
• The final component of the integrated TAV solution • The EMT complements the portal and OBT, and allows users to perform expense management tasks, aligning travel approval to actual expense reports • The EMT integrates several other services;
• Departmental Financial Management Systems (G/X, FreeBalance, Oracle and SAP) • Government travel cards, • Amex Travel Authorization Number (TAN) Database, • portal connectivity; and • reporting tools.
• Uses the market-share leader, Concur
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Reporting
American Express@Work and Concur Reporting Tools
Approximately 50 stock reports using data directly from the Amex billing system and approximately 45 from the Concur database Increases transparency Greater levels of accountability Expedites expense reports and reduces errors as data is already entered
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STSI Funding Solution Determined
Project Timeline
New PWGSC DM
Nov 2007
2007
Bus. Case Shift to Commodity Focus Business Case Review with Depts STSI Authority Expires EMT Pilot Launch
STSI Transfer from ITSB to AB
Updated Business Case
June 2006
2006
All Day Bus. Case Deep Dive Sessions
EMT Design Complete
Creation of Commodity Council
2005 2006
EMT Production Ready
June 2005
SPAC reestablished
2005
STSI Transfer from ACB to ITSB
OBT Launch 2004
Portal Launch
STSI Transfer from SIB to ACB
Contract Award 2003 2004 Card Launch Agency Launch
June 2004
EPA Business Case
June 2003
STSI Transfer from TBS to PWGSC
2003 Governance Change Business Decision Project Progress/Success Page 14 2002 RFP Closed
• OAG Report • PPA to start work • RFI • RFP
June 2002
STSI Services and Status: April, 2008
Portal: Implemented Government-wide (except DND) Nov. 28, 2004. March 2008 adoption levels – N/A – simply the entry point to services
Travel Call Center: Implemented Government-wide April 1, 2004. Expense Management Tool (EMT): Available Government-wide June 26, 2006. March 2008 adoption levels ~ 7% of Amex transactions Recent Achievements: • PWGSC, NRCan, CATSA mandated EMT in Q4 07/08 • HRSDC/Service Canada set for implementation summer 08 • PWGSC successfully switched from CDFS feeds to SAP feeds • >25,000 claims processed On-Line Booking Tool (OBT): Implemented Government-wide (except DND) Nov. 28, 2004. NEW: Improved OBT interface launched March 10, 2008. April 2008 adoption levels 39% of all Amex booking transactions March 2008 adoption levels 100% of all non-OBT transactions.
* * 1 – Travel within Headquarters area – No overnight stay Module
Module 2 – Travel outside Headquarters are – No overnight stay Module 3 – Travel in Canada and Continental USA – Overnight stay Module 4 – International travel – Overnight stay Travel Card: Implemented Government-wide April 1, 2004. March 2008 adoption levels ~40%
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Recent Successes
NRCan Justice Canada
• EMT mandatory as of Feb 25 • OBT adoption nearly doubled from Feb to March • EMT deployment complete across 6 branches by April 30 • Full EMT rollout by Dec 2008 • OBT mandate imminent • STSI solution implemented and mandatory • EMT claims submitted has doubled from Q3 to Q4 • Piloting post-payment audit processes with positive success. • • • • Deployment of full STSI solution in 6 months OBT adoption 85%-100% EMT mandated Reduced claim processing time by 15 days
CSPS
Working towards Government - wide Successful Implementation and Adoption of the STSI solution
CATSA
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Common Challenges and Solutions
Funding/ Resources
STSI provides resources to clients to assist with the implementation of the solution (Account Managers, Trainers, Communications Support)
Change Management Client Issues Wet Ink Signature
STSI works with clients to develop an action plan to ensure effective change management measures are in place (Communications, Reporting) A robust Client Issues Management framework is in place to identify, track and resolve technical issues.
PWGSC continues to work to resolve this issue.
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STSI Client Issues Listing – March 2008
TO BE ADDRESSED IN PROGRESS CLOSED
• Graph shows a continual reduction in unresolved issues
60 50 40 30 20 10 0
9 4 25 19 3 25 19 39 12 33 16 12 14 12
JUL 2007 (52)
OCT2007 (56)
DEC 2007 (57)
MAR 2008 (57)
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STSI – The Future
Mid Term Review of GC Travel Management TB Ministers require this review, co-lead by TBS and PWGSC, to assess current status of managed travel at GC Goal is to develop short term (current contract) and long-term (post current contract) GC travel management strategies RFP for independent review closed April 16th Stakeholders will be consulted Review will be completed by September 30, 2008
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Lessons Learned
Category
Senior Mgt. & Governance Product Selection & Business Alignment Stakeholder Commitment & Participation Project Management Sustainability Procurement
GC-Wide
Shared Services
STSI Project
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Procurement – as it relates to Categories
Category Sustainability Lesson Contract should not be executed without firm funding for entire length of planned contract. Also tied to dependencies outside of “project office” e.g. reliance on departments for resources to train. Contractors should be required to define their proposed operational teams vs. the project team. GC project management can be effective, contrary to popular belief.
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Project Management
Procurement – as it relates to Categories
Category Stakeholder Commitment & Participation Lesson Stakeholder participation in RFP may not equate to buy-in to RFP. Stakeholder participation in governance may not equate to buy-in. Ensure senior management involvement and get acceptance in writing.
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Procurement – as it relates to Categories
Category Product Selection & Business Alignment Lesson Think carefully before you specify “design-build” or “COTS” – make sure it’s appropriate for the business. EMT vs. OBT example. Ensure Business “signs-off” on requirements. Ensure the “Business” really is the “Business”.
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Procurement – as it relates to Categories
Category Product Selection & Business Alignment Lesson Look out for inter-dependencies and ensure there’s a “Plan B”.
Digital Signatures example DFMS example Training example Business Process Re-engineering Ensure “client” is clearly defined from a procurement standpoint (and business)
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Procurement – as it relates to Categories
Category Senior Management & Governance Lesson Ensure consistent Senior Management involvement throughout. All interactions should be subject to a MOU, with detailed annexes. This ensures clarity around roles & responsibilities (example – STSI’s various “homes”). Maintain consistency in the goal (STSI’s “ERC” example). Don’t let the latest “fad” hijack the project.
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Procurement – as it relates to Categories
Category Procurement Lesson If you want Service Level Agreements (SLA) in your contract, include them up front. If you’re contracting for services, ensure you provide for “ever greening” explicitly. If you’re expecting to get a data warehouse, ask for one. If you need a “sandbox”, ask for one. Exercise caution when relying on vendors to understand GC policies.
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In Summary
• STSI faced many challenges as a result of procurement (and other) issues over the years. • Despite these challenges, the project/program has forged ahead, implementing all the components of the TAVpowered Solution. • Recently, the Deputy Minister of PWGSC has made the STSI program a priority. • Significant progress has been made GC-wide in the last year.
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