Business Operations Project

• Objectives
  • Redesign the travel and expense reimbursement process for OSU travelers and implement a clear, consistent and customer-focused program using the best available tools and technologies aligned with Beaver Works guiding principle.
• Scope
  • Provide specific actionable recommendations based on future state objectives and develop a roadmap to align OSU travel and expense program with leading practices in Higher Ed organizations.

• Task 1 – Project Initiation

  • Initial Information and Interview requests

  • Confirm the Project Objectives, Scope, and Approach

• Task 2 – Current State Assessment

  • Interview Key Business Partners and Representative Customers

  • Assess Current Travel and Expense Program And Identify Optimization and Enhancement Opportunities

  • Compile a List Of Improvement Opportunities Identified During Functional Interviews

• Task 3 – Develop Recommendations

  • Develop and Present Preliminary Findings and Obtain Feedback

  • Develop Recommendations

  • Validate Findings and Recommendations

• Task 4 – Finalize Deliverable

  • A comprehensive report that includes:

  • Travel and Expense-related Key Findings and Observations

  • Recommendations for Operational, Technology, Business Processes, Including Benefits of any Recommended Investment in Operations and Technology

  • Prioritized Roadmap for Implementing Recommendations

•  Imagine the travel process from the travelers’ perspective

• Recognize that university employees travel to further OSU’s mission and for the benefit of the institution

• Be transformational and creative in identifying solutions

• Ensure compliance with applicable federal and state guidelines

• Seek stakeholder feedback and communicate frequently throughout the process

• Consider consistent processes that emphasize user training

• Assess current policies and make policy recommendations to improve policies

• Provide a clear implementation plan and communications

Travel and Expense Assessment and Redesign - Phase 1 progress through April 20, 2020

• 01  Current State Assessment,   Feb 21, 2020   (completed)

  • Conduct Interviews Process Flows
  • Policy Review
  • Data Analysis
  • Card Program Analysis

• 02  Future State Requirements,  Feb 28, 2020   (completed)

  • Key Business Partners/customers
  • Duty of Care
  • Recommendations

• 03  Develop Recommendations,  Mar 13, 2020   (completed)

  • Core Team Meetings
  • Key Decisions presented
  • Focus Group presentation

• 04  Validate Recommendations,  Apr 6, 2020 *

  • Focus Group feedback
  • Key Business Partners/customers

              * Faculty Focus Group feedback to be incorporated prior to finalizing design in Phase II

• 05  Finalize Deliverables,  Apr 20, 2020

  • Key Decisions documented
  • Design
  • Process / Support
  • Card Program
  • Compliance
  • Duty of Care

The leading practice in travel and expense lifecycle management is to have an end-to-end program where all components of travel are joined in integrated systems and processes, to optimize customer services, ease of use, administration, contract and policy compliance, duty of care, and cost savings.

• Integrated Components of the Lifecycle

  • Request

  • Book Trip

  • Manage Trip

  • Expense Report

  • Audit

  • Pay

  • Reporting

• Automations supporting the Lifecycle

  • Itineraries

  • e-Receipts

  • Mobile Apps

• Duty of Care (in place to support the start to finish lifecycle)

  • Preparation

  • Alerts

  • Insurance

  • Rescue

Many program elements work together to produce a clear, streamlined and efficient business process. Key areas of focus are displayed in italics.

End-to-End Integration

• Automate paper-based reports
• Implement end-to-end platform solution
• Implement optimizations as an ongoing initiative to keep up with the ever-changing travel environment

Policies

• Balance controls, traveler efficiencies & user experience
• Programmatically address exception-based rules
• Policies should support Program Goals

Travel Management Company (TMC)

• Single campus & Athletics TMC
• Provide consistent service & single point of contact for all travelers
• Reduce administration & ensure consistent services to travelers

Company-Paid Credit Card

• Ease traveler’s financial burden
• Import transactions into expense report solution, minimizing data entry and reduce fraud
• Obtain rebate for spend volume

Online Travel Booking Tool

• Provide self-service booking 24/7
• Tool provides visibility to company’s travel discounts
• Company policy is enabled with rules to prevent or highlight exceptions

Change Management

• Communications
• Travel portal
• Consolidate all travel information
• Annual surveys to measure customer satisfaction and identify improvements
• Push “trigger-based” emails for infrequent & international travelers

Travel Office

• Single owner of the T&E solution & collaboration across the program
• Focus on adoption & service
• Provide continuous program improvements

Card Reconciliation

• Single system for corporate card reconciliation (procurement card, travel card, single-use card)
• Utilize Lodge card for bookings, so departments have visibility & reconcile their own charges.

Mobile Applications

• Enable hand-held access to travel & expense transactions
• Capture receipt at the source for maximum efficiencies
• Itinerary management on-the-go
• Approvals on-the-go

Duty of Care

• Establish duty of care policies
• One registry/request for efficiencies
• Capture traveler itineraries at booking for full visibility
• Provide locate & alert solution, umbrella insurance, and rescue capabilities to reduce risks

Strategic Sourcing

• Airline discounts
• Lodging discounts
• Ground transportation discounts
• Meetings & events
• Ongoing analysis of travel spend

Reporting & Metrics

• Automated reminders/aging transaction reports
• Department reporting
• Executive dashboard
• Performance/adoption metrics

Travel and Expense Management:

• OSU rates moderate in the travel and expense program maturity; however, the implementation of an end to end program supported by revised policies, cards programs and technology will improve the transaction-based ratings.

• Expanding existing OSU Card Program will reduce administrative burden of processing employee payments centrally and improve travel card rebate.

• Implementation of technology will improve transaction-based compliance and will provide travel spend information for strategic sourcing opportunities.

• Duty of Care processes that align the registration process with any pre-trip request/approval capabilities will streamline the process to capture travel activities and reduce the university risk for students, faculty, and staff.

Program Goals and DFA Principles:

• Clear and transparent communication

  • Improve University’s travel services and support for business partners and customers

• Community safety and respect for all its members

  • Create structures and programs that provide safety to all travelers

• Process consistency, balanced with flexibility

  • Gain University-wide efficiencies and effectiveness through consistent processes

• Clearly defined and integrated policies

  • Clearly define and integrate policies, standards, and processes

• Active stewardship of resources as well as structured and inclusive decision making

  • Establish effective travel program reporting

Mission, Strategy, Vision

• OSU Leadership understands the need to improve the Travel and Expense (T&E) processes
• The University is looking to enhance the overall T&E program rather than merely replacing a T&E system T&E program vision includes selection of a fully automated T&E solution, including a Travel Management Company (TMC) and online booking tool (OBT)
• Leadership is eager to establish a clear understanding of the necessary components needed to offer a comprehensive suite of T&E tools across the University, covering all University travel
• User experience considerations are critical to include for the future state design

Organization, People, Culture

• Business Centers support multiple departments for travel and expense processes. Dedicated Travel Coordinators are available in some departments to facilitate travel booking and expense report processing Roles and responsibilities are not aligned nor consistent across the University
• Decentralized Support Process leads to inconsistent service levels and policy application
• Culture of policing vs. collaboration, combined with a lack of communication of current policies has created frustration and lack of trust
• Resources are stretched and are spending less time on core functions

Policies, Processes, Procedures

• Travel policy and processes are not streamlined
• Policy confusion and interpretation differences across campus by approvers noted in Beaver Works project as a source of user dissatisfaction
• Meal per diem rates are applied inconsistently across campuses or departments
• Duplicate processes and forms are in place for travel pre-authorizations
• Process for use of University cards is not consistent across campus
• Delegates and travelers are often self-booking travel through external sites

Technology, Systems, Tools

• T&E technology (TRES) is not utilized across all departments
• TRES has limitations, is only partially automated and upgrades and enhancements are no longer supported
• Complex review/approval process with many touchpoints and systems that are not automated
• Reporting is limited due to to limited transparency and visibility to program spend data, which negatively impacts compliance trend analysis, spend management, operational management and traveler risk support
• Rural (remote, usually International) locations where travelers may not be able to access internet/systems

Mission, Strategy, Vision

• Thank you for taking the initiative to review OSU’s policies and procedures and for including us in the process –don’t stop here, we’d like to continue to be involved in providing further input into the solution
• There are HUGE number of steps in the entire process from beginning to end. The amount of tasks is spread over multiple people and can be confusing to travelers.
• Take the financial burden off employees/students by providing [university liability] travel cards for expenses
• An application or a system to directly scan/send receipts to business centers

Organization, People, Culture

• Centralized travel department for (a consistent) reimbursement process
• I carry thousands of dollars in university expenses while waiting for reimbursements
• Mandate a fast turnaround (less than 10 days) (for reimbursements, if this takes more people working at Business Centers then make it happen)
• Reimbursement can often take 3-4 weeks to be returned

Policies, Processes, Procedures

• Policy is confusing and sometimes contradictory
• [Need] clear resource on policies rather than various items on website. Maybe some business units out there have a good summation? FAQ?
• OSU travel rates do not match GSA Rates, often they are lower which is hard in many high cost cities
• More [university] support needed in terms of technology and information

Technology, Systems, Tools

• [Need] seamless online system that clearly tracks the process, shows progress, and uses technology to make the system as quick and easy as possible
• Seamless online system that clearly tracks the progress, shows progress, and uses technology to make the system as quick and easy as possible
• [Must] be efficient and easy to use for users who may only use the form 1-2x annually

The following recommendations support OSU's goal to optimize the Travel and Expense program and policies, to select a technology solution to support future goals, to address campus feedback, and to implement leading practices that are based on industry and higher education operations.

Recommendations are tied to the types of benefits and ranked in order of importance with the level of effort commensurate to Huron’s experience, and reflective of OSU leadership alignment and previous campus wide improvement initiatives.

The following information outlines recommendations and attributes of the recommendations:

Recommendations

• R1:Realign organization to provide T&E support services through strategic partnerships with Business Partners and customers (high priority; high effort; supports efficiencies; cost savings; traveler satisfaction)
• R2:Optimize Travel & Expense Policy  (high priority; high effort; supports efficiencies; cost savings; traveler satisfaction; minimizes risk)
• R3: Select, design, and implement an end-to-end technology with Duty of Care  (high priority; high effort; supports efficiencies; cost savings; traveler satisfaction; minimizes risk)
• R4: Expand University One Card to employees with the integrated technology  (high priority; medium effort; supports efficiencies; cost savings; traveler satisfaction; minimizes risk)
• R5: Adopt a single campus TMC and drive adoption through marketing benefits of the OSU program  (high priority; medium effort; supports efficiencies; cost savings; traveler satisfaction; minimizes risk)
• R6:Adopt Change Management leading practices for campus adoption  (medium priority; high effort; supports efficiencies; cost savings; traveler satisfaction; minimizes risk)
• R7:Standardize Metrics & enable Business Intelligence with technology implementation  (high priority; medium effort; supports efficiencies; cost savings; minimizes risk)

Phase II planning services are scheduled to start early July, after completion of OSU’s RFP for T&E solution provider.  The RFP process will be initiated in early April and planned to complete by the end of June.

Timeline

• 2020  July:  
  • Planning and predesign project
• 2020  Aug – Dec:     
  • Design & Implementation
• 2021  Jan – Feb:
  • Go Live-Cutover/Pilot
• 2021  Mar:
  • Go Live-Campus
  • Deployment:  March 31

The Travel Redesign Project continues to make forward progress. The major focus over the past quarter has been centered around gathering feedback from campus stakeholders, as well as working through a Request For Proposal (RFP) for a new travel and expense software solution. Over 800 people have provided feedback so far. The feedback has covered topics such as, meal reimbursement options, preferences for booking travel, as well as other key areas within OSU’s future travel program. The travel project team hopes to have the future Travel and Expense software selected within the next month.  Once a selection is made an intensive nine-month software implementation will be launched. The implementation will build off of the design, planning, and stakeholder feedback completed thus far.

August 2020 Update Slides

Progress on the Travel Redesign Project continues to pick up speed as the contract for a new software provider draws closer to completion. The Travel Redesign Project Team has re-started planning workshops intended to surface critical design and configuration decisions that will need to be made when the contract is finalized. They will engage stakeholders to address unique travel considerations within athletics and international travel. Over the next month, a travel advisory group will be formed, comprised of stakeholders from every college and department across campus. The travel advisory group will be a critical pathway for collecting feedback about the design and configuration of the new travel program, changes to the OSU’s credit card and travel management programs, and updates to the Travel and Expense policies. A dedicated project website will launch soon.

November 2020 Update Slides

Travel Redesign Project: With the turn of the calendar year came a newly executed contract with SAP Concur, to provide an end-to-end Travel and Expense (T&E) software solution. Concur is a leader in the marketplace and the project team is very excited to get implementation efforts underway. 

January also marked the launch of our Travel Advisory Group, which is comprised of faculty and staff across the University. The advisory group will play a key role in providing direct feedback to the project team on all aspects of the implementation.  

The next area of focus will be to review perspective Travel Management Companies and determine what type of support structures are needed for Travel and Expense within the Controller’s Unit.

The project team hit a major milestone recently getting the contract executed with Corporate Travel Planners (CTP). CTP will be the new travel management company that services University travel replacing CI Azumano. Now that the contract has been executed, configuration can begin for the final software module Concur Travel. This module will be the resource for travelers to book Air, Hotel, and Car. Over the next month the project team will focus on creating training materials, finishing data integrations with Banner, and executing the communications plan.

There will be a rolling go-live strategy where we have divided these 27 areas into 4 go-live waves. Each wave will be separated by 2 weeks. The first units on campus will begin the process June 14th. For more information on the project and the implementation process, please visit the Beaver Works website, https://fa.oregonstate.edu/project-update.

 Travel & Expense Project Update (PDF)

As of August 2^nd all colleges and divisions across campus have gone live with Concur Travel & Expense. We have seen great success early on with nearly 1,000 credit card requests, over 1,400 expense reports, and close to 700 travel pre-trip requests submitted to date. Our new travel agency, Corporate Travel Planners (CTP) is up and running and providing travel services to the campus community. Users are encouraged to visit our new website to learn more about the travel & expense program (https://fa.oregonstate.edu/travel-and-expense). First-time users are encouraged to drop in to one of our Zoom sessions held daily from 3-4pm, where you can meet with our Travel Office Staff one-on-one.

Even though initial results have been good the new Travel & Expense Office has many areas of focus over the next quarter, such as continuing to build out our training library, overhaul the processes for Non-Employee Travel, as well as partnering with stakeholders on International Travel Risk Manager services.

Concur Travel & Expense has now been live for one full quarter across campus.  A high priority has been on issuing credit cards to OSU employees to help reduce out of pocket expenses, while conducting OSU business.  With over 1,500 credit cards issued to date, we are well on our way.  The Travel & Expense Office team has also continued their efforts on training and outreach.  A new scheduling tool has been released on the Travel & Expense Office Website, which allows employees the ability to schedule short one on one meetings with the support team.  This is a good way to get help right away when you need it, as several time slots are available throughout the week.  Continued focus will be placed on ensuring our new Travel Agency, Corporate Travel Planners (CTP) is providing a high level of customer service and supporting the University’s needs.  The team’s upcoming area of focus will be on improving the group travel booking process, as well as improving options for booking travel for official guests, volunteers, recruits or other non-employees of the university.