Profiles In Travel Management
By Jessica Kirshner
Monday, June 6 2005
Monday, June 6 2005
Published on AllBusiness.com
Polo Fashions A Global Travel Program
Company: Polo Ralph Lauren
Headquarters: New York, N.Y.
U.S.-based T&E Spend: $30 million
Like many multinational companies involved in consolidated travel management programs, the team at Polo Ralph Lauren has realized the advantages and started to experience the challenges of going global. Mary Tardi, senior director of global travel services at Polo Ralph Lauren, embarked on establishing a global program in the winter of 2004 and since has taken the first major steps toward true multinational consolidation by defining Polo's relationship with a new travel management company, setting up a European travel headquarters in Geneva and implementing a strong global travel policy.
Tardi, who this month celebrates 13 years with Polo, said the company, which is completely consolidated in the United States, technically qualifies as an independent, fully accredited travel agency. At the time of approval, she said, ARC's Corporate Travel Department accreditation did not exist. Though the company maintains its own global distribution system agreements and full agency standing, Tardi quickly realized that pursuing a global strategy would require the support of a third-party TMC.
"In the fall of last year, we made a business case internally to continue the program overseas and started by basically doing a trip over to Europe and taking a look at exactly what booking channels were being utilized and how we could consolidate," Tardi said. "After many months of consulting with Partnership Travel Consulting and really analyzing what our business needs were, we decided and clearly saw that we couldn't initially start 100 percent internal. We needed to use the support of an outside TMC for very few services, and one that would agree that we would be branding this completely as Polo Ralph Lauren."
Tardi brought only those TMCs with global capabilities into the request for proposal and heavily weighed each agency's willingness to "subordinate themselves to Polo Travel Europe," to enhance program clarity for the company's 10,000 employees worldwide.
"Each of the major TMCs had global capabilities but, at the end of the day, TQ3 made a compelling case to treat Polo's program as a priority, but not try to dominate it. For lack of a better word, they're a silent partner," said Andy Menkes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey-based Partnership Travel Consulting. "No one within Polo even really knows who the agency is. Not unlike private-labeling clothing, TQ3 is not visible to the end-user or the market. In the building, there's no huge sign that has the name of that agency. Even though it's their IATA license, it says Polo Travel Europe."
On March 14,
Company: Polo Ralph Lauren
Headquarters: New York, N.Y.
U.S.-based T&E Spend: $30 million
Like many multinational companies involved in consolidated travel management programs, the team at Polo Ralph Lauren has realized the advantages and started to experience the challenges of going global. Mary Tardi, senior director of global travel services at Polo Ralph Lauren, embarked on establishing a global program in the winter of 2004 and since has taken the first major steps toward true multinational consolidation by defining Polo's relationship with a new travel management company, setting up a European travel headquarters in Geneva and implementing a strong global travel policy.
Tardi, who this month celebrates 13 years with Polo, said the company, which is completely consolidated in the United States, technically qualifies as an independent, fully accredited travel agency. At the time of approval, she said, ARC's Corporate Travel Department accreditation did not exist. Though the company maintains its own global distribution system agreements and full agency standing, Tardi quickly realized that pursuing a global strategy would require the support of a third-party TMC.
"In the fall of last year, we made a business case internally to continue the program overseas and started by basically doing a trip over to Europe and taking a look at exactly what booking channels were being utilized and how we could consolidate," Tardi said. "After many months of consulting with Partnership Travel Consulting and really analyzing what our business needs were, we decided and clearly saw that we couldn't initially start 100 percent internal. We needed to use the support of an outside TMC for very few services, and one that would agree that we would be branding this completely as Polo Ralph Lauren."
Tardi brought only those TMCs with global capabilities into the request for proposal and heavily weighed each agency's willingness to "subordinate themselves to Polo Travel Europe," to enhance program clarity for the company's 10,000 employees worldwide.
"Each of the major TMCs had global capabilities but, at the end of the day, TQ3 made a compelling case to treat Polo's program as a priority, but not try to dominate it. For lack of a better word, they're a silent partner," said Andy Menkes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey-based Partnership Travel Consulting. "No one within Polo even really knows who the agency is. Not unlike private-labeling clothing, TQ3 is not visible to the end-user or the market. In the building, there's no huge sign that has the name of that agency. Even though it's their IATA license, it says Polo Travel Europe."
On March 14,