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Corporate travel and expense management programs have traditionally focused on controlling costs — but that may be starting to change.
According to "More Value, Fewer Roadblocks: The Future Of Employee Travel & Expense Management," a May 2025 Forbes Insights report commissioned by American Express, which featured responses from 520 U.S.-based business leaders, 81% of executives surveyed frequently use analytics to optimize costs, while 77% leverage data to track policy compliance.
However, while forward-thinking companies may be treating corporate travel and expense management data as strategic intelligence, many haven’t tapped into the full potential of their T&E insights, the report finds. Organizations that combine advanced analytics platforms with expert advisory teams could use T&E data to help reduce costs, improve vendor negotiations, and demonstrate measurable ROI.
Understanding Today’s T&E Challenges
Organizations may face growing complexity when managing corporate travel programs. According to the Forbes Insights report, employee requests to blend business and leisure (bleisure) travel are on the rise, inflation and cost pressures are influencing T&E policies, and executives may need to make faster decisions with better data.
But some companies, the report finds, have outdated processes. Traditional travel and expense management could be fragmented and labor-intensive. Manual reconciliation and paper-based reporting could delay employee reimbursements and may leave executives without real-time visibility into spending patterns.
While many companies use analytics (the report states that 81% of executives surveyed use analytics to help optimize costs), the research shows only 37% of executives surveyed have automated expense management for travel booking, and just 36% use automation for post-travel reporting (such as automatically uploading receipts and conducting travel and expense compliance checks). Organizations have the data to spot trends and red flags, but the report shows they’re still managing processes manually — creating inefficient bottlenecks that could impact revenue. As a result, T&E teams could end up buried in administrative work instead of focusing on strategic initiatives.
This gap could create real challenges, according to the report. Without automated workflows and integrated systems, T&E teams may struggle to demonstrate the ROI their programs deliver to the business. Data could help drive better vendor negotiations, identify cost-saving opportunities, and optimize travel spending, but manual processes could make it difficult to act on those insights in real time.
How Advanced Analytics Could Help Transform Corporate Travel and Expense Management
The right analytics platforms could turn travel and expense data into actionable business intelligence. When organizations have access to analytics, they may move beyond basic expense tracking and identify the patterns and information that could drive smarter decision-making.
According to the survey responses from the More Value, Fewer Roadblocks report, 75% of companies use analytics for improving vendor negotiations and identifying travel trends, while 74% measure ROI for business travel and 71% identify and accommodate employee preferences where possible. These insights could help companies negotiate discounts with vendors, spot wasteful spending patterns, and track trends. Continuous ROI measurement could help T&E leaders to track cost savings over time and prove their programs deliver value beyond just processing expenses.
Integrating T&E platforms with enterprise systems like enterprise resource planning, human resources (HR), and treasury management tools highlights opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed. Connected data can help companies negotiate better vendor rates based on booking volumes and adjust travel policies and procedures to match how employees actually work and travel.
For example, the report describes how real-time T&E analytics and HR system integration helped one global firm make more strategic business decisions — in this instance, by eliminating long-haul flights. The firm discovered that a project in Germany was relying heavily on engineers traveling from South America. But when they integrated their data with their HR system, they discovered engineers with the same skills in Poland. This type of insight can help reduce costs and align spending decisions with other business priorities.
The Power of Real-Time Travel Expense Management Data
Real-time reporting can help organizations spot inefficiencies and act quickly. Instead of waiting for monthly reports to reveal red flags, companies could identify spending outside policy limits as it happens and adjust sooner. This visibility can help support policy compliance without creating friction for employees or back-office teams.
One example of this could be to integrate travel innovations such as mobile apps that alert travelers when bookings exceed spending limits, giving them a chance to adjust before finalizing reservations. Setting up systems to flag unusual expenses or patterns can help T&E managers address concerns before they become bigger issues. According to the survey responses from the More Value, Fewer Roadblocks report, 44% of companies use real-time budgeting tools to help manage these challenges.
Real-time data could also help companies track vendor performance, making it easier to hold them accountable or renegotiate terms if needed. If a preferred hotel chain’s rates rise or service quality declines, organizations could spot the trend, renegotiate, or consider shifting to other vendors.
Advisory teams can help organizations interpret data and implement strategies that could help drive efficiency and compliance. Combining real-time insights and expert guidance could prove valuable when dealing with cost pressures or changing business priorities. When companies have real-time data, they can potentially pivot faster.
Evolving T&E Programs With Business Needs
As businesses shift, employee expectations may change. And as technology advances, organizations may need to consider how to keep pace. Companies might consider whether their current systems could scale, support hybrid work arrangements, and integrate new capabilities without major disruptions.
T&E data could reveal more than just spending patterns. When combined with other business metrics, these insights can help inform decisions about vendor selection, budget allocation, and whether current policies align with how employees actually work.
But data alone isn’t always enough, the report finds. Companies may benefit from integrated systems that collect and organize information, tools that automate manual processes, and guidance that interprets what the data means for their specific business goals. Advisory teams partnering with organizations can help identify trends, recommend strategies, and help implement changes that may drive measurable results.
The Takeaway
When analytics platforms and advisory teams work together, organizations may unlock the full strategic value of their travel and management data.
Photo: Getty Images
METHODOLOGY:
The More Value, Fewer Roadblocks: The Future Of Employee Travel & Expense Management survey was commissioned by American Express and conducted by Forbes Insights in May 2025 among a sample of 520 U.S.-based business leaders across the following sectors: financial services, technology and software, manufacturing and industrial chemicals, construction, automotive, food and beverage, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, consulting and accounting, e-commerce, entertainment and events, hospitality and travel, publishing and media, retail, nonprofit, telecom and energy, and oil and gas. Sixty percent of respondents were C-suite executives. All respondents represent organizations with at least $300 million in annual revenue, and 57% are from organizations with an annual revenue exceeding $1 billion. The interviews were conducted online, and results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
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