Concur aims to help firms streamline travel expenses

Elena Donio, President, Concur

Elena Donio, president of Concur, is intent on making Chinese companies' cash burn procedures efficient

A shimmering satin dress, matching Chanel jewelry, a radiant smile on a lovely face... Elena Donio looks like a fashion icon at first glance. Only, she isn't - she is, in fact, president of Concur, a Bellevue, Washington-based firm that specializes in travel and expense management solutions, and is part of SAP, the software multinational.

When Donio holds forth on her passion - it is, of course, technology, not fashion - you begin to comprehend the impact it makes on the business world. Your inner focus shifts away from her external glamorous looks to the substance of her incisive views on technology.

Donio believes transparency and efficiency are key advantages that Concur's solutions offer to clients. Those are, incidentally, key to her leadership style as well.

Over the past 18 years, Donio has served in various leadership roles at Concur. She helped Concur grow and evolve into one of the world's largest providers of integrated travel and expense management solutions.

"Currently, employees in China might spend much time each month manually creating expense reports and pasting receipts. Our goal is to expand into China so we can make the experience better - enhancing productivity while managing travel and expenses with higher compliance and accuracy.

"At Concur, we want to make things effortless for our clients with the entire process of travel management, from booking to reimbursement. It will be worry-free so they can focus on the most important things during travels," said Donio.

Despite being raised in California, where businesses have always been aware of the importance of technology, Donio is familiar with China's shifting economic growth patterns, national initiatives, the 13th Five Year Plan and other policies.

All these, she believes, will bring more opportunities to Concur.

"The China market, with its focus on transparency and efficiency, will present Concur more challenges against the background of the new normal (of slowing economic growth)," she said.

Policymakers have been encouraging open procurement, more disclosure on spending of public funds, and have launched electronic invoice programs that will benefit providers of travel management solutions in the long run.

At the same time, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Going Global initiative of many State-owned and private enterprises, mean that the China market demands more travelling services, thus travel-and-expense management becomes important.

To better meet this demand, Concur is setting up a data center in China, and will double its employee numbers from some 30 to 60, said Donio.

China has overtaken the United States as the largest business travel market in the world in 2015 with annual market size of some $ 250 billion, according to the latest joint research of Amadeus and Forest & Sullivan. The market size will double by the end of 2028.

Concur has over 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies as its customers. This has given the 23-year-old company a dominant position in the market.

Given the growth of the China market, which is the third largest in the Silicon Valley-based company's global operations, Concur aspires to grow its footprint continuously, said Donio.

So far, Concur has a fast-growing base in China. Its clients include multinational enterprises such as BMW Automotive Trading, Daimler China, Beijing Mercedes-Benz Service, Minth Group, Starwood Hotels and C&A Sourcing.

Market observers said China's business travel market is still quite fragmented. Many of China's enterprises, organizations and institutions use various platforms when booking tickets and accommodation for travelling staff. But such systems are not said to be transparent and easy for data management and analysis. Some still use glue sticks and paper forms in expense management procedures, according to a research note from Shanghai Bosi Commerce Consultancy Ltd.

However, Donio said she believes the situation will change.

"As compliance continues to be a key factor in corporate governance, Concur empowers businesses in China to comply with international and local laws through integration of spend policy to reduce risks. Concur systems will enable travelers to focus on things that matter the most, and let expense managers get clear details of expenses at a glance," said Donio.

This, along with cloud computing and big data analysis, will help Concur to win more local clients in China, she said.

"Concur works with a local food product manufacturer in China that has seven factories and over 10,000 employees. Since implementing Concur systems in China in July 2014, the company has been able to reduce its travel and expense labor costs by half and improved reimbursement from 30 days to 16 days," she said.

CLOSE-UP

Elena Donio

President, Concur

Nationality: American

Career:

President, Concur since December 2014

Executive Vice President and General Manager of Worldwide Small and Mid-sized Business sector, Concur between January 1998 and December 2014 Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting between January 1995 and January 1998

Senior Consultant, Andersen Consulting (Accenture) between 1992 and 1995

Education

University of California, San Diego Economics, BA, 1988 to 1992

Hobbies and interests:

Working as a volunteer, philanthropy, reading, fitness, travel, mentoring, fashion