Is that trip worth It? SAP Concur uses AI to find out

In the new hybrid working reality, organisations are adjusting their approach to travel policies and there is an increasing disconnect between boardrooms and business travellers. There is an overwhelming sense among those people who work for an organisation and travel for business or as part of a company’s travel footprint that travelling for business is important to collaboration and deal-making; however, many CFOs, including leaders in procurement, safety and security and other stakeholders, are more cautious, generally viewing travel as replaceable, riskier and audit exceptions.

In an exclusive interview with Dataquest, Brett Wheeldon, Vice President of Solution Consulting for APAC at SAP Concur, explains how the organisation is using Artificial Intelligence (AI), analytics and automation technology to help organisations identify metrics that allow the organisation to actually measure and quantify the true ROI of business travel resulting in closing the perception gap, enabling cost control flexibility that connects to the sustainability and culture goals of organisations.

The insights referenced in this conversation derive from SAP Concur's recent global survey of finance leaders, travel managers, and employees that explored shifting views regarding business travel in the current hybrid work environment. The findings expose critical disconnects around travel value, budgeting priorities, and sustainability expectations — especially important for Indian organizations that want to optimize their travel programs.

The survey reveals that 99% of employees see business travel as essential, yet 43% of CFOs believe most trips can be replaced by virtual meetings. How does SAP Concur using AI and analytics to help organizations quantify the ROI of in-person travel versus digital alternatives?

At SAP Concur, we have established a gaping disparity between CFO views and employee feelings about business travel.  As many CFOs opt for virtual meetings, 99% of employees still value face-to-face interactions. We support organizations using AI and advanced analytics to capture the true ROI of in-person travel; we take raw travel data and integrate it with CRM data to recognize sales outcomes. This allows for the ability to make better decisions — when, why, and who should travel; as well as, when a handshake has a greater impact than a screen share.

With 80% of business travelers willing to hit the road and 45% of CFOs worried about travel reluctance, how can intelligent platforms like SAP Concur help enterprises assess and act on employee travel sentiment at scale?

With a clear gap between employee willingness to travel and CFO concerns about travel reluctance, SAP Concur bridges this divide through sentiment-aware travel intelligence. By analyzing real-time feedback, booking patterns, and opt-out behaviors, we help organizations capture employee sentiment on a scale. Whether the hesitation stems from safety concerns, burnout, or logistical challenges, this data is surfaced in actionable dashboards for CFOs, HR leaders, and travel managers.

Powered by AI, the platform flags at-risk traveler groups and recommends targeted interventions—from policy adjustments to wellness initiatives—helping companies sustain business travel momentum while prioritizing employee well-being.  

The driver behind the CFO reluctance I believe comes from the lack of traveler risk management capabilities, this can create significant organisational exposure, your travel management solution must be able to tell you who is asking to travel, who is travelling, where they are and have the ability to connect with them instantly, and of course those travelers be able to reach for support seamlessly.

There’s a clear disconnect in budget expectations—most employees expect cuts, while CFOs anticipate growth. How does SAP Concur leverage real-time data and predictive insights to align travel budget planning across roles?

While many employees anticipate reductions in travel budgets, expecting tighter controls or fewer trips, 90% of CFOs project stability or growth. This disconnect can lead to misaligned planning and missed opportunities. SAP Concur bridges this gap through real-time data and predictive insights, bringing transparency to travel budgeting. By tracking spending against ROI and forecasting needs by department or role, our platform empowers CFOs and travel managers to align expectations and manage costs proactively.  

When I talk to customers the most typical practice is arbitrary travel freezes simply because there is not link between travel and where the best investment of the resources should be.  Something that resonates with CFO’s is the visibility of expenses from pre-spending through to payment.  

With a formal request solution in place that tracks through the entire spending cycle, Finance teams can tune spending on the fly and empower cost center owners to act as the company requires.  It’s a case of being able to ratchet up or down with science.  Of course, another salient point is the ability to apply course correction style spend policies in real-time like nature.

The survey shows conflicting perceptions of influence—69% of CFOs say they make the key travel decisions, while travelers and travel managers feel sidelined. Can SAP Concur’s role-based workflows and collaborative dashboards help close this gap?

At SAP Concur, we believe in bringing clarity and collaboration to processes. Our platform enables role-based workflows, where input from all stakeholders — finance, HR, travel, and employees — is built into the approval and policy-setting process. With collaborative dashboards, decisions are no longer made in isolation. Everyone can see the rationale behind a travel policy, understand the cost implications, and share accountability. It’s not just about hierarchy — it’s about making the best decision for business, backed by data.

One of the key metrics we are asked to help customers know more about is around compliance, this is often well understated.  We see no matter how we cut the data 23% of all transactions falling outside of an orgnanisations spend policy.  When you look further into this there are savings in the range of 5%-15% available, this is where live audit rules, workflows and especially AI performing auditing functions really shine, large volumes of data can be processed very quickly to drive out value resource wastage.

With 79% of employees saying important trips are being curtailed due to cost, how does SAP Concur use automation or AI-powered spend optimization to help organizations prioritize high-impact travel while controlling expenses?

With 79% of employees reporting that vital trips are being canceled due to cost, companies face the risk of missing key business opportunities — whether it’s closing deals, strengthening partnerships, or retaining customers. SAP Concur helps address this challenge with AI-powered spend optimization, enabling organizations to make smarter, data-backed decisions about travel.

Our platform analyzes both historical patterns and real-time spend data to evaluate which trips deliver the highest business value. It then ranks travel based on metrics such as revenue potential, strategic importance, customer engagement, or urgency — ensuring that high-impact trips get prioritized even in times of financial constraint.

This intelligent guidance helps travel managers and finance teams allocate resources more effectively, striking the right balance between cost control and business growth.  Defining what is high impact is also critical, from here the ability to add that criteria into your organisations travel request solution will significantly help with classification and approving of travel that is aligned to the goals of the business.

Built-in policy compliance further ensures that every travel decision aligns with organizational goals, allowing businesses to move from reactive cutbacks to proactive, value-driven planning.

As sustainability gains ground, is SAP Concur enabling Indian companies to track the carbon footprint of their business travel and make greener, data-backed decisions?

Sustainability isn’t just a checkbox for us — it’s a strategic pillar. Especially in markets like India, where 99% of employees are willing to personally invest in better travel, we’re empowering organizations to track, manage, and reduce their carbon impact. SAP Concur’s platform includes carbon tracking capabilities, aligned with global and regional standards. We help Indian enterprises measure emissions per trip, compare greener travel options, and integrate sustainability into policy enforcement in a structured, impactful way. With intelligent reporting tools that map travel activity to ESG goals, our platform empowers companies to make data-backed decisions that are both environmentally responsible and strategically aligned with their business objectives.

With SAP Concur travel, organisations can prioritise sustainability as they desire and present the potential travel to the traveller aligned to the green goals and policies of the business, this allows informed choices to be made.

At SAP Concur, we’re not just facilitating travel — we’re shaping the future of how companies navigate mobility, manage costs, care for their people, and protect the planet. Business travel isn’t going away — it’s getting smarter. And we’re proud to lead that evolution.