KDS Corporate

A market reference

KDS has monitored the many changes in the travel industry over the past 10 years and has built the KDS online travel booking and expense management solution to reflect the needs of the modern market. A benchmark global solution, KDS adds value to more than 5000 companies in 20 countries with its proven technology. The average global adoption rate reaches 67%, with many customers enjoying advantages as early as the mid-way point of implementation.

Global corporations such as Accenture, Airbus, Arcelor, BP, EADS, Henkel, ING, Shell, Yahoo!, Unilever and others are booking with the flexibility of KDS Corporate.

KDS Expense : KDS Corporate now provides a unique end-to-end solution that includes budget authorization, trip planning, expense reporting and business process management. Read more on KDS Expense

Empowering your strategy

KDS Corporate enables forward-thinking companies to implement their own procurement strategy by offering complete control over the system. The tool supports consistent travel policy enforcement, offers quick and powerful inventory search options, and provides customized configurations that simplify policy settings and reporting. Internally, companies can be certain their travel spend is being used wisely and, where necessary, can adjust KDS Corporate to optimize supplier relationships.

Work with external, cross-border partners is improved, as well, as KDS Corporate is built for the international environment. The multi-lingual solution allows ultimate control of supplier relationships, integrating with all the major GDSs and a wide variety of specialized and contract vendors. Such ease of use among partners translates into improved interactions and better, more dependable relationships.

Maximizing cost reduction

For many corporations, KDS Corporate serves as the keystone of a travel management strategy, supporting essential efforts to enforce travel policy, optimize supplier relations, and partner with the right travel management company. The reason is simple: KDS maximizes travel spend.
Driving costs down

• Unilever NL estimates it saves an average in the last 3 years of €1 million per year on travel costs as a direct result of using the KDS booking solution. In this figure a reduction of the average ticket price of 15% is included, despite of the introduction (and constantly increase) of fuel surcharges, security taxes and airport taxes.
• Airbus has reached an 80% adoption rate. The tool has also helped Airbus significantly drive bookings to the company's charter flights. Airbus has also seen a substantial reduction in average ticket prices. The vast majority of Airbus's travel is intra-European, and on these routes the company estimates it saves €50 per segment.

KDS online travel management and expense solutions leverage best practices to control corporations’ costs and reach budget optimization goals. This comes through an unmatched inventory including traditional airlines, low cost carriers and European railways, all displayed on the same screen for quick, accurate comparison. KDS’s powerful fare engine also presents travelers with availability and fares for every option so that the most cost- and time-efficient route can be identified.

Combining the industry’s most efficient fare engine, a highly customizable solution and powerful tracking and monitoring features enables smart cost avoidance techniques and – above all – enhances user adoption.

Influencing Usage and Cost Avoidance

KDS Corporate was developed for corporations – but with the traveler in mind. Cost-savings and policy enforcement are key, but if booking and traveling through the system is inconvenient or time consuming, travelers are likely to look out-of-policy for other solutions. In short, the final step in maximizing potential benefits is ensuring that the preferred online travel management solution is used internally.

That is why KDS goes further than anyone else in the market to help travelers enjoy a smooth and easy booking process. KDS guides customers from searching, to trip authorization, right through to submitting expense forms after a trip.

The KDS Corporate interface is a one-stop travel console where, depending on the configuration, users can manage their pre-trip authorizations, business trips and travel expense reports.

Expense Management

One Database, One Profile, Multiple Applications

Using a unified solution to manage travel and expenses help companies set consistent Policy for both T&E and Approval Workflow. Some of the Expense module features are:

• Automated line creation;
• Corporate card data loading;
• Travel information track in the expense module;
• Tracking and reporting across the whole process;
• Full audit path for compliance purposes.

For corporations requiring pre-trip approval, KDS offers a unique workflow engine to expedite authorization. Approval can be linked to travel expenses and budget authorization and even use proxy approvals when necessary to ensure important trips take place unhindered.

Powerful Travel Management and Easy Integration with the TMC

KDS Corporate comes highly recommended by major Travel Management Companies for its front-end ease of use, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. But the back-end is just as crucial, and TMCs also endorse KDS based on its seamless integration with back office systems.

• Profiles: Can be continuously synchronized between the TMC and the corporation;
• PNR: KDS Corporate enables users to add notifications for the TMC directly on the PNR;
• Arranger assignment: Company-specific groupings can be assigned to a dedicated arranger;
• Guest users: Arrangers can quickly create a new profile for a non-employee;
• Travel policy management: Travel policies are inherited throughout an organization. The travel manager can stop or reactivate the inheritance as required. Moreover, with KDS Corporate, policy rules can be modified for a part of the company only. Corporations can require the use of an e-ticket and request that users enter a reason when refusing an e-ticket.
• Interface Customization: Booking fields can be created and customized, users can modify the interface language and customize its preferences.

Providing value added services to the travelers

KDS leads the market with traveler-oriented features providing real added value to users:

• Inventory Display: Unmatched inventory provides travelers with comprehensive schedule and fare information for available flights and trains. The integrated display shows railways and airlines (including low cost carriers) on the same screen.
• Booking Guidance: With the KDS Lost Savings feature, Travel Managers can influence buying behavior, highlighting price comparison with the best corporate negotiated fare, the lowest refundable fare, the least expensive low cost or rail option, etc.
• Car Delivery and Collection: Users can have their rental cars delivered or collected from their office or another address.
• Seat Map: Travelers can see where colleagues are seated before booking their flight.
• Full Flight Display: The interface can display flights even when full so that travelers will no longer need to call TMCs to find out why their usual flight is not shown.
• Personal Preferences: KDS remembers traveler preferences, offering previously selected options as defaults (seat location, hotel room or car model).