The usage of personal cards for corporate expenses is still pervasive as evidenced by 64% of respondents in a recent study. Corporate Card programs still lag behind personal cards, and one of the reasons for this is the lack of information about the benefits of card programs. These benefits may include increased employee convenience, greater visibility into spend, transaction cost savings (including reduced PO/check processing costs), as well as an opportunity to leverage supplier discounts and rebates.
Best-in-Class companies lead in adoption of corporate Purchasing, Travel, and Fleet cards. 56% of Best-in-Class companies still use personal cards for their business expenses, but this usage is the lowest among the three groups and is extensively complemented by the use of corporate cards.
AberdeenGroup estimates that companies can achieve three tiers of savings if properly implementing a corporate card program:
* Tier 1: Lower transaction costs achieved due to reduced time for expense
report and invoice processing, less time spent on reconciling
transactions and expense accounting/reporting.
* Tier 2: Savings come from increased visibility into company spend. When
moving to automated transaction reporting and processing, a company can
significantly reduce unauthorized purchases by the employees and
effectively monitor the transactions.
* Tier 3: Increased visibility and control over spend enable a company to
negotiate additional discounts with suppliers.
The report provides the estimated ranges for savings in these three categories.
AberdeenGroup surveyed and followed up with over 140 companies on their current and planned strategies, implementation challenges, and savings booked as a result of adopting corporate Purchasing, Travel and Entertainment (T&E), and Fleet card programs.
To download a free copy of the “Corporate Payment Cards: More Value, Higher Savings” benchmark report, please visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/source.asp?cid=3335&pid=PRVS081406
The Report is made available to the public through the underwriting of Visa International.
