Synergy within the CTD and SMMP
Presented By:
Cheryl Hoffard, Manager of Travel & Meetings,
The Schwan Food Company
Cynthia Thompson, Travel Manager, Academy Sports + Outdoors
Lisa Palmeri, Sr. Director SMM Professional Services, Cvent
Learning Objectives
Overview of Strategic Meetings Management &
Company Profiles
Differences Between Travel and Meetings
Common SMM Myths
Questions and Answers
What is Strategic Meetings Management?
GBTA Defines SMMP as:
Management of enterprise-wide meeting-related
processes, spend, volume, standards and suppliers
to achieve quantitative cost-savings, risk
mitigation and superior service. Includes
matching department goals to corporate
values/objectives and using data consolidation
and reports to enhance the strategic nature of
meetings.
Why Consider SMM?
Top 4 Reasons:
 Visibility
 Savings
 Risk Mitigation
 Increased Efficiency
SMM: An Overview
Current State:
SMM Opportunity:

No monitoring or visibility
into meeting spend

Central oversight and tracking of
meeting activity and spend

Decentralized meetings
management process

Consistent platform for meetings
management process(es)

Data is held in disparate silos

Data captured in one repository

Limited ability to leverage
all spend in negotiations

All-inclusive spend data yields
stronger position in negotiations

Time-consuming process

Enhanced efficiency

Unlimited risk and liability

Mitigated or contained risk
18,000 employees, Frozen Food Company –
Manufacturing, privately held, Revenue of $3B
Key Program Objectives & Regulatory
Requirement Considerations (if
applicable)
Reduce contractual risk, gain better control of
meeting data, maximize purchasing power with
travel, increase quality and consistency of results
Definition of a Meeting (or Event)
Policy does not apply to meetings/events held in a
company facility for which no airline and hotel
reservations are required.
SMMP Launch Date
2002
Meetings Team Size
3 Total: 2 Business Meeting Specialists plus myself
Expected #
of Meetings Captured
100 per year – all external meetings (outside of our
company facilities)
Actual #
of Meetings Captured
100 per year – most likely more and still trying to
lasso those cowboys
Meeting Policy Type
Mandated
Program Scope
US
21,000 employees, 160 stores, Sports retailer,
currently privately held, Revenue of $5 Billion
Key Program Objectives & Regulatory
Requirement Considerations (if
applicable)
•
•
•
•
Definition of a Meeting (or Event)
Meeting/Event is defined as “any venue contracted
for the purpose of corporate or store meeting/events
outside the corporate meeting space”
SMMP Launch Date
May 2008
Meetings Team Size
Expected # of Meetings Captured
Actual # of Meetings Captured
Contractual consistency
Align meeting and travel data
Leverage purchasing power with travel
Maintain quality control
2 Total = 1 travel/meeting clerk and 1 CMP
200 meetings outside corporate offices
200 meetings outside corporate offices
Meeting Policy Type
Mandated
Program Scope
US
Agenda
Overview of Strategic Meetings Management &
Company Profiles
Differences Between Travel and Meetings
Common SMM Myths
Questions and Answers
Comparison of Travel & Meetings Programs
Aspect
Travel
Meetings
Policy & Compliance - Both
contain some logistical
content
Travel policy has more
absolutes with few exceptions
Easier to enforce compliance
Meeting policy has more variables and
exceptions, focuses on compliance to
regulatory/duty of care requirements
Technology - Both have an
element of process
automation & online options
Online booking tools, preferred
hotel bidding solutions
Sourcing, budgeting, and attendee
management
Data Management and
Reporting - Both require it
for program measurement
Has established and
standardized benchmark
(ADR’s, ATP’s) reports, source is
primarily GDS
No Meetings GDS, data management
more difficult, coming from multiple
sources, no standardized benchmarks,
event and cross-event level
Suppliers - Both oversee
hotel and technology
Oversees air, car, GDS
Oversees DMC’s,
audiovisual/production, restaurants,
transportation
Payments - Similar payment
vehicles
System of record is expense
management tool
No singular system of record for
meeting expenses, added complexity of
individual vs. central billed, higher
expenditures require approvals
Comparison of Travel & Meetings Programs
Aspect
Travel
Meetings
Change Management –
Prevalent in both
Resistance by individuals to policy
has an impact on an individual trip
costing no more than a few
thousand dollars
•Fear of losing the fun/creative part of
their job and the perks
•Fear of jeopardizing long-standing
vendor relationships
•Resistance to policy has an impact to a
meeting costing as much as 5 to 6
figures
Stakeholders – Overlap
but roles are distinctly
different
•Travelers are concerned about the
duration and comfort of a trip
•Travel Managers are concerned
about overall program
effectiveness, supplier
performance, and duty of care for
traveler/employee safety
•Meeting Owners – meeting
effectiveness, safety and comfort of all
attendees, some of which are customers
•Sr. Management - duty of care and
regulatory compliance
•Procurement - sourcing and contracting
practices and cost
•Meeting Planners - for the meeting’s
overall success and supplier
performance
Comparison of Travel & Meetings Programs
Aspect
Travel
Meetings
Contracts – Similar
vendors
•Travel provider contracts are
managed at a high level, usually
no more than annually, many
are multi-year deals
•Only the Travel Manager or
Procurement can execute
contracts, often with legal
oversight
•Contracts necessary for most meetings
and events, usually multiple contracts per
meeting to different types of vendors
(hotel, DMC, ground transport, event
production companies)
•Contracts executed without legal oversight
•Terms and conditions are very specific to
the nature of meetings – liability insurance,
cancellation/attrition
Booking Processes –
Similar when meetings
have a pay on own
aspect
•Buyer is an individual buying
for themselves
•Travel buyer is less sensitive
about the quality of the trip
•It’s a commodity buy with
limited options and suppliers
offering the same things
•Buyer booking a meeting on behalf of
many attendees
•Buyer is very concerned about the quality
because the meeting impacts many people,
many of whom could be customers
•Not a commodity because the quality and
creativity of the suppliers impacts the
attendees’ experience
Risk Management
Self-regulation & Duty of Care:
Compliance with industry imposed regulations, accounting and procurement
standards, information privacy and security, public scrutiny
Duty of care applies to attendees’ safety, security and safeguarding the company’s
image and reputation
Fed, state & local laws:
Sarbanes Oxley, Sunshine Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority…
Agenda
Overview of Strategic Meetings Management &
Company Profiles
Differences Between Travel and Meetings
Common SMM Myths
Questions and Answers
SMM Myth 1
Myth 1: It’s too complex and
hard to implement.

Not-for-profit Organization

Started with Meeting Registration and Sourcing Process

Implemented first phase in 8-10 weeks

Initial meeting process was simplistic with gatekeeper oversight

Phased in additional SMM components

Introduced budgeting last after other components were well established

Planners were able to appreciate benefits of program before rolling out
the final budgeting phase
SMM Myth 1
Myth 1: It’s too complex and hard to
implement.
Fact: By identifying a clear path, logical phases, a
clearly defined project scope, and taking it one
component at a time, SMM can be a straight-forward
process. Avoid the urge to over-engineer.
SMM Myth 2
Myth 2: It threatens my job.
Large technology and defense contractor, over $10B in revenue
 Initiative Lead sold the initiative from the bottom up

Organized representatives from each division on steering committee

Comprehensive, multi-pronged communication campaign

Meetings > $5K or that require a contract are reviewed. All other
meetings are registered for tracking purposes, but are auto approved

BU Administrator evaluates the contracting needs and either sources it
themselves or returns it to the requester to source.

Requesters are allowed to plan their meetings
SMM Myth 2
Myth 2: It threatens my job.
Fact: If anything, an SMMP that takes the risk of
planning meetings out of the hands of occasional
planners (those not well-versed in event contracting or
regulatory compliance) will protect their jobs. Even
inadvertent policy breaches due to a lack of awareness in
the areas of contracting or regulatory compliance are
often grounds for disciplinary action.
SMM Myth 3
Myth 3: It only works for large
organizations.

Mid-sized third party meeting management company

Tasked with implementing and maintaining SMMP’s for clients of all sizes

Implemented meetings registration process that could be easily replicated

Created actionable reporting package that was easy to “customize” for clients

Sourcing, planning, budgeting and reporting all integrated into one seamless
process

Program components could be pared down for smaller firms
SMM Myth 3
Myth 3: It’s only works with large organizations.
Fact: SMM best practices, such as centralized meeting
registration, strategic sourcing and attendee registration
management, can benefit any size/type of organization.
Even if only the meeting registration process is
centralized, the visibility and risk mitigation benefits to
the organization are significant
Synergy within the CTD and SMMP
Questions and Answers
Thank you!