Hands off travel expenses, right? When you gotta go, you gotta go—and it costs what it costs.

But, as Steve Belli’s post below (Profits, Inflation and Recession) tells us, now’s a good time to apply sourcing smarts to categories to which your company may not be paying sufficient attention.

And that might mean making better decisions about travel and meeting expenses.

In its second annual Strategic Sourcery procurement practices survey (released Monday at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives Global Conference and Corporate Travel World), American Express Business Travel reports that procurement is getting into the travel business at a growing number of companies.

“Travel is increasingly viewed as an investment, rather than a commodity to procure, and the partnerships and shared strategies created between procurement and travel departments are instrumental in maximizing the value of corporate travel and entertainment budgets,” says Frank Schnur, Vice President of Consulting for American Express Business Travel’s Advisory Services.

American Express also reports a rise over last year in the number of companies surveyed that are using strategic sourcing and other procurement best practices for savings on meetings management expenses. And for companies where meeting and events costs are escaping the attention of procurement professionals, the Aberdeen Group, in a report titled Strategic Meetings Management: Of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) and Spend, suggests two possible reasons: lack of attention and fears about organizational politics.

Contact Source One For help with Strategic Sourcing Business Travel Spend.