eBuyerSolutions.com
today unveiled to attendees of the National Business
Travel Association (NBTA) annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, three
fully functioning components of its procurement site for the corporate
travel industry.
The components now available for use by participating
corporate travel buyers are: Travel Agency, Hotel, and Technology/Online
Booking Systems. 
eBuyerSolutions, created by travel management consulting firm R.D. Brown
Company, now provides travel buyers with the ability to evaluate the
capabilities of participating travel management companies representing
nearly $47 billion in annual worldwide sales. The company expects to have
most major U.S.-based multinational agencies participating in this new
model. It also has eight of the major online booking system providers
participating in the Technology component of the site. Additionally, the
site has an electronic hotel RFP tool utilizing the current NBTA format with
a database of 25,000 hotels. eBuyerSolutions offers a “shared fee” concept
that spreads the cost for the hotel tool between successful hotel bidders
and the buyer.

“The eBuyerSolutions concept captures well Rosenbluth`s commitment to
simplifying managed travel, as well as easing the decisions and practices
every travel manager faces in choosing the right travel management partner,”
said Hal F. Rosenbluth
, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rosenbluth
International
.
Travel suppliers from all industry segments can utilize eBuyerSolutions.com
to “warehouse” information about their services and provide streamlined RFP
responses directly to potential clients. Use of the site reduces proposal
development cost, improves opportunities to find new customers, and provides
a method to demonstrate supplier services and unique capabilities to a large
group of travel buyers. Financial proposals, using downloadable spreadsheet
formats, are sent directly to clients rather than through the site for
security reasons.

“We believe that eBuyerSolutions will be a win-win for corporations and
agencies alike. It offers the promise of a more efficient, yet accurate,
process of matching clients needs with agency capabilities. We`re already
seeing tangible results,” said Ellen Mughal, Vice President, Marketing, TQ3
Maritz Travel Solutions
.
Additionally, eBuyerSolutions today announced its intent to support and post
the forthcoming NBTA supplier RFPs on its procurement site as soon as they
become available. The site will offer the buyer several RFP choices, and the
warehouse of supplier information will address all of the questions included
in the NBTA formats. 
eBuyerSolutions.com is an independent procurement utility for the corporate
travel industry. Through the site, buyers, including travel managers and
procurement executives, will be able to conduct supplier selections for all
key travel services. Use of the site RFPs, financial proformas and supplier
information can reduce the initial phase of a bid process by weeks, if not
months. The site provides travel management tools for buyers and suppliers
to assist with decision support and analysis leading to successfully
managing deals once they are in place. 

“The RFPs and other tools will prove to be a valuable resource for travel
managers. I`m looking forward to using the hotel program for my RFP process
this year,” said Colleen Guhin, Global Travel Manager, ON Semiconductor.
Agency bids are now beginning to emerge from buyers using the site. “The RFP
saved us a lot of time and the proformas will allow us to easily compare
agency financial offers,” said Roger DeGroot, Director, Business Services,
W.W. Grainger.
“We will save both time and expense using the eBuyerSolutions tools for our
travel agency bid this year,” said Don Luce, Controller, Great Lakes Dredge
& Dock.
“eBuyerSolutions provides a forum to speed up the bid process for both sides
without creating concerns about the confidentiality of fees offered,” said
Ralph Brown, President, eBuyerSolutions and R.D. Brown Company. “The goal of
eBuyerSolutions is to provide a resource of information and tools to travel
and procurement managers that will expedite the supplier selection process,
helping to keep travel managers focused on the important job of managing
their travel programs.”

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