A look back on 2017 – Concur UK highlights and the year that was

As the end of another year approaches, we’ve been taking stock and reflecting on everything that’s happened at Concur in the last 12 months. Here’s a round-up of the biggest stories of our year – read on to recap some of the top highlights of the year.

February

We launched our UK App Centre, to help you do more with your favourite apps and services by linking them to Concur. Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel company, also partnered with Concur and took on board our TripLink offering.

April

New Duty to Report on Payment Practices and Performance legislation came into effect requiring many businesses to report on the frequency and timeliness of paying suppliers. Concur works with organisations to help streamline AP processes and provide the data and reports that the government demands.

May

We strengthened our travel offering by adding British Airways and Lufthansa’s new distribution capability (NDC) content in Concur Travel.

A new eBook with Aberdeen Group called T&E Management: Driving savings through better technology is published. It identified a divide between leaders who embrace technology and followers who shy away from change – and showed why it’s better to be a leader than a follower.

June

Devon Air Ambulance shared how it used Concur to overhaul its processes to deliver more value for its stakeholders and patients. Also in June, VAT IT Group went live with Concur Invoice. The implementation extended VAT IT Group’s partnership with Concur and empowered the company to pull in an astonishing 86,000 expense entries per hour.

Concur Audit: Closing the gaps in compliance is launched, which shows how you can improve your audit process with insight into a number of best practices.

September

New research is launched together with market specialists Vanson Bourne exploring the insights of 500 UK finance leaders and how they manage their travel, expense and invoice processes. In it, 81% say they don’t have visibility over their company spend.

November

Working with EY, we launched an offering that helps global business travellers manage tax and immigration compliance risks at our flagship event Fusion Exchange London. The solution is the first of its kind and provides real-time immigration and tax assessments to business travellers.

Also in November, research conducted by Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Foundation in partnership with Concur revealed that while over 75% of business travellers agree their organisations care about their safety while travelling for work, the risk management services supporting business travellers are still far from comprehensive and universal.

We also published a report that examined the UK’s late payment culture and highlighted how it is putting job creation at risk.

December

The busiest expense week hits finance departments across the country as finance teams and employees scramble to get expenses in and close the books for the year.

There’s going to be lots of exciting news to share in 2018 as we work even closer with SAP, building a brand and a business that puts customers at the heart of everything we do. In the meantime, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!