Case Study: Marsh & McLennan Companies reduces travel management costs by 25% and cuts transaction costs by 18% with KDS Corporate

MMC Reduces Travel Management Costs and Air Spend by Introducing KDS Corporate

MMC, a global professional services firm with 55,000 employees in 100 countries, faced an inefficient, manual travel program in its London office that relied on phone and free‑form email bookings through a Travel Management Company. The company needed better visibility of fares (including low‑cost carriers), a true global, multilingual booking platform, and a way to reduce rising TMC and transaction costs while enforcing complex authorization rules.

MMC implemented KDS Corporate (branded internally as iTravel) to provide a multilingual, multi‑currency global platform with a powerful fare engine, consolidated supplier content and an automated nine‑level authorization workflow. Rapid user adoption (84% of transactions and 93% of point‑to‑point bookings by December 2006) delivered measurable savings: TMC costs fell 25%, transaction costs dropped 18%, and significant route‑by‑route air savings (for example London–Amsterdam 39%, Edinburgh 36%) were achieved alongside streamlined booking processes.

Marsh & McLennan Companies

Lynne Lawrence

UK Travel Manager