Following what it describes as an "extraordinary" year, in which global sales declined nearly 23%, Carlson Wagonlit Travel signed a memorandum of understanding to explore outsourcing some of its mid- and back-office transaction technologies to Amadeus, the companies say.
CWT, among the top travel management companies in the world, says the outsourcing move would free up internal resources and provide it with flexibility to better service its business travel clients.
The initials on the outsourcing memorandum of understanding coincide with CWT and Amadeus recently renewing a long-term, global GDS agreement.
CWT’s Andrew Winterton, President, Suppliers, Products & Technology, says the potential outsourcing pact would save CWT resources.
"Instead of reinventing the technology wheel every time there’s a change that impacts the travel community as a whole, we would rely on Amadeus to develop what is needed," Winterton says.
Amadeus, meanwhile, would be happy to reinvent the wheel at CWT's behest as Amadeus strives to position itself as a technology provider to airlines and travel management companies.
The outsourcing pact, which certainly would lead to some downsizing by CWT, would help the company restructure operations to cope with the global business travel slump.
In 2009, CWT's steepest slumps in sales volumes, 27.6% and 27.1% sales declines, took place in Asia Pacific and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), respectively, CWT says.
The TMC's sales in Latin America plummeted 21.2% while CWT's North America numbers fell 17.4% in 2009.