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Buyer pilots ITA tool.

Article Excerpt
Having identified the potential for hundreds of dollars in per-ticket savings, Agilent Technologies is in the midst of implementing ITA Software's new distribution platform. Should the vision of global travel sourcing manager Tim Bone come to fruition, the new model not only would save the company money on the bottom line and make its travelers more productive, but also would herald the beginning of a long-awaited shift in the processing of corporate travel reservations.

With more than three-quarters of its $97 million global T&E spend generated overseas, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company also is progressing on various travel management initiatives in Asia and Europe. In fact, Bone this week is in Asia to begin implementing call centers and cultivating more progressive travel management practices.

Much of his attention dining the past few months has been on the domestic market, as Agilent builds a beta environment with ITA Software (BTN, June 20). Intended to migrate bookings away from Agilent's existing global distribution system channel, the plan covers point-to-point and one-connection roundtrips on approved carriers--in this case, including United Airlines. Bone said test ticketing through the Outtask Cliqbook online booking tool could begin next month, with early results available in late December.

"It is a lot larger in scope than I would have believed. However, exploring...

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