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Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39248829,00.htm

MoD to save £35m with online travel service
Directing money to frontline…

By Julian Goldsmith

Published: Thursday 19 June 2008

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) expects to save £35m per year through an online travel service set up and managed by Capgemini.

The service, which will support the travel needs of 300,000 Army, Royal Airforce, Royal Navy and MoD personnel, will use corporate travel services company Hogg Robinson Group to negotiate the best deals from the private sector travel industry.

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According to group captain Andy Towler, who headed up the MoD group charged with designing the service, it will also consolidate services' travel procurement processes and provide a transparent audit trail to optimise future MoD expenditure in this area.

The online service significantly simplifies the process of booking travel and accommodation for services personnel, cutting out paperwork and allowing them to compare budget airlines with scheduled carriers or rail for any given journey.

At the official launch of the service, MoD second permanent under-secretary Sir Ian Andrews said: "The private sector will always discount travelling. We should not underestimate what an attractive customer [the MoD] is. It is an absolute priority that every pound available is redirected to equipping and supporting the men and women on the frontline."

Andrews said 7,000 services personnel had already registered for the service.

The MoD currently spends £300m per year on business travel.