BCD Travel has led a record level of expansion for its clients this year as the company announced at the ACTE Global Education Conference in Munich, Germany. To date, BCD Travel has assisted more than 80 companies with expanding their travel programs across borders, in some cases into 40 or more countries.

“As we begin the fourth quarter, we’ve far surpassed the level of expansion observed in recent years,” said BCD Travel CEO Mike Buckman. “Global consolidations and implementations have been a core competency for us, and this year they’ve been a core component of our growth strategy. We feel privileged to support the growth of leading corporations throughout the world as their travel needs expand.”

In 2005, about 7 percent of BCD Travel’s customers had travel programs that stretched across 30 or more countries. In 2006, that percentage jumped to 30 percent, and in 2007 it is expected to rise above 40 percent. The percentage of clients with programs in the range of 10 to 30 countries also has climbed significantly in recent years. Driving the trend is a desire among major corporations to achieve global consistency in service, pricing and information-systems data; deploy self-service reservation tools; achieve full access to travel content and ensure traveler security. Consolidations are complicated by a number of factors, including currency and language differences and wide disparities in the use of e-tickets and low-cost carriers from country to country.

“Our travel program has long been successful, but to take it to the next level of savings and security, we knew we needed to consolidate our programs,” said Doug Baldy, manager of Global Corporate Travel Services for Kodak. “BCD Travel has been instrumental in helping us navigate through the complexities that go with expanding to other countries.”

Other BCD Travel clients with significant expansions in 2007 include American Standard, Flextronics and SPX Corporation.

Buckman noted that the record level of expansion comes during a year replete with numerous re-signings and customer wins. Recently re-signed customers include Bayer, JC Penney and Weyerhaeuser, while new clients include major corporations in the consumer products and information and news industries, among others.