Case Study: FICOFI

FICOFI cuts travel booking time by 30% while gaining flexibility and an elevated business travel experience

FICOFI connects the world’s most exceptional wine producers with a global network of 300discerning wine connoisseurs. With headquarters in France, six offices worldwide, and morethan 100 employees, FICOFI not only sources rare wines directly from prestigious châteaux butalso organises high-end events across the globe.

Operating at the intersection of luxury, logistics, and hospitality, FICOFI depends on travel todeliver exceptional experiences. Plus, many of the company's team members spend up to 80%of their time on the road, making travel a critical part of the business.

Consolidating tools and improve visibility

FICOFI’s travel program was coordinated through a system involving office managers, local travel agents, and online booking platforms. Flights were often booked directly with airlines, and spend management relied on manual processes. Consolidating travel spend across six global offices and travelers presented an opportunity to streamline reporting.

Without a unified booking process or centralised travel policy, and with approvals managed manually by a small group of travel managers worldwide, there was an opportunity to make travel organisation more efficient.

With different regions following their own processes, there was room to enhance visibility, making it easier to ensure approvals, control spending, and track expenses consistently.

This sometimes led to employees booking travel independently, occasionally going over budget or using platforms that were not effectively tracked. It also meant that flights could sell out before approvals were finalised, and Global Finance department needed to gather receipts from multiple time zones.

Operating across multiple markets and regions also highlighted opportunities to increase flexibility in FICOFI’s travel booking processes. Low-cost carriers in Asia, regional trains in Europe, or niche accommodations in remote areas weren’t always available through local agents or online booking tools.

"Previously, we had a lot of people booking directly with airlines or agents. There was no centralised reporting, and the approval processes were a headache.”

Terence Chew, FICOFI

Gaining back valuable time with autonomous booking and automated approvals

By implementing a centralised travel policy within TravelPerk platform, FICOFI has empowered travelers with clear visibility into policy-compliant options. Employees now enjoy the autonomy of booking within set limits together with the flexibility of seeking approval for out-of-policy bookings, reducing the need for managerial involvement at every step. This enhancement has accelerated the booking process, and according to Terence, travelers save around 30% of the time they previously spent on bookings and managing claims reimbursement.

With managers and office staff relieved from coordinating every detail, FICOFI has regained valuable hours of productivity each week, allowing the team to focus on higher-value activities.

“The flexibility TravelPerk offers in managing the approval process was a major draw for us. We now have a clear framework for limits and budgets, with automatic approvals that keep spending tightly controlled — plus notifications to managers, which has been extremely helpful”

Terence Chew, FICOFI

Actionable insights through advanced, integrated reporting

With TravelPerk’s centralised dashboard, FICOFI’s Global Finance department now enjoys clear and comprehensive visibility into travel spend across all their global entities. While FICOFI has always maintained a strong focus on financial oversight, consolidating travel data across multiple offices has become much more efficient and insightful with TravelPerk’s platform. This seamless integration enables FICOFI to quickly analyse trends and make data-driven decisions that enhance control and optimise spending.

As sustainability reporting gains importance, FICOFI benefits from having precise, accessible and structured data — such as detailed travel routes and carbon emissions— that supports timely and accurate reporting, helping them stay aligned with their environmental goals.

Additionally, TravelPerk’s proactive account management team partners closely with FICOFI, providing valuable, data-driven recommendations that support ongoing refinement of their business travel program. This collaborative approach allows FICOFI to continually identify opportunities for improvement and elevate their travel management experience.

"Having one centralised report across all our offices means I no longer need to stitch together spreadsheets. Instead, I can focus on the bigger picture.”

Terence Chew, FICOFI

A more diverse inventory and better experiences for traveling employees

Thanks to TravelPerk, FICOFI’s employees now benefit from access to a broader and more relevant inventory, including train routes, regional carriers, and flexible accommodation options. The ability to view hotels on a map empowers event staff to select locations conveniently close to client meetings or event venues, enhancing overall travel efficiency.

Complementing this expanded inventory, TravelPerk’s intuitive and user-friendly platform was a key factor in FICOFI’s choice. The thoughtful design and practical features streamline the booking process, making it faster and better tailored to the real needs of employees on the road.

Allowing employees to see which hotels their colleagues have booked offers several advantages for both the individual traveler and the organization.

"What led us to choose TravelPerk was really the traveler experience — the inventory and the friendliness of the apps on offer. The inventory was a game-changer. Now we have access to regional low-cost carriers, train options, and a hotel map our team enjoys using.”

Delphine Isautier , Group Chief Financial Officer, FICOFI

Flexible integrations for a scalable travel program

TravelPerk’s integration with FICOFI’s HRMS enables automatic creation of TravelPerk user profiles . As employees are, onboarded, promoted, transferred, these updates are synchronized to TravelPerk—eliminating the need to keep track of changes or rely on manual data entry. The approval workflows are automatically updated as well.

Before this integration, the team dedicated significant efforts in manually updating travel agencies with employee details. Now, the process is fully automated and scalable.

"Plugging our HRMS into TravelPerk was an overnight process. Now, every new hire appears in the platform automatically.”

Delphine Isautier , Group Chief Financial Officer, FICOFI

Greater autonomy with dynamic travel policies

Leveraging TravelPerk, FICOFI has successfully implemented dynamic travel policies that are thoughtfully tailored to different employee levels. The system efficiently automates approvals within set budgets and promptly highlights any out-of-policy bookings. This approach empowers managers with timely notifications to review trips without overwhelming them, ensuring smooth adherence to company guidelines.

“Having full visibility and automated approvals means we can offer flexibility and autonomy without losing control. It’s a perfect balance.”

Terence Chew, FICOFI

Customer support that feels like partnership

From the very beginning, FICOFI experienced outstanding support throughout onboarding and beyond. The TravelPerk team’s responsiveness, professionalism, and dedication to customer care have made a lasting impression.

FICOFI also appreciates how their feedback is actively heard and valued, fostering a genuine sense of long-term collaboration and partnership.

“This is more than just a client-supplier relationship. The responsiveness, professionalism, and support during and after launch have been amazing.”`

Delphine Isautier, Group Chief Financial Officer, FICOFI