The future is now: Revealing the game-changing insights from SAP Concur Day UK&I

If you were one of the finance or travel leaders who joined us at one of our SAP Concur Days, at Mercedes-Benz World, Brooklands or the Aviva Stadium in Ireland, you already know the energy was electric. We discussed the future of T&E. For those who missed out, we can offer a snapshot, but never fear, there is a way for you to get the inside track.

The new era of integrated spend

By far, the biggest headline of the event was the discussion surrounding our strategic alliance with American Express Global Business Travel. This collaboration launched Complete by SAP Concur and Amex GBT, a next-gen travel solution with AI at its core – for all businesses. The combination of being able to book, pay and expense through one effortless experience. This is more than a product; it’s a commitment to a unified, best-in-class market offering that will redefine how corporate travel and expense are managed globally.

Navigating current headwinds with the right tech

There are real pressures facing UK businesses: headwinds, inflation, threat of tax increases, tariffs and the persistently rising cost of labour.

The central message was straightforward: employees are seeking better experiences, a proper work-life balance, and improved compensation. Businesses must offer seamless tools that simultaneously incorporate built-in, tighter compliance checks, thereby providing visibility. Looking at the situation optimistically, when there are challenges, there’s an opportunity.

Businesses can achieve their goals through compliant control of spend. Our sessions at both Concur Days showed how new platform enhancements are delivering exactly that:

• We revealed the intuitive Concur Expense Report UI and we also showed best practices and top tips for a more efficient submission of expenses
• Through ongoing investments in Concur Invoice, customers gain full visibility and control over all their spend. Automation significantly reduces manual entries and, thereby, errors, while assisting with compliance. What’s more, innovations are at users' fingertips with the application of open developer resources.
• Concur Travel is still the platform to beat and following the upgrade from the ground up is handling over a million bookings weekly

AI is the engine; humans are the drivers

AI isn't here to replace you or anyone —it's here to act as a catalyst, sharpening your skills and making us all, as humans and professionals, decisively better. That's why at SAP Concur, we built a structure that works for everyone. Our platform empowers employees, enabling them to focus on what matters, while also providing finance teams with transparency and control through our industry-leading technology.

What’s more, with the deployment of Joule, SAP's generative AI copilot, embedded across all solutions, we are moving toward a future where expenses truly manage themselves. With this level of automated insight, customers are gaining a competitive edge driven by human influence.

Just the start…

From the extracts above, we are just scratching the surface of everything we covered during those energy-filled days at Mercedes-Benz World and the Aviva Stadium. Beyond the initial highlights, there was a deep dive into:

• The rising importance and looming regulations concerning e-invoicing—it's coming, so compliance is key!

• The critical nature of compliance, illustrated by real-world examples of how expense errors have caught companies off guard globally.

• Invaluable customer best practices and tangible examples of how they’ve helped businesses truly evolve and grow.

• Insights relating to business travel, visibility of spend and how you can stay in control

Guest speakers who illuminated the events

And of course, who could forget the unique star power? At Mercedes-Benz World, we enjoyed a thrilling, high-octane conversation with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1's CFO, Russell Braithwaite, alongside SAP EMEA's CFO, Renaud Heyd, and Consilio.io’s Surit Patel. They offered fantastic, top-tier tips on navigating today’s challenges—from the boardroom right down to the pit lane! Meanwhile, at Concur Day Ireland, we were delighted to host British and Irish rugby legend Sean O’Brien.

These events—made incisive, engaging, and energetic thanks to our many brilliant partners including EPI-USE, Consilio.io, Soldo, Corporate Traveller, and others—were also a fantastic opportunity for high-quality networking.

Today’s operating environment

We are navigating monumental shifts in finance technology right now—and you can't afford to let them pass you by!

If you were one of the lucky attendees at either Mercedes-Benz World or Aviva, you'll have already realised the importance of the strides we are making. If you weren't there, you missed out! (We're just sorry you didn't get to hear from Russell Braithwaite or Sean O’Brien or get that brand new professional headshot. Next time, maybe?)

However, you can still catch up! If you want to understand how these innovations can drive visibility, efficiency and employee satisfaction in your own organisation, let's talk. 

 

Ready to see it in action?

Learn more about what we presented, and experience it first-hand in a live demo.

Watch a demo here