Chemistry meets A+ Corporate Payment
How the CHT Group found the magic formula for efficient corporate payments with AirPlus
About CHT
The CHT Group, based in Tübingen, Germany, is a leading reference for sustainable chemical solutions. The company has been developing, producing and marketing specialty chemicals for industrial processes since 1953 and employs around 2,400 people worldwide.
Global Player with technically and humanly sustainable solutions
With 26 companies in 20 countries on all continents, business trips are part of everyday life. As luck would have it, it was their travel agency that recommended the corporate payment solutions from AirPlus to the CHT Group. And thus a connection was created in which the chemistry between all participants was right from the start, as Jasmin Röhm, Management Assistant, and Patrick Hug, Head of Group Treasury & Insurance, tell us.
Lack of transparency in travel management
In mid-2003, the CHT Group was still facing major challenges in the complex environment of its business travel management:
It lacked a comprehensive overview of travel expenses, clear responsibilities and a simple process.
One holding, one operative:
two Company Accounts for Travel
The CHT Group's corporate structure is another reason why maximum transparency is so important to them. Employees of both the holding company and the operating company book trips, which requires a clear allocation of all expenses.
“The fact that we can implement our invoices transparently and separately for each company was a very strong argument for our decision to use AirPlus", explains Jasmin Röhm.
The CHT Group has been using two AirPlus Company Accounts in its travel agency since July 2023. A payment solution that everyone was enthusiastic about right from the start, as Patrick Hug notes.
„It's a solution I have never seen before. We now have separate accounts for our travel agency that are specifically for our business travel. All expenses are processed through these accounts. And we get a clear, bundled statement that we can work with very well."
Patrick Hug
"The clear allocation and breakdown by cost center, personnel number and company are enormous advantages for us." agrees Jasmin Röhm. "In addition, the extended payment period of the Company Account offers the opportunity to earn interest until the bill is paid.”
Stay in control while traveling: Corporate Cards
While the CHT Group centrally accounts for flights, rail travel and, more recently, rental cars via the Company Accounts, business travelers book their hotels in advance with the AirPlus Corporate Cards. And when employees travel, it must be ensured for compliance reasons that they use company credit cards only for business expenses. Patrick Hug therefore appreciates the advantage of being able to guarantee this by centrally managing the Corporate Cards via the AirPlus Portal.
"The AirPlus portal offers us excellent options: Whether it is restricting the card to certain merchants, limiting the maximum available cash withdrawal or quickly blocking the card completely. These are all things I don't have in other solutions. That kind of transparency is really great!“
Patrick Hug
Increased flexibility for purchasing and marketing:
Virtual Cards Procurement
An all-digital payment solution also allows the CHT Group to speed up payment processes. "We now use virtual credit cards, especially for traditional purchases such as orders from Amazon," explains Jasmin Röhm. “And also for subscription services that we can't pay by invoice - or in the area of online marketing.” For her, the fact that AirPlus Virtual Cards can be easily created for one-time and recurring transactions is a big plus. "And the new portal is easy to use and very intuitive," praises Patrick Hug. "The fact that we can manage Virtual Cards as well as our Corporate Cards there and add additional data - such as cost centers or other reference fields - is a huge advantage and has greatly accelerated the entire process.
Quick implementation, fast onboarding
The integration of the three new payment solutions from AirPlus went smoothly for the CHT Group, as both confirm: "The implementation was excellent," says Jasmin Röhm. "It took less than two weeks and we were delighted with how quickly the new processes could be implemented. The high level of digitalization also contributed to this", adds Patrick Hug: "Whether it was the ID check via the AirPlus service provider or the transmission of scanned documents - everything was simply very advanced. The accompanying communication was also self-explanatory. “We were able to onboard two companies at the same time and see a progress daily. The overall effort for me was less than opening a private bank account.”
The formula for success: One solution for multiple requirements
In the end, it was the total package that convinced the CHT Group of AirPlus: "We were able to increase transparency and simplify our processes considerably. We had the feeling that we were in very good hands with AirPlus right from the start and that we received the best possible advice", summarizes Patrick Hug. "The fact that different requirements from different areas can now be met by a single provider is a significant improvement."
„For us, working with AirPlus means that we now have one solution, one point of contact, one simple KYC process and soon one central portal through which we can control everything. This is of course much more efficient and at the same time more convenient than having three or four different vendors.“
Jasmin Röhm
With the smart payment solutions from AirPlus, the CHT Group believes it is well equipped for future challenges. A clear added value for day-to-day business is already recognizable as well as a significant increase in spending transparency.
And Jasmin Röhm and Patrick Hug already have their sights set on further developments: An interface to HRworks will make travel expense accounting even more efficient. This would allow employees to upload their receipts independently during or after the trip. The digitalization of other processes is now high on the CHT Group's agenda.
In other words, smart chemistry.