Savvy Suppliers

For the company
Companies trying to control travel spending by employees all over the world are using Cytric®, an Internet-based corporate travel system created by Frankfurt-based i:FAO. Instead of making bookings from a corporate Intranet site, Cytric, which is compatible with whatever IT system your company uses, can be accessed via any computer with Internet/Intranet access.

Want to keep travel costs down while keeping employees in touchùwith customers, suppliers and colleagues? Virtual meeting services from WebEx www.webex.com are helping boost productivity substantially as they save impressively measurable dollars. WebEx provides Web-based communications services to corporations, business portals, communications service providers, Web-application providers and online marketplaces. All of WebEx's real-time communications services run over the WebEx Interactive Network (WIN), the only global network designed specifically for real-time Web communications.

The WebEx services provide this collaboration functionality without requiring pre-installed software or firewall configuration. Texas Instruments uses WebEx to keep far-flung team members communicating frequently; Symitar Systems, a provider of computer systems and ATM networking products for banks and credit unions, uses the WebEx Meeting Center "to whet the appetites of interested prospects,"according to Kathy Hooker, national sales manager; Ron Schneider, first vice president of training and performance development at Countrywide's wholesale lending division estimates that using WebEx is saving ômore than four million dollars per year."

One of WebEx's biggest customers is Oracle, which uses the system to enhance sales presentations. "A WebEx virtual presentation is the ultimate illustrated phone call,"says David Thompson, vice president of sales and marketing for WebEx. It's an extraordinarily powerful tool. One of Oracle's recent WebEx virtual conferences brought together participants in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Brazil and the U.S.--with nary a plane ticket.

Another supplier of virtual meetings is PlaceWare www.placeware.com. With it, the presenter uploads PowerPoint text, graphics and other enhancements (annotation tools, streaming audio and video, etc.) into the PlaceWare application, and then points the audience to the URL where
the meeting is scheduled to occur. Everyone who logs on can share in the visual presentation, and interact with each other from their offices, hotel rooms or homes.

Web conferencing is unique because any type of visual content that can be presented in person
can be presented over the Webùand then saved in a file for future reference.

For the traveler
Want to make those pesky expense reports less of a hassle? Diners Club International has made a significant upgrade to its online functionality for Corporate Card customers: online corporate billing statements. Corporate Cardmembers now can quickly access their current Diners Club Card
account information via the Internet from anywhere in the world. Online statements enable U.S. Corporate Cardmembers to view their billing statements and Club Rewards balances online. (Enrollment is necessary and can be done online.)

Diners ClubÆs Web site also features the ATM Locator and the Merchant Locator, which allow Cardmembers to locate merchants and ATMs that accept the Diners Club Card, with the simple click of a mouse. To find merchants accepting the Diners Club Card, Cardmembers go to www.dinersclubus.com, and click on the "Merchant Information" icon at the top of the screen. To utilize the search tool, enter an address or city and state in the U.S. The tool identifies locations up to a 50-mile radius from the starting addresses indicated by the Cardmembers. The ATM Locator not only helps locate cash machines throughout North America and Europe, it also maps the exact directions to ATMs. For more details, call 1-800-2-DINERS.

Last December, Northwest Airlines began offering Internet check-in throughout its entire domestic system. Passengers can print their own boarding passes from their home or office computers, right on regular paper. They may also use the site to change to a different flight, change or confirm a seat assignment, enter or change a WorldPerks number or reservation or request an upgrade. Internet check-in is available less than 24 hours and more than 90 minutes prior to departure. For info: www.nwa.com/checkin.

Want to turn your hotel room into a combination information hub and entertainment center? A joint venture with Hilton, LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation and InnMedia is bringing digital entertainment, high-speed Internet access and other information and communication services to Hilton guests this year. On-demand digital services include hit movies, music and Nintendo; a video checkout ser-vice that e-mails hotel receipts to guests; high-speed Web browsing on the TV; on-demand films and access to archived programming from HBO; instant access to up-
to-the minute news, weather and sports; "Send A Greeting" e-postcards and a "Virtual Concierge electronic compendium of local and hotel information.

Have to book a meeting on short notice? Embassy Suites Hotels, which just won its second consecutive "Highest Guest Satisfaction Among All-Suite Hotel Chains" award in the J.D. Power and Associates 2000 Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study, lets you perform site selection, reserve room blocks and arrange for meeting room setup, catering and audiovisual equipment online through the company Web site www.embassysuites.com. A conference coordinator will be assigned to your meeting to help with the arrangements and to supervise the function while it's being held.

Need an admin at 25,000 feet? GTE Airfone just began offering dictation and transcription services
by iDictate.com to passengers on airliners that have advanced digital Airfones. For details and special offers: www.idictate.com/airfone.

Meanwhile, Tenzing is now providing business travelers with in-flight Internet access and e-mail capabilities. The Seattle-based com-pany has been beta-testing its in-flight service on Air Canada since last September, and Asian carrier Cathay Pacific is in the process of installing the Tenzing service--which is compatible with PCs, Macs and PDAs--on its entire fleet.