In travel procurement terms, “Strategic Sourcing” has traditionally been defined as the standard bidding process for airline, car, hotel and travel agency services. With the dramatic changes emerging in travel distribution technology, strategic sourcing can take on new meaning. These changes reflect the urgent need of traditional airlines (AA,UA, DL) to lower distribution costs and the emergence of lower cost distribution technology. It is yet unclear if the old Alfred Kahn quote “Airline yield management means: you yield to my management” will still prevail in respect to airline influence over corporate purchasing behavior. The opportunity does exist to use this emerging technology to control sourcing by dictating how inventory is distributed. Will this new leverage be recognized? I believe this will only happen if C-Level executives take ownership over their travel procurement costs and act in innovative ways. This may prove to be problematic as travel expenses are generally not viewed as a strategic decision point by C-Level executives. Of course sourcing strategies will need to take into account the need for major airline to reduce their costs as many are in a survival mode. Which entity uses the new distribution technology as leverage will be interesting to watch…