How International SOS scaled its global program with Planned

At a glance

Travel and events are core to how International SOS operates across 90 countries. The company needed a platform that could handle everything from small team meetings to large conferences without burying planners in admin. Planned now powers that program, with a global rollout underway.

“I can actually see what we're spending across regions now. This is the foundation for how we're going to operate globally for the next decade.”

Brenda Davis, Travel Manager

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Challenge: Hundreds of events, no visibility

International SOS runs hundreds of events a year across the globe. When it came to sourcing hotels, venues, and catering, planners - typically EAs - were doing everything manually. Reaching out to suppliers individually, filling out RFPs, waiting for responses, and managing negotiations on their own. 

There was no centralized system to track what was being booked, how much was being spent, or which suppliers were being used across regions. International SOS's leadership wanted visibility into the full program, but the infrastructure wasn't there.

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Solution: Tech and service that adapts to occasional planners

Planned gave International SOS both the technology and the hands-on support the team needed. Every planner gets a dedicated specialist who knows their program. Planners share a brief, and their specialist handles sourcing, negotiation, and contracting. Options come back with photos, pricing, and inclusions laid out side by side, making it easy to compare and decide.

When questions come up or things change last minute, planners have someone to call. For EAs and managers who plan events a few times a year on top of their regular jobs, that level of support makes the difference between a stressful process and a smooth one.

Payments flow through Planned as a single vendor of record, so planners don't have to navigate supplier billing on their own. International SOS's leadership now has regional visibility into event spend and activity through centralized dashboards. The program started as a pilot and is now rolling out globally as the company's standard approach to meetings and events.

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Results

Days to hours sourcing time reduced from days of manual RFP work to hours through Planned's specialists

90 countries global rollout underway across the full organization

Immediate adoption International SOS's planners reported the platform was intuitive from their first event, with no training required

International SOS's planners are spending less time on logistics and more time on the work that shapes the attendee experience: building agendas, securing speakers, and designing the event itself.

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