Replatforming Global Travel in 4 Months Through Expert Collaboration

When one of the world’s most recognizable payments companies set out to replace its global travel partner, it was facing a complex transition that often turns out to be lengthy and disruptive for large enterprises. Instead, by uniting Navan’s technology and high-touch implementation support with Opteva’s independent implementation and change expertise — and anchoring everything on clear, client-approved scope and deliverables — the company went live globally in just four months, without disruption.

The results challenged the industry's standard for enterprise transitions. By integrating Navan’s technology with Opteva’s change management expertise, the company replatformed its complex global program on an unprecedented timeline. Ultimately, the project became one of the organization’s most seamless and positively received digital transformations to date.

Before Navan

Before partnering with Navan and Opteva, the global payments company was operating a complex, global travel program with 10,000 employees traveling in 87 countries. The company set out to overhaul its legacy setup into a truly digital‑first travel program, with an aggressive four‑month window to go live.

The challenge: in this space, implementations are notoriously long; a UK Competition and Markets Authority report notes that for large TMC deals, typical implementation windows after winning an RFP range from three months to two years, with most falling between six and twelve months.

For a program of this size and complexity, choosing a conventional provider could have meant the new solution wouldn’t be fully live for well over a year. Against that backdrop, signing a new multi‑year agreement when most employees might not see any benefit for 12+ months felt like an unacceptable “time‑to‑value” tradeoff. The team needed a different approach—one that delivered a rapid, global rollout without subjecting employees to a drawn‑out, challenging transition.

Why Navan and Opteva

Navan was selected as the client’s global travel platform for its ability to support a truly worldwide program, with multi‑currency capabilities, enterprise‑grade controls, and infrastructure designed to onboard large, complex customers. The remaining question was how to execute that change at a rapid pace, without the disruption typically associated with large TMC transitions.

To solve for that, the client independently engaged Opteva, a travel and expense consulting firm with two decades of experience and that had previously partnered with the internal travel lead on a successful implementation at another organization. Opteva’s role was to wrap Navan’s technology in methodical project management, governance, rigorous testing, and change support, aligning all three parties around a single, shared statement of work that made scope, timelines, and responsibilities unambiguous.

“Clients often engage external specialists when projects are complex, internal expertise or bandwidth is limited, and they need confidence the solution will work from day one,” said Opteva Co-Founder Jo Young. “Our role was to bring structure and governance, provide hands-on support, execute the plan, and take overall accountability for the outcome.”

A Global Launch in 4 Months

For an enterprise organization, the success of a global TMC change depends on mastering the fundamentals: data accuracy, systems integration, de-implementation of legacy providers, and complex vendor coordination. The client had nine markets requiring Navan’s global TMC partners, adding complexity to the implementation which Opteva managed seamlessly. By prioritizing these alongside stakeholder alignment, service readiness, and cultural fit, the project ensured a seamless transition for the traveler experience.

“A change of this magnitude, on an accelerated timeline, demanded a hyper‑focused, well‑structured approach and a highly skilled, cross‑functional, cross‑partner team,” said Young.

Navan worked with the client to gather detailed data on offices, legal entities, and existing policies and configure the platform to their policy, payment, SSO, and HRIS requirements. In parallel, Navan account managers partnered with the client and Opteva on strategy, training, end-to-end testing, and rollout planning, ensuring the solution ramped up quickly while still supporting long‑term goals for cost, efficiency, and adoption.

The client’s comms and change team worked hand in hand with Opteva to design persona targeted communications that fit the organization’s culture — clearly explaining current state vs. future state; what was changing in tools, policy, and approvals; and what it meant for different personas. Navan then brought that messaging to life through on‑site roadshows, change‑management work sessions, and face‑to‑face support.

“When the technology, change management, and culture are all pulling in the same direction, you can move a lot faster than most enterprises think is possible,” said Navan President Michael Sindicich. “What we proved here is that, with the right structure and partners, you can get both a fast time to value and a calm, controlled go‑live.”

Results with Navan

The coordinated efforts of the client, Navan, and Opteva delivered a global launch on an accelerated timeline while maintaining total business continuity. The impact was both immediate and measurable; the platform’s intuitive interface drove significant internal buy-in, causing online adoption to jump from 70% to 89% and hotel attachment to rise from 50% to 73%.

This high level of engagement ensured the company’s investment translated directly into improved traveler behavior. Beyond tool utilization, the quality of the experience was reflected in the program's sustained +57 Net Promoter Score and 97% customer satisfaction (CSAT) score, confirming that the transition was as much a cultural success as a technical one.

“At the end of the day, success isn’t just about going live — it’s about employees actually wanting to use the tool,” said Sindicich. “Seeing adoption and satisfaction spike this quickly confirmed that the joint approach really worked.”

A Blueprint for Change

This implementation has become a reference point for what’s possible when a global enterprise, a modern travel platform, and a specialist change partner align around a clear objective.

“Enterprise travel programs are often told to expect disruption when making a change of this scale,” said Young. “This project showed that with the right team, you don’t have to choose between being thorough and moving quickly. As an external partner, we are not involved in day-to-day operations; we can stay focused on implementation and delivery.”

The blueprint is now clear: start with a precise statement of work, assemble the right expertise and technology, and treat cultural alignment as seriously as configuration. For other large organizations, this project demonstrates that with the right structure and partners, global change doesn’t have to be something to fear — or to postpone.