Scorpion Gains Automation and Control Over Travel and Expense with Navan

Region

NORAM: North America

Headquarters

Draper, Utah

Industry

Professional Services

Previous Solutions

American Express, TravelPerk, Other

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Founded as a digital advertising agency, Scorpion has evolved into a leading marketing technology provider that serves a wide variety of industries, from legal to healthcare and home services. Because the company has more than 750 employees across the U.S., managing travel and expenses efficiently is essential to keeping operations running smoothly. For years, however, Scorpion’s finance team struggled with disconnected systems and inconsistent user experiences — until Navan consolidated everything into a single platform.

Before Navan

For years, Scorpion used multiple tools to manage travel and expenses. “Our first implementation was with Amex Global Business Travel,” said Eugene Kaminar, controller at Scorpion. “It made sense at the time since our corporate cards were American Express, but we got a lot of negative feedback — especially when it came to trying to get an agent on the phone or changing flights last minute.”

The company later transitioned to using TravelPerk for travel and Abacus for corporate cards and reimbursements. But “the support aspect just wasn’t there,” said Kaminar. “Sometimes people had to wait  24 hours — or even 2 to 3 days — for a response. And Abacus had no automation or policy control. Everything had to be managed manually by managers or accounting.”

As a result, the finance team spent a lot of time chasing approvals and managing exceptions rather than focusing on strategic initiatives. “It was all reactive,” said Kaminar. “If someone overspent, we’d have to address it after the fact.”

“

Navan manages the travel directly, so we don’t have to deal with a third-party agency and then try to tie that back to payments. And the support has been a huge improvement.

Eugene Kaminar

Controller

Why Navan

When Scorpion began evaluating alternatives, the decision to move to Navan was driven by the need for an all-in-one solution that combined travel, expense, and card management. “Having it all under the same roof was definitely helpful,” said Kaminar. “Navan manages the travel directly, so we don’t have to deal with a third-party agency and then try to tie that back to payments. And the support has been a huge improvement.”

The finance team also saw immediate value in Navan’s Visa card program. “The Visa cards we got through Navan were a big draw,” said Kaminar. “The level of control, reporting, and automation was something we couldn’t get from our old Amex setup.”

Results with Navan

Since implementing Navan, Scorpion has transformed how it manages spend and compliance. “From an admin standpoint, it’s nice to have policies already in place,” said Beverly Oliva-Wav, senior accounts payable specialist at Scorpion. “Most of the time, we just review items that have been flagged, and it’s easy to adjust policies per manager or team.”

“

With Abacus, I’d spend hours trying to figure out who needed to approve what. Now, Navan does the bulk of the work — flagging issues automatically and routing them to the right manager. It’s made everything more efficient.

Beverly Oliva-Wax

Senior Accounts Payable Specialist

Automation has freed up time and improved visibility across the organization. “With Abacus, I’d spend hours trying to figure out who needed to approve what,” said Oliva-Wax. “Now, Navan does the bulk of the work — flagging issues automatically and routing them to the right manager. It’s made everything more efficient.”

Scorpion has also seen improved employee compliance and engagement. “People are a lot more policy-aware because they don’t like items to be flagged,” said Oliva-Wax. “It’s been more cost-effective having policies in place.”

Reporting and executive visibility have also improved dramatically. “Our CFO automatically gets a monthly report from Navan with items over $10,000 for review and can approve or message employees directly in the system,” said Oliva-Wax. “It’s removed me as the middleman, which saves time.”. 

Employees have certainly noticed the difference. With 91% mobile adoption, Scorpion employees are clearly embracing the user-friendly experience. “From a user standpoint, Navan is intuitive,” said Oliva-Wax. “I mostly book on mobile myself. Everything is easy to find, and it’s great that trips can be grouped with automatic approvals.”

Future with Navan

As Scorpion continues to grow, the finance team is exploring deeper integrations and expanded use of Navan’s reporting. “We want our department heads to use Navan not just as a travel and expense tool, but as a business insight tool,” said Kaminar. “The reporting capabilities will help them make smarter, data-driven decisions.”

Asked to sum up their experience with Navan, Kaminar described it as “intuitive, easy, and robust.” Oliva-Wax agreed, adding that she finds Navan “organized and concise.”