How Navan Helped UMCom Regain Control of Travel and Reporting

Region

NORAM: North America

Headquarters

Nashville, Tennessee

Industry

Professional Services

Products Used

• Navan Business Travel

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United Methodist Communications (UMCom) is an agency of the United Methodist Church responsible for news, public relations, and marketing across the entire denomination. A few years ago, facing an anticipated period of downsizing, UMCom sought out a more efficient travel solution to help reduce administrative overhead.

Before Navan

Prior to Navan, UMCom managed business trips through a travel agency that used Concur for booking. Employees booked all travel through Diane Maloney, senior travel specialist at UMCom, or handled bookings themselves.

The primary driver for change was efficiency. UMCom wanted to move toward a predominantly self-serve travel model and eliminate the need for     a dedicated role focused solely on travel management.

“

Our biggest dissatisfaction with the other platform was limited inventory. Looking for flights was pretty frustrating.

David Jamieson

Controller

Why Navan

UMCom’s controller, David Jamieson, along with its COO, first discovered Navan at a conference while actively evaluating travel management solutions.

From the outset, Navan “really won out” due to its seamless integration of travel booking, expense management, and corporate cards — capabilities that were often split across two separate tools from two separate providers. UMCom signed on for Navan’s entire T&E solution. 

A mid-contract change to Navan’s credit card prepayment agreement resulted in UMCom switching to a competitor’s solution, but there, the agency quickly encountered a major challenge. “Our big dissatisfaction with the other platform was limited inventory,” said Jamieson. “Looking for flights was pretty frustrating.” The lack of content frequently forced employees to book outside the platform, which resulted in lost visibility, inaccurate reporting, and weakened policy enforcement.

So UMCom course-corrected and returned to Navan for travel, where both Jamieson and Maloney immediately recognized the comprehensive inventory and breadth of options as a major improvement.

“

Customer service is awesome. Our account manager, Paul, is my best friend.

Diane Maloney

Senior Travel Specialist

Results with Navan

The return to Navan was seamless. Because the account had remained active, UMCom was able to move employees back onto the platform quickly and with minimal disruption. Since switching, the organization has realized significant value — particularly from the employee experience, which has garnered a 100% customer satisfaction rating.

Jamieson credits Navan’s ease of use. “Employees knew how to book their travel without much training,” he said. This intuitive experience enabled most employees traveling domestically to book on their own with minimal assistance, helping UMCom move closer to its goal of reducing the administrative burden around travel. Maloney echoed this sentiment: “The inventory is bigger,” she said, “and everything is just easier.”

Navan’s support has also been a key improvement. Maloney highlighted the strength of the relationship with Navan’s team, noting, “Customer service is awesome. Our account manager, Paul, is my best friend.”

Future with Navan

For UMCom, Navan has delivered a more efficient, reliable travel solution that supports a self-serve model and has significantly reduced the organization’s administrative workload. The platform has empowered employees with a modern, intuitive booking experience while restoring visibility and control for the finance team. Looking ahead, UMCom is excited to continue its partnership with Navan — particularly for the robust inventory and high level of customer support — and benefit from Navan’s continuous improvements.