Hitachi Systems Adds AI and Public Sector Functions to Comprehensive Expense Management System "Traveler's WAN"; Adoption Decided by Multiple Local Governments

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Hitachi Systems, Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hitachi Systems) will begin offering a beta version of its AI-powered travel expense settlement support function for its comprehensive expense management system "Traveler's WAN (Toraberazu Wan)" in October 2026 (official version planned for March 2027). In addition, in response to the revision of the "Act on Travel Expenses for National Public Officers, etc. (National Public Officers Travel Expense Act)" in April 2025, public sector functions have been enhanced.

"Traveler's WAN" is a comprehensive expense management system that can manage everything from domestic and international business trip arrangements to travel and expense settlement, and invoice payments within a single system. In addition to integration with HR and accounting systems, it supports ticket arrangements and rule checks, and has been introduced to over 900 companies, primarily in the private sector, with over 1.25 million users.

Hitachi Systems has newly developed an AI-powered travel expense settlement support function and will begin offering a beta version in October 2026. This function will assist in creating expense reports by organizing information necessary for travel expense settlement based on natural language input from users for domestic business trip travel expense applications. Furthermore, AI will detect unnatural points, such as overlapping application dates or settlements for routes that differ from the norm, and issue alerts, thereby supporting the efficiency of input and approval operations.

In addition, for public sector functions, functions such as "Committee Travel Expense Function," "Committee Remuneration Function," and "Automobile Route Search Integration Function" have been enhanced to meet the operational needs of public organizations. This will support the efficiency of travel and expense settlement operations and strengthen governance in public organizations.

The latest product incorporating public sector functions has been adopted as a travel expense system product for the "Next Generation Travel Expense System Construction Consignment Business for Ehime Prefecture" and the "Travel Expense Calculation System Reconstruction Business for Shizuoka Prefecture."

Background

Increased demand for advanced and efficient expense settlement operations due to the expansion of AI utilization and the revision of the "National Public Officers Travel Expense Act"

In recent years, with the rapid spread of AI, expectations for AI-powered input support and operational efficiency in business systems have been growing. In addition, driven by the trend of promoting administrative DX, the need for expense settlement systems that can balance operational efficiency and governance enhancement is expanding.

Amidst efforts to address labor shortages due to an aging population and the promotion of work style reform, reducing the burden of indirect tasks such as data entry, correction of input errors, rule checks, and approval processes in travel and expense settlement operations is a major challenge. At the same time, there are growing expectations for an environment where employees can focus more on their work through AI-powered input support and efficient verification processes.

In particular, the revision of the "Act on Travel Expenses for National Public Officers, etc. (National Public Officers Travel Expense Act)," which came into effect in April 2025, has spurred momentum for reviewing and rebuilding travel expense systems in national and local governments, and independent administrative agencies. As the shift progresses from traditional fixed-amount settlements to flexible actual-cost settlements that reflect reality, the need for system overhauls, including travel expense calculation, rule management, and governance compliance, is expanding.

Features

"Traveler's WAN" is a comprehensive expense management system that can manage everything from domestic and international business trip arrangements to travel and expense settlement, and invoice payments within a single system. It is available on various platforms according to customer needs, including SaaS, private cloud, and on-premises versions, and has over 25 years of track record as a domestically developed package that can handle the complex settlement culture unique to Japanese companies and customers' unique internal regulations.

Hitachi Systems has been conducting proposal activities for public organizations, including local governments, triggered by the revision of the "Act on Travel Expenses for National Public Officers, etc. (National Public Officers Travel Expense Act)" which came into effect in April 2025. Through repeated interviews with local government employees who actually handle expense settlements during these proposal activities, the need for AI utilization and support for settlement operations specific to public organizations was identified, leading to the addition of new AI-powered functions and the enhancement of public sector functions.

Details of each function are as follows:

[AI Functions] (Beta version to be offered from October 2026)

Feature 1 Application/Settlement Support Agent

Based on the user's natural language input and information from uploaded receipts, the AI automatically organizes the information necessary for travel and expense settlement and assists in creating expense reports.

For example, for an input such as "Traveled by train from headquarters to Company A for a meeting. Returned by taxi after returning the demo unit that was lent out," the AI understands the content and proposes transportation routes and necessary items. Furthermore, it assists in inputting information necessary for creating expense reports, such as supplementing the reason for taxi use in the remarks section based on receipt information.

This enables smooth input for users unfamiliar with Traveler's WAN and for special business trip applications. It also contributes to operational efficiency for both users and management departments by streamlining input operations, reducing input errors, and alleviating the burden of inquiries from the management department.

Image of the Application/Settlement Support Agent usage screen (This is a development image and may change in the future)

Feature 2 Review Support Agent

The AI detects application deficiencies and unnatural points that applicants and approvers might overlook, contributing to reduced workload and increased efficiency in application, review, and approval processes, as well as enhanced governance and improved compliance.

For example, it checks for potential duplicate applications, route inputs that deviate from the shortest/cheapest route, and the validity of reasons stated in non-compliant applications.

By appropriately notifying users of these unnatural points, it contributes to reducing the workload of review operations, early detection of deficiencies and fraud, and strengthening governance and compliance.

The latest version of Traveler's WAN adopts a modernized architecture and is provided as a service on "Microsoft Azure." Furthermore, for generative AI functions, the development of high-performance agents using "Microsoft Foundry Agent Service" is being promoted with the cooperation of Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.

[Public Sector Functions]

To support settlement operations specific to public organizations, functions such as "Committee Travel Expense Function," "Committee Remuneration Function," and "Automobile Route Search Integration Function" have been enhanced.

Details of the public sector functions are as follows:

- Committee Travel Expense Function: Supports travel expense payments to external committee members Calculates transportation costs and checks accommodation expense limits based on travel expense regulations, similar to employees. - Committee Remuneration Function: Supports payment of remuneration to external lecturers and committee members Settlement is performed by determining the payment amount based on the standard unit price according to the request details (lectures, manuscript writing, etc.). - Automobile Route Search Integration Function: Supports automobile route and distance calculation via map search Image of the Automobile Route Search Integration Function screen

Future Outlook

Hitachi Systems plans to launch the beta version of Traveler's WAN's AI functions in October 2026, and after reflecting feedback from beta users into the functions, the official version is scheduled for release in March 2027.

Furthermore, Hitachi Systems aims to promote the adoption of Traveler's WAN by local governments and other public organizations, supporting the promotion of local government DX with the goal of creating a society where residents, employees, and regions are digitally connected. Functional additions are planned to be sequentially implemented for public organizations in the future.

The company aims for the overall Traveler's WAN business to grow to approximately 2 billion yen by 2030 through widespread adoption in both the private and public sectors.

Comment from Hiromi Oka, Corporate Vice President, Partner Business Division, Enterprise Partner Headquarters, Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.

Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd. welcomes the functional enhancements to Hitachi Systems, Ltd.'s comprehensive expense management system "Traveler's WAN" and its utilization of generative AI.

We have high expectations that the AI-powered travel expense settlement support functions and enhanced public sector functions announced today will contribute to both operational efficiency and improved governance in government and corporations. In particular, settlement support through natural language input and advanced fraud detection are initiatives that will significantly transform the user experience in the field and contribute to the acceleration of business DX in Japan.

We are very pleased that "Traveler's WAN" is provided on Microsoft Azure and that advanced AI functions are being developed using Microsoft Foundry Agent Service. Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd. supports the innovation of our partners and customers through secure and scalable cloud infrastructure and cutting-edge AI technology.

We will continue to collaborate with Hitachi Systems, Ltd. to contribute to the promotion of DX and value creation for our customers in both the private and public sectors.

About the Comprehensive Expense Management System "Traveler's WAN"

"Traveler's WAN" is a high-functionality comprehensive expense management system designed to adapt to a wide range of customers, including handling the diversification of application and approval workflows unique to each company. With a cumulative total of approximately 900 corporate introductions and 1.25 million users*1, it has been widely adopted by customers of various sizes and industries.

It also supports revisions to the Act on Electronic Book Preservation and invoice payments, allowing companies to electronically store expense application documents such as receipts, which were previously stored on paper, in a manner that meets legal requirements. Furthermore, it integrates with business trip arrangement systems and the import of usage details from corporate cards and transportation IC cards, enabling comprehensive processing of business trip-related expenses.

For details, please visit https://www.hitachi-systems.com/ind/travelerswan/index.html

*1 As of September 2025, including family products.

About Hitachi Systems

Hitachi Systems, as a company supporting the Hitachi Group's Social Innovation Business, promotes sustainability management and provides one-stop services from system development to operation, maintenance, and construction. Through DX services that combine domain knowledge cultivated in the field with IT/OT, and managed services that realize a secure and safe digital environment, we contribute to improving our customers' corporate value. By solving social issues together with our customers, we aim to "contribute to the realization of a truly prosperous society" as stated in our corporate philosophy.

For details, please visit https://www.hitachi-systems.com/

*Microsoft and Azure are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

*Company names and product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.