Case History
Hotel & Conference Centre
This prestigious Hotel and Conference Centre offers a wide range of amenities that include four dining options, its own onsite pub and accommodates over 20,000 visitors a year.
Procurement for such a diverse enterprise requires specialist skills, and as visitor volume has increased, management recognised the need to change from the old system of disparate purchasing by individual department heads to one that would allow greater budgetary control.
Our first action on being called in to advise was to undertake a comprehensive audit of all purchasing procedures, starting with food and then extending to other commodities including beverages, liquor, janitorial and stationery supplies.
The results of this analysis provided clear evidence of the wastefulness of a multi-functional approach to purchasing, and also demonstrated how a centrally managed procurement function would introduce significant savings to the annual spend of over £500,000.
Since being appointed as procurement consultants some 3 years ago we have continued to streamline the buying process, improving supplier relationships and consistently maintaining a 15% reduction on previous spend.
An important part of our partnership approach to working with this client has been to ensure that all five heads of departments retain effective control on all matters of choice and range. Commenting on the success of this arrangement, one head of department has said "It's like having your own procurement manager - without the overhead".
At the same time, by relieving them of the onerous administration burden resulting from their previous responsibility for procurement, significant amounts of valuable management time have been released to enable senior staff to continue to build on the establishment's four star reputation for delivering the highest quality of customer service.
Acquire shines with four star hotel...