CASE STUDY: SUCCESS WITH AN INTERNATIONAL
BRAND
A well-known International brand was incurring regular losses on its beverage sales and was an underperforming hotel in its group. This was a result of the following points:
- Poor storage facilities – Products were being stored in incorrect facilities, ambient being stored in chilled areas and vice versa. Stock was stored on the floor or was is in shared storage which resulted in products being mixed up with different departments.
- Lack of security – All products in most areas of the hotel were accessible to all members of the team with no access restrictions. As a result of this products that were delivered from supplier were missing during a stock count.
- Stock holding levels – The personnel responsible for monitoring and ordering stock had no understanding of their highest or lowest selling products so kept high stock levels of all products. This resulted in the hotel recording high levels of wastage due to products passing their expiry date. Adding in the factor of no security this makes it easier for Inventory shrinkage.
- Product knowledge – The bar was displayed with products that had not sold a single unit for over a year along with brands that did not meet the requirements of the hotels stocking policy. It is important to understand what products your customers are spending their money on and to adhere to stocking policy
- Recording procedures – From time to time it is expected that products are given away complimentary or with a concession, these were not being recorded and accounted for. This resulted as a stock shortage for the hotel as the accounts team are unable to re-allocate without accurate records.
- Team performance – The team were not engaged ln the performance of the hotel, this therefore meant they were not carrying out their roles correctly and accurately. The team were not given additional responsibilities to aid with trust and development.
- Price points and product package allocations – The bar was not set up to achieve a good GP% from its sales and they were not achieving a strong breakdown from their product package allocations.
All of the above issues needed identifying, sharing and correcting and we are pleased to say this was achieved. The frequency of visits was increased to allow more time at the site within shorter windows. We designed a programme of staying at the hotel either the night prior or the night after the audit and were able to offer more time with management and the team, working with them to offer solutions or alternative approaches based on additional observations.
The hotel is now receiving enhanced guest feedback, greater sales & GP% and finished as the best performing hotel in its cluster for the year. Storage and security issues have now been corrected which has resulted in a reduction in the costs for the hotel.
