A lot of work goes into running a successful hotel. To offer great, comfortable rooms and delicious food and beverage, hotels must establish a reliable logistics and supply chain management system to create a smooth channel of goods while keeping costs low.
As one of the leading hospitality purchasing companies, Avendra leverages the buying power of its customers to negotiate the best possible deals with important suppliers. The Rockville, Md.-based company currently has more than 20 years of hospitality know-how with more than 12,500 customers and offers customized supply-chain management solutions for different business strategies.
Leading the company is Walt Sheffler, SVP Avendra Hospitality and Europe, Avendra, who is responsible for directing all sales initiatives, exploring new hospitality-related business opportunities, directing client service operations and perpetually increasing client satisfaction.
Though Avendra serves many customers, Sheffler said the company prides itself on providing a tailored approach to procurement needs, “Whether developing a long-term strategy for disposables or finding an innovative solution to cut down labor costs.
”Sheffler began his career as a manager trainee at Marriott International in the hotel division and held positions of increasing responsibility in hotel operations, corporate finance and corporate procurement before exiting the hospitality giant as vice president of procurement. Having worked on property in hotel operations management, Sheffler developed an appreciation for what it means to operate a hotel asset and provide guest satisfaction.
In fact, many Avendra associates previously worked on property in hotel operations. “Our team fully understands how the supply chain impacts the hotel, the hotel staff and essentially the hotel guest experience. These understandings are the bedrock of the service we provide our clients,” he told HOTELS.
A SUSTAINABLE MIND
To serve the entire range of the hospitality industry, Avendra has created a broad set of supplier contacts and hotel vendors and offers a range of products and services. To ensure a healthy mix of suppliers, it is important to have a diverse team of suppliers, Sheffler said.
“Supplier diversity creates value, opportunity and economic impact,” he said. “We are proud to partner with a broad network of small organizations and businesses owned and operated by minorities, women and other diverse populations.”
Avendra’s “Diverse Supplier Mentorship Programs” are designed to help businesses scale up and build capacity for the long term. These programs are open to suppliers in Avendra’s current supply chain as well as those seeking to work with Avendra in the future.
Meanwhile, sustainability continues to climb and be top of mind for Avendra’s clients, said Sheffler, adding that it has become a clear procurement services market expectation.
“Sustainable supply-chain management is a priority for our clients and we stand ready to assist,” he said, adding that it is essential to work with suppliers who conduct their business consistent with the current business environment, whether it is around sustainability, appropriate governance, current technology and/or industry trends.
Besides sustainability and ethical sourcing, Sheffler identified a rise in the adoption of automation and of new technological solutions to improve efficiencies in the front and back of the house.
Avendra recently took some clients to the Middleby Innovation Kitchens in Texas and that’s when it realized how technology can be a gamechanger when it comes to addressing ongoing challenges in commercial kitchens. As robots cooked French fries and sprayed pizza sauce onto dough, self-cleaning ovens nearby washed themselves.
“This is one of many educational events we host to help clients learn how to save on labor, water, energy and run a more efficient kitchen through equipment innovation,” Sheffler said.
CHALLENGES NOW & AHEAD
Besides the existing challenges in supply-chain management, the pandemic highlighted the importance of supply-chain resilience and the need for hotels to have contingency plans to mitigate the impact of future disruptions. Whether that is building more resilient supply chains with more emphasis on local sourcing and diversification of suppliers or the adoption of new technologies to improve supply-chain visibility and agility, said Sheffler.
Among the other challenges, inflation and product availability remain the predominant challenges in supply chain, he said.
Products and services cost more than they did a year ago, so Avendra has deployed several inflation-control measures to try and succor customers. For instance, whenever possible, Avendra will deny any price increase not allowed in their supplier contracts and, when necessary, renegotiate a lower increase utilizing input cost analysis, market index data and more.
Additionally, availability of some products may be restricted at times, which makes it difficult for hoteliers to source the materials they need exactly when they need it.
“This requires advance planning more than what was historically considered to be normal. As part of our standard routine of managing the supply chain, we monitor inventory levels throughout the supply chain. In certain cases, we may ask our manufacturer suppliers and/or distributors to carry additional inventory on hand or establish efficient cross-docking protocols to avoid shortages at inopportune times,” Sheffler said.
Earlier this year, Sheffler joined the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Board of Directors. He will be part of important discussions concerning a wide range of industry and association-related issues.
For example, “Our industry continues to struggle around the topic of associate vacancies and communicating the wonderful opportunities available in hospitality and the tertiary businesses that support the hospitality industry,” he said. “I look forward to assisting our industry attract and grow new talent.”