IN HOSPITALITY LOGISTICS

Richard Cowling, Director of Operations at Gates Hospitality shared with us about the essentials of logistics and supply chain

How essential are logistics and supply chain operations in the hospitality industry?

Logistics and supply chain operations are vital to our industry, and this has been highlighted in the last few years, during and post covid. The massive disruptions Globally have impacted product availability and price, driving up inflation throughout the world markets. Over the last ten years, we have seen an enormous shift in suppliers coming to the F&B market in the UAE and the range of products available in the marketplace support the growth of the industry overall and the vision of Dubai to be a food tourism destination.

What are the key pillars for your portfolio for smooth supply chain management?

We never stop learning. We are always looking for new products to market, suppliers and ingredients that we can use to enhance our businesses financially and from a guest perspective. One of our key pillars as a company is Engage, which is particularly relevant to our supply chain partner with whom we engage daily. While we are always looking to innovate with fresh new ideas and produce, we always value the significant relationships we have built with our suppliers over the last 12 years.

How does supplier consolidation support the smooth functioning of various eateries you hold?

Supplier consolidation should, in theory, streamline processes and enhance the efficiency of our dayto-day systems, reducing costs and improving margins. As an industry, we should also be mindful of the scale of such consolidation is not in jeopardy of the smaller, specialist suppliers who are passionate experts in their field and either import specific high-quality ingredients from markets or, as we are seeing a growing sector now for grown in, or manufactured in the UAE.

How does purchasing power play a vital role in the hospitality industry?

Purchasing power will always significantly impact a company’s financial capabilities, driving down costs and helping to represent the best value for money for our guests. We work hand in hand with our supply chain partners to continually strive to get the best quality ingredient at the best value for money so that we can follow this philosophy into our menus.

Where do you see logistics and supply chains shifting the F&B industry?

As the UAE F&B market grows at the fantastic pace it is currently at and continues to mature in terms of guests’ expectations and demands, we can expect to see more and more products being available in the market, suppliers will hold more stock, and availability will be improved significantly. The explosion in locally grown produce and the technology involved in driving forwards the agri-tech industry is both exciting and sustainably responsible. Passion-based farmers are now using this technology in harmony with local land and oceans to create produce locally that would previously have to be transported thousands of miles. This impacts costs long term, product freshness, shelf life and availability.

How are F&B outlets adopting automation in their operations?

Automation in purchasing continues to develop alongside purchasing departments. This allows improved communications between suppliers and the venues and better accuracy in purchasing loose items and bulk produce.

What are the turning points in a competitive landscape for the hospitality industry in the region?

The enormous potential of the locally grown and home-produced markets not only does make sense from a sustainability standpoint but also from a food safety perspective as the region heads closer to the direction of controlling its source ingredients and becomes less reliant on global markets and the associated fluctuations.

How are you adapting sustainability in your operations?

We have made a considerable effort over the last few years to lead changes in behaviour towards sustainability, from being the first to reduce single-use plastics in all our venues and ending the use of plastic straws to some of our current sustainability initiatives, such as our own vegetable and herb gardens in our media. We have worked alongside and supported our local supply chain partners as they have developed their products and always look to use locally grown or made in the UAE wherever possible, supported by international suppliers who also share our vision around sustainability and reducing our impact on the planet in all areas of our operations.

Additional comments

We work with some of the biggest suppliers in the market, as we will always need to drive value for our guests. However, quality and sustainability are at the heart of everything we do, and we love meeting new and exciting local partners. We currently have vegetables explicitly grown for the folly, planted around a calendar developed alongside our local farming partners and used by the culinary team to engineer menu changes and showcase the best of the UAE.