HIT GOLF DAY

HIT GOLF DAY AT TRUMP TURNBERRY

Trump Turnberry played host to the hospitality industry last month when golfers assembled for an 18-hole Texas Scramble to raise cash for HIT Scotland. As you can see it was a most enjoyable day.

TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT

Upgrading IT systems to help your business might seem like a daunting procurement prospect but it doesn’t need to be that way if you approach the process systematically – no pun intended. Firstly, consider who the stakeholders are throughout your business and determine the issues that need to be solved. Some problems may be attributable to inefficient or clunky software and applications, with a lack of integration between systems and disconnected data. In addition, inefficient processes impacting productivity can also be a factor. Take the time for a deep dive into all departments and really understand the grassroots issues and establish where gaps and opportunities exist.

Essentially you are looking at the pros and cons of the existing technology and have your teams think about what would make their time more productive for the benefit of the business. Individually you won’t necessarily have all the answers but collectively, a picture will emerge of what best in class could look like to future proof the business.

Map out the end-to-end business processes and look to re-engineer them for maximum efficiency. From the wider group of stakeholders, rationalise this team to a core group which represents each facet of your company. This group will be responsible and accountable for setting the optimal specifications for technology in your company, taking advantage of the rapidly evolving changes in the market.

However, it is crucial that the stakeholder group is not allowed to disappear down a rabbit hole of ever-changing options. Once the parameters are established, identify potential vendors and draft a Request for Information (RFI). This document should be issued to systematically identify similarities and differences between vendors and gain a greater understanding of their abilities. The overarching purpose of any system upgrade will be a combination of finding ways to positively impact business operations to generate greater efficiencies, increase productivity and ultimately increase revenue and profitability.

Always consider hardware requirements in addition to software and look for ways that systems overlap, ensuring that any systems under consideration have open APIs to create seamless integrations which will aid productivity.

When reviewing system options, have an eye on environmental matters too and look at ways in which new systems out there might be less energy-intensive than others. It might be too early in the culture shift, towards more green everything, for vendors to have meaningful answers right now but reducing carbon footprints should always be front of mind.

When the RFI responses have been collated and analysed, the findings can help create a roadmap of requirements both in terms of functionality priorities and budgets to ensure the ROI can be accurately calculated which in turn will lead to a green light to proceed to full tender or a pause to reconsider options.

Alastair Roy advises hoteliers to be systematic when it comes to technology.

For guidance on how to approach technology procurement contact alastair@aroprocurement.com www.aroprocurement.com