NORTH AMERICA and cost reduction . “ Birchstreet brings structure to our process . We have PO approval process , PO management , inventory management , product management and interaction between hotels and suppliers . This is essential for AccorHotels , especially in North America .”
The businesses have worked together for many years , and AccorHotels favors the platform as it works well especially for its larger properties . “ They ’ ve been able to invest in internal workflow – hotels with over 1,500 employees need a procurement process and workflow to ensure consistency .” Birchstreet has developed this from a back-office perspective , and the solution is effective for AccorHotels ’ finance department . Brunel adds that , as the partnership continues , he hopes to develop a system with even more benefits for front-end buyers , which he is confident can be achieved . “ So far we have partnered with Birchstreet for 10 years ; they ’ ve always supported us in everything we ’ ve done and the platform brings efficiency , good savings and automatic updates to inventory – we probably do around US $ 150mn of annual spend through the Birchstreet platform .”
“ Guests don ’ t want the traditional hotel experience or a standardized room – they want to have fun , new experiences and make connections ” 23 — Sebastien Brunel , Senior Vice President of AccorHotels
The vast array of products AccorHotels buys , and indeed the array of suppliers it works with , presents challenges for eprocurement . “ Eprocurement works very well with products but it ’ s not as simple for utility developments , such as service companies – you can easily buy a kilo of coffee , but one kilowatt of energy isn ’ t the same , so it ’ s not ideal for non-tangible contracts .”
In addition , prioritizing the luxury experience over recent years , Ac-
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