MARRIOTT
The name ‘ Marriott ’ exemplifies the hospitality industry . It ’ s certainly among the first names that would spring to mind when considering hotels , and it has nine decades of expertise to thank for that level of prestige .
Marriott International celebrates its 90th birthday this year , having established itself in Washington DC in 1927 . Still a family-led business after all this time , Marriott ’ s current Executive Chairman – JW Marriott Jr . ( Bill ) – is the son of the company ’ s founder , J . Willard Marriott Sr . The latter was an entrepreneur who opened an A & W root beer stand at the age of 27 and swiftly expanded it into a thriving restaurant chain . By the time J . Willard Marriott died in 1985 , the company operated over 1,400 restaurants as well as 143 hotels and resorts worldwide .
Thanks to incredible expansion across these businesses , Marriott now controls over 6,000 properties in 110 nations , offering high-quality hospitality across most of the globe . Key to this level of success is supply chain operations – the process of ensuring consistent service across thousands of properties via the seamless acquisition and delivery of required products .
Enter Senior Vice President of Global Procurement at Marriott International , Stéphane Masson . Masson has worked in procurement for over 24 years , beginning in European operations then relocating to the US as his role evolved into overseeing the global market
Considering the age of the business , switching from region-specific operations to a global system is a relatively recent change . Masson explains how it began .
48 October 2017