March 2008
Tradeledger offers Whitbread's suppliers and customers an easier life
As the UK's leading hospitality company, Whitbread manages Brewers Fayre, Costa Coffee, Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays, among others. With 1,500 locations across the UK and 2,500 suppliers to coordinate with, managing the thousands of invoices and purchase orders that accompany such an operation is a daunting task.
Whitbread believes that making life easier for suppliers is good for business, which is just one of the many reasons Itim knew its Tradeledger electronic trading solution would be a perfect fit for them. With Tradeledger, Itim introduced Whitbread to a system that allows for faster, more efficient processing than ever before.
Not only does this managed service offer significant cost savings, it also dramatically reduces error and delay rates related to the re-keying of information. A step up from the email ordering system previously relied upon, Tradeledger allows Whitbread to place an order via electronic file transfer, which is then integrated and uploaded into each supplier's given processing system automatically. As a result, processing times are cut, allowing suppliers to dispatch orders more quickly and efficiently, and in turn, enjoy time and cost savings of their own.
Pam Crouch, Business Process and Support Manager for Whitbread, has declared the project a resounding success. "We want to have processes that are a source of value to everyone in our supply chain," she said. "Email ordering was very useful from our end - But for many of our suppliers it didn't help at all, and for some it made things more difficult." Tradeledger adds value to ordering processes for both Whitbread and its suppliers... Value which can then be passed onto Whitbread customers.
Simon Curtis, Managing Director of Itim recognised that Tradeledger is ideal for Whitbread. "They are known for approaching relationships with suppliers in a cooperative and considerate manner, and this is exactly what Tradeledger was designed for," Curtis said. "This project is a fantastic example of how collaborative business tools like Tradeledger deliver measureable value to the supply chain."
