www.venners.com
Pull the other one
Late at night with a catering event starting the next day, two
Venners' auditors had to count four enormous cellars of beer and
work out which keg served which bar. Accompanied by security, one
auditor visited each bar and drew through a small amount of beer.
The other checked which keg the beer was coming from. Staying in
touch by mobile phone, they quickly apportioned the stock to the
correct bar so that the event got off to an accurate start.
Compliance audit: the unsafe safe
A Venners' auditor arriving at a client's premises to conduct a
compliance audit was astounded to find a message written on the
wall in the manager's office: “If the manager is late, the
keys to the safe are in the second drawer of his desk.” Proof
that this client desperately needed Venners' compliance audit
services.
DVD technology works for Venners and Hilton
As part of the sale of the London and Birmingham Metropole hotels,
the client called in Venners to compile full inventories of both
hotels' chattel assets – a huge task considering the scale of
the two facilities. On the day of completion itself, the
inventories were meticulously checked and updated to meet the
requirements of both vendor and purchaser. For the first time, the
Venners inventory team used DVD technology, enabling instant
updating in the final hours before the sale. Also on the day of
completion, six stocktakers attended each hotel to value the stock
in trade. They worked through each premises, adhering to an action
plan carefully coordinated with colleagues at Christie + Co.
VenPowa caters well
Approached by Sodexho, Venners conceptualised, designed and built a
new stocktaking system (VenPowa) that allowed the client to control
stocks at its Prestige Event Catering locations. VenPowa provided
the backbone of stock-related data for a number of high-profile
events, including The Chelsea Flower Show, The Open, The Derby, The
Ryder Cup and Royal Ascot.
Venners provide sparkling service
A Venners' client operating a substantial portfolio of UK hotels
asked how many bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne each hotel
had in stock. Just 15 minutes later the information was sent via
e-mail, proving that Vision 21 helps Venners provide a sparkling
service.
Marked improvement from Venners' advice
A hotel with a history of poor stock results approached Venners for
advice. Venners investigated the business and made recommendations
that included security, tills, and staff training. The manager
implemented the recommendations and at the next stocktake the
liquor result improved by 10%, the gross profit by 4% and the food
gross margin by over 10%.
The right track
In what was a first for both Venners and the railway industry, one
of the UK's premier public transport providers asked Venners to
conduct spot audits on its catering operations. This not only
involved counting the stock but also checking operational activity
and compliance against certain on-board procedures. Within two
weeks of the first audit, the operator reported more efficient use
of stock and better returns. Revenues increased by between
£3,000 and £5,000 per day, and the cost of stock was
reduced. The operator continues to reap the benefits of Venners'
services.
Must stock, will stock
A senior manager of a large pub group using Venners as stocktakers
asked his operations team if all the pubs were adhering to the
group's purchasing policy, which had been specifically designed to
promote products with the best profit margins. By utilising Vision
21, Venners' database management system, the Operational Manager
quickly identified what each pub was stocking, and the most
profitable products were introduced into those pubs not following
the group's purchasing policy.
