Development and application of an operational model for hotel supply management.
The world has undergone a number of changes in recent years, especially with regard to business practices.
The client has become a source of strategic information about the quality of the product and the service, rather than just being the target of advertising campaigns for production and service companies.
In hotel companies, for example, wide-ranging plans are developed to meet customer needs. The mission is no longer about being better than the competition. The mission now is Excellence.
Consequently, the classic ways of managing organizations based on the analysis and optimization of each of their functional areas are losing validity in favor of systemic management approaches that advocate achieving a satisfactory system operation for each of their parts. Total Quality Control, Management by Objectives, Marketing and Logistics, among others, constitute, under different forms and fields, management methods inspired by an integrative and systemic approach.
In particular, Logistics addresses the study of the set of activities that are developed on material, informational and financial flows from origin to destination with a systemic and integrated vision with the aim of providing internal or external customers of the organization with a service quality at the right time with a minimum of expenses.
The evaluation of the theoretical and practical framework of logistics and specifically of supply management, the experiences of previous research validated in this field and the knowledge of the specific conditions in which the Cuban economy develops and specifically the tourism sector, In the context of this research, they have allowed us to propose an operational model and computer systems for the supply management of hotel companies.
The Operational Model was applied at the Meliá Santiago de Cuba Hotel.
Development
Theoretical and Practical Conceptions for the Proposal of an Operational Model for Hotel Supply Management.
Supply management must be framed within a vision of a total quality model aimed at customers and service quality as a process of continuous improvement.
In hotel service, quality is the extent to which the organization is able to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers. Although expectations are an individual matter, they basically focus on the material and functional aspects of the service. Therefore, it is a challenge for the hotel company to develop integrated supply management that ensures products and services that are perceived by internal and external customers according to the needs they want to satisfy.
The objective of the proposed operational model is to integrate the operational elements of hotel supply management to improve the decision-making process and contribute to raising the efficiency and quality of service to customers.
The operational elements of the model are as follows:
- Analysis of the demand for supplies. Classification of products in inventory. Inventory Management. Analysis of Suppliers. Transportation Management. Storage Management.
In the conception of the model, it has been considered that the starting point is the client and the evaluations of different authors who agree in affirming that strategic planning provides the direction that will guide the mission, objectives and strategies of the company by facilitating development. of the plans for each of its functional areas.
In the operational model, the main internal clients that interact with supplies are represented: Drinks and Food, Floor Management, Marketing and Economy - Finance.
The model is represented through a flow diagram. The operational elements are identified in the model by the numerical code indicated above. Figure 1 shows the model and Table 1 shows the relationships represented in it.
In the development of the model, the following notation is used to make references to the informative or material relationships between each of the operational elements and between these and the functional areas of the organization: (Source Code - Destination Code).
Hotel strategic planning
| RELATIONS | DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION AND MATERIAL RELATIONS |
| EF-1 | Historical consumption of products (Points of Sale, Warehouses), cost price |
| O-1 | Product Quality Specifications and Room Allowance |
| C-1 | a- Characteristics of clients in the main issuing countries |
| b- Projected number of clients and Types of Alimony Plans. | |
| c- Projected occupation levels | |
| d- Seasonality of tourist demand | |
| e- Customer preferences and expectations | |
| 1-2 | Presentation of the characteristics of the demand projection |
| 1-4 and 1-3 | Idem 1-2 |
| O-2 | Qualitative evaluation criteria for products |
| EF-2 | a- Average cost price of the product |
| b- Level of existence (physical and in value) and inventory movements | |
| 4-2 | Origin of the supplier (National or Foreign) |
| 2-3 | Comprehensive Classification (A, B, C) of the products in inventory |
| EF-3 | a- Dates of receipt and dispatch of the products |
| b- Idem EF-2a | |
| c- Financial availability for the acquisition of the products | |
| 4-3 | Suppliers' offer conditions in negotiations |
| 6-3 | Net storage capacity |
| 3-4 | Presentation of the product inventory policy |
| 3-6 | Maximum, minimum, average and security levels of existence |
| 3-EF | Monetary resources necessary to execute purchases |
| EF-4 | a- Status of the debt contracted with suppliers |
| b- Value of the volume of purchases made from suppliers | |
| O-4 | Basic information to evaluate and select suppliers |
| 4-O | Presentation of new offers |
| 4-5 | Transport orders with own means for selected products |
| 4-P | Submitting orders to selected suppliers |
| P-4 | Presentation of offers |
| O-5 | Specifications to ensure quality in transportation with own resources |
| O-6 | Product requests |
| 6-O | Stock levels of products in the warehouse |
| 6-EF | Information for the accounting record of the movement of products |
| P-5 | Delivery of materials |
| 5-6 | Delivery of supplies for the organization's transport |
| 5-EF | Information on transport costs |
| P-6 | Delivery of supplies by the supplier |
| 6-AREAS | Dispatch of products to internal areas |
Table No.1 Informational and material relationships reflected in the model.
In the model, all the operational elements of hotel supply management are presented, however in the development of the research the author only analyzes the demand, the classification of products, inventory management and the analysis of suppliers for constituting the operational elements of greater implication in the strategic problem of the provisioning function of most of the hotels of the Tourist Pole of Santiago de Cuba.
For the operational elements of the model that the author develops in the research, methods, procedures and computational systems are proposed that transform the inputs into outputs and provide important judgments for the selection of the most suitable alternative in the decision-making process. of decisions.
Operational Element 1
Supply Demand Analysis.
The objective of this operational element is to determine for each item the quantities required by the hotel to develop an efficient and customer-oriented supply. The information inputs reflected in the model are considered as premises.
The development of the operational element "Supply Demand Analysis" is carried out through the following stages:
1- Customer analysis.
2- Classification of products at points of sale.
3- Projection of demand.
Customer Analysis.
For the analysis of demand, it is necessary to know a set of information related to customers (C-1), these are: the characteristics of customers in the main issuing countries, the expected number of customers, the projected occupancy levels, the seasonality of tourism demand and customer expectations.
In order to characterize the main source markets, it is necessary to have the following information: predominant age, socioeconomic status, the general satisfaction index, food and beverage preferences, the predominant type of tourism (stay or tour), the types of pension plans food and seasonality of demand.
Analysis of Hotel Trend and Seasonality.
In the research, the determination of seasonality indices from the monthly tourist days is not only important for the deseasonalization of data and forecasting, but also to develop in a more objective and efficient way a logistics that responds to the satisfaction of tastes. and customer preferences and manage the average inventory in correspondence with the level of activity and occupation of the hotel with a positive effect on costs.
Classification of Products at Points of Sale.
Within the frameworks of hotel and non-hotel management, methods have been developed that make it possible to achieve better structured product offerings in terms of prices, costs and contribution margin that can guide supply management towards the more effective fulfillment of its Mission. These are, among others: Kasavana-Smith Matrix, Miller Matrix, Pavesic Matrix.
The author, evaluating the set of possible methods to apply, suggests adopting the Pavesic Matrix which allows classifying the supply of products based on the contribution margin and the percentage of cost weighted by the quantities demanded.
The matrix classifies the products offered in four quadrants), with different characteristics:
- Star Products: High contribution margin and low cost percentage. Standard Products: High contribution margin and high cost percentage. Sleeping Products: Low contribution margin and low cost percentage. Dog Products: Low contribution margin and high percentage of cost.
The basic information required is the following: number of units sold, number of presentations, sale price and cost price (EF-1).
| STANDARD | STARS | TO
L T OR |
| DOGS | SLEEPERS | B
TO J OR |
| TALL | LOW |
Figure 2 Pavesic Matrix
In order to classify the products at the points of sale, the use of the IPP computer system, designed and programmed by the author, is recommended.
Demand Projection.
There is a consensus that of the time series forecasting methods it is the Exponential Smoothing that best suits the short-term prediction of inventory control due to the possibilities of: automation of the calculation process, operating with relatively low costs, attach more importance to recent demand data than less recent demand when forecasting.
The selection of the Exponential Smoothing method to project the demand for products in inventory of hotel companies also responds to the existence of a large number of items to process that have a random independent demand.
The author recommends the use of the STATISTICA Computer System for the application of the different models of exponential smoothing due to its benefits related to the speed of processing, flexibility in handling primary information, the possibilities of graphing, in addition to automatically determining the constants of smoothing that minimizes the measurement of the forecast error.
Operational Element 2
Inventory Classification of Products.
The objective of this operational element of the model is to classify the products in inventory to establish differentiated strategies that allow efficient and customer-oriented supply management.
There is a general tendency to differentiate inventory management depending on the characteristics of the articles that comprise it. The same level of generalization presents in the reviewed literature the recommendation to apply the ABC Method as a classification method, using a quantifiable base variable or parameter.
The basic information required for its application relates to the forecast demand for the period (1-2), the cost price, the movements of the product, the levels of existence (EF-2) and qualitative evaluation criteria (OR -two).
Conception of a Multicriteria Approach in the Application of the ABC Method.
The author develops a decision rule that combines quantitative criteria for inventory classification through a comprehensive selective code.
For the application of the ABC method with a multi-criteria approach, the use of computer techniques is essential. We recommend the use of the "ABCI" computer system, designed and programmed by the author in the FOXPRO programming language for Windows.
Operational Element 3
Inventory management.
Inventory management stems from the importance of inventory for the company and therefore the need to manage and control it. The objective of this operational element is fundamentally to maintain an inventory level that allows a maximum level of service to customers at a minimum cost.
For the research, the Service Levels method and the Reception Item method have been of notable interest due to their level of practical application, the basic information requirements available in the accounting records of the hotel company, the base scientific and economic support to these methods, to their real possibilities of automation and integration to the computerized inventory management system «InterHotel 2000», as well as for the advantages offered by calculating for each product the average supply cycle, the demand daily average, maximum, average and minimum inventory level and safety inventory.
Formulation of Policies in Hotel Inventory Management.
In the framework of hotel inventory management, the use of the continuous review system is preferably recommended, considering that the registration of inventory movements is carried out by automated means that make it possible to know at all times the level of inventory existence of each product, in addition this system generates lower average inventory levels than the periodic review system.
In the author's opinion, the “Fixed order point - maximum inventory level” policy, known as the “Mini-Max” policy, which implies a variable batch size, provides greater flexibility in the application of the proposed methods for determining the different inventory levels and is adapted to the characteristics of the hotel company in which the stock levels are sensitive to the seasonality that tourism demand experiences and to customer expectations.
The basic information required is as follows: have a comprehensive classification of the products (2-3), the dates of receipt and dispatch of the products, the average cost price and the financial availability to execute the acquisition of the products. (EF-3), as well as storage capacity restrictions.
In order to apply this policy and determine the different levels of inventory, the author is based fundamentally on the method of the Item of Receipt and of the Levels of Services, as well as of adaptations that are considered necessary and appropriate to take into account for the calculation of the inventory. security and order point.
To apply the exposed methods, we recommend the NORMAS Computer System, validated by business practice, the author's scientific experience in the frameworks of hotel supply management.
Operational Element 4
Supplier Analysis.
The objective of this operational element of the model is to develop a procedure that allows evaluating suppliers with a strategic focus in order to make it possible to adopt strategies that improve the quality and competitiveness of the hotel service and its efficiency.
In the framework of this research, several references to methods that allow the selection of suppliers were analyzed. However, these do not exhaust the possibilities of carrying out a strategic and comprehensive evaluation of the same within the framework of hotel supply management and for this reason, a procedure is proposed below through a set of stages to carry out a strategic evaluation of the providers on the basis of parameters or criteria that directly affect the quality and efficiency of the hotel service.
The stages proposed for the strategic evaluation and selection of suppliers are as follows:
I. Classification of suppliers.
II. Definition of the most important parameters for evaluating suppliers.
III. Formulation of the supplier evaluation matrix.
IV. Determination of the level of incidence of the providers in the quality of the service.
V. Selection of suppliers.
Stage I: Classification of Suppliers.
Supplier classification allows the company to direct, differentiate and focus sourcing efforts where it is most effective, facilitating the identification of key suppliers with whom to maintain a constructive long-term relationship. On this basis, the author suggests the possibility of applying quantitative methods such as the Pareto Principle.
For the classification of suppliers according to the value of purchases, it is recommended to use the SUPPLIERS computer system, designed and programmed by the author in FOXPRO for Windows.
Stage II: Definition of the Most Important Parameters for the Evaluation of Suppliers.
To define the level of importance of each parameter, the possibility of using different methods was evaluated, however, due to the nature of the process being investigated and the existence of favorable conditions for its application, the author suggests the use of the survey and the Delphi Method..
It is suggested to select the experts, to calculate the Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance, to verify if the agreement is accidental or not from a hypothesis test, as well as to determine the specific weight of each parameter as a result of the experts' evaluations.
Stage III: Formulation of the Supplier Evaluation Matrix.
The supplier evaluation matrix is made up of the parameters selected in the previous step and a Likert-type qualitative evaluation scale. As a generalized criterion for evaluating a parameter, the arithmetic mean of the evaluations issued by the experts is calculated.
To characterize the degree of agreement of the experts in each evaluation, the coefficient of variation is used, where the higher the value of the coefficient of variation, the lower the degree of agreement of the experts in relation to the average evaluation of the provider in each parameter.
Stage IV: Determination of the Incidence Level of the Suppliers in the Quality of the Service.
The following relationship is proposed for determining the level of impact of providers on service quality:
Ncij: Incidence level of supplier i in parameter j.
Wj: Specific weight of parameter j.
m: Number of suppliers to evaluate.
As a result of this stage it is possible to determine the level at which the suppliers meet the expectations of the organization in terms of each evaluation parameter and in general.
Stage V: Selection of Suppliers.
The selection of suppliers consists of choosing a supplier with a certain profile, capable of being defined through evaluations that allow comparisons to be made between those that could constitute the supplier portfolio.
The author suggests the use of the Material Yield Index Method for the selection of suppliers of products that have a significant weight of losses during the transformation process such as meat products, fish, poultry, among others. Likewise, the use of the Ideal Point Method is recommended as it reflects the level at which the organization's expectations are not met by its suppliers.
During the development of the research, it was found that these methods constitute a practical novelty in the field of decision-making for the selection of the best providers in the framework of hotel management.
Applications And Results
From the economic point of view, the application of the model at the Meliá Santiago de Cuba Hotel led to savings of $ 10,037.01 USD / Month, due to the decrease in inventory levels in the stores of Food-Drinks and Floor Management and by concept. Selection of the best suppliers of some products saved $ 923.91 USD / Month.
The generalization of the proposed operational model is satisfactorily assessed by the territorial delegation of MINTUR and Cubanacán as well as by the management of hotel and non-hotel facilities of the Tourist Pole of Santiago de Cuba. Among them: Hotel Casagranda belonging to the Gran Caribe Chain, Hotel Horizontes Las Américas, Hotel Horizontes Costa Morena and the Compañía de Restaurantes Palmares SA de Cubanacán.
In particular, the partial introduction of the model at the Hotel Horizontes Costa Morena reported savings of $ 4798.77 due to the adaptation of inventory levels to hotel demand, as well as a qualitative improvement in the level of service to internal and external customers.
Conclusions
- In the consulted bibliography that deals with hotel management, theoretical and practical aspects associated with the management of supplies have been insufficiently addressed. Among them: The Logistics Approach of hotel companies. The integration of operational elements in the hotel supply subsystem. The adaptation of inventory levels to the seasonality of hotel demand and the tastes and preferences of customers. It was developed and applied a customer-focused model that coherently integrates the operational elements that concur in hotel supply management, showing their informational and material relationships. From the operational model, those most significant elements were selected for the hotels of the Tourist Pole of Santiago de Cuba and were developed,applied and validated the computer support systems that favored the decision-making process, helping to increase efficiency and the level of customer satisfaction.
- The application of the Model in the Meliá Santiago de Cuba Hotel reported an economic effect of $ 10037.01 USD / month for savings due to the reduction of inventory levels in the stores of Víveres Bebidas and Regidencia de Pisos. Likewise, a saving of $ 923.91 USD was obtained by the convenient selection of suppliers in the analyzed products.
- The operational model and the computer systems developed can be implemented and generalized to other hotel chains and tourist centers in the country.
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