The following article is brought to you by Diageo.
Working closely with suppliers is vital to your business
Working closely with your suppliers is vital to your business. Good working relationships and communications mean you can really understand each other's businesses and provides the opportunity to share resources.
At Diageo Great Britain, we are supplier to some of the biggest multiple retailers in the on-trade. We are working closely with a number of retailers who we have identified working relationships with to share learnings as well as working on new and innovative ways of working to drive their sales through our every serve perfect (esp) programme. Here is an example of how these relationships work for us.
Diageo Great Britain have been working with Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), along with their other key drinks suppliers, where we have tailored the spirit and mixer and Guinness® Perfect Serve sections of our esp training programme to fit into M&B's Quality Is programme. Quality Is was initially trialled in 44 Goose Pubs and 31 O'Neill's outlets and focused on delivering the Perfect Serve for draught beers, spirits, wine and soft drinks.
Nick Sedgwick, Mitchells & Butlers' project manager, comments: "The trial was very successful, produced sales growth and highlighted a clear link between changes in drinks sales mix and the focus of the training.
"We are now rolling out Quality Is training to a further 1,178 businesses within our pubs and bars group and are carrying out audits to benchmark how good we currently are and to measure the impact from delivering the training.
"Early indications from these audits show that substantial improvements have been made, particularly in the service of long mixed spirits. We already have well in excess of a hundred maximum Perfect Serve scores."
He added: "Diageo Great Britain have been a great help to us as advisors and in the roll-out of the programme. Their esp trainers really do have the knowledge and the expertise when it comes to serve training and they have supported us at each of the 25 workshops where we have launched Quality Is to our businesses."
Can esp help?
esp is a real business solution for publicans, designed by Diageo Great Britain. The esp programme aims to promote quality across all areas of the on-trade in order to help you increase your profits.
Our dedicated training team runs interactive sessions all over the country. Training is based around six key category levers:
- "The Perfect Serve"
- Upsizing
- Range and layout
- Premium brands
- Fridge merchandising
- Customer service
We give you the tools to train all your staff including an esp manual called The Book and a training kit
We give you point-of-sale material to communicate to your customers that you are a QUALITY driven outlet
We offer on-going support and communication including a monthly esp magazine with hints and tips to help you grow your business
We run an incentive scheme - esp points can be redeemed for exclusive rewards
If you would like further information, please email: espadmin@klm.co.uk or write to: esp team, Diageo Great Britain, Lakeside Drive, Park Royal, London, NW10 7HQ, or telephone the esp hotline on: 0121 472 9020
Hubbard Ice Systems
Another close relationship we have formed is with Hubbard Ice Systems, UK distributor of the market-leading Scotsman brand, who have huge expertise in ice and ice machines.
Chris Davies, commercial director for Hubbard Ice Systems, says: "We work alongside Diageo Great Britain and their esp programme, providing a discount to esp members, offering free surveys and advising licensees about ice machines. We also hold training courses on health and hygiene for ice handling."
To find out more about Hubbard Ice Systems,call freephone: 0800 616 559, email:icesystems@hubbard.co.uk or check out the Hubbard website at: www.hubbard.co.uk and click on the "Ice Systems" section.