Wyndham Vacation Resorts' procurement strategy

Malcolm Parker, Director of Procurement at Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, is always focused on the bigger picture, but he also knows only too well just how important the finer details can be. 
 

Starting his career in hospitality as “the person who checked and stocked the hotel mini bars,” Parker says the polished outcome that guests experience when staying at Wyndham resorts is only possible due to the efforts of hundreds of people collaborating behind the scenes.

“I have seven people on my team, but overall we’ve got close to 550 people in the Queensland office supporting the hotel group and the vacation ownership business,” Parker says. 

“The company has grown really very quickly; 12 years ago, we had half a floor. Within a few years we had employees spread across five different buildings. Then five years ago we had to move into our current building, and our growth has continued ever since.”
 

Parker’s group, which procures and purchases all operating goods and services, capital purchases, furniture, fixtures and equipment, has been particularly busy recently, developing their new ‘Procure to Pay’ solution.

It aims to automate every step of the process, from raising a purchase order and receiving an invoice to approving payment, with an electronic process that promotes full end-to-end visibility, thereby simplifying the complexities of procurement. 

“Traditionally the system has been very paper-based; we’ve had to raise a purchase order, get it approved and then authorise payment, which is a process that can take up to three or four weeks,” Parker explains. 
 

This article is in Business Review Australia & Asia's September issue 

Follow @BizReviewAU and @MrNLon on Twitter. 

Business Review Australia is also on Facebook.