Theme Park Operator: Procurement
Transformation & Org Design
Business Challenge
A $250 million operator of theme parks identified procurement as a strategic
financial and operational lever but was uncertain how to optimize it. ISG was
engaged to assess the current state of the procure-to-pay process and to develop
recommendations for taking the organization much closer to 'best-in-class'.
Approach
ISG performed a Procure-to-Pay Process and Organization Assessment, interviewing
key stakeholders and executives at all major parks. ISG also executed a Spend
Analysis to understand the full spend profile across each location.
The Assessment indicated that while multiple people performed purchasing functions,
most activities were tactical and very little strategic sourcing was occurring.
Attempts to consolidate spend across parks had been ineffective historically
due to poor compliance, a lack of executive support, and a sourcing process
that did not fully incorporate all stakeholders requirements.
Through a collaborative process, ISG designed a procurement organizational structure
and comprehensive processes that best met the company's unique needs and culture.
Many aspects of the new design leveraged the ISG Procurement Excellence Project-an
extensive best practices study. Gaining approval from park operators required
extensive change management efforts to limit concerns over loss of control and
potential negative impacts to the guests' experience.
Results: Transformation from Tactical Procurement to a Center-led Strategic
Sourcing Organization
Working with the CEO and the Executive Leadership Committee, ISG built out the
approved design to include role descriptions, scope of responsibilities, skill
sets, compensation recommendations, and even assessments of internal candidates
for the new roles. ISG also delivered reengineered procurement policies and
procedures.
ISG was then engaged to perform an Executive Search to find a new V.P.
of Procurement. Leveraging our network and other resources, ISG screened hundreds
of candidates and recommended three. All three were viewed as acceptable and
one was hired.
Once the full team was built out, ISG performed extensive Strategic Sourcing
& Negotiations Training and jointly executed several Strategic Sourcing
projects to transfer skills and knowledge.
ISG sourced categories such as Chicken, Desserts, Shipping, Brochures, and MRO
Supplies. These efforts yielded over $600,000 in savings-- more than funding
the process reengineering project. In addition, these early wins built up internal
support for the new procurement organization. Today the V.P. of Procurement
plays a prominent role in the organization's operations and strategy.
