The hospitality industry is one of the major players in economic contribution in the Philippines, segmented into: business tourism, vacation tourism, eco-tourism, medical tourism, and more. ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’, a catchphrase that is entirely true to its nature, used to attract foreign tourists to visit destinations such as the beautiful sand beaches of Boracay, Palawan, El Nido, Siargao. These places are keen to tourist eyes, but hospitality is more than just a place. Hospitality is the service provided. The Philippines’ hospitality is known to be the best in the world. And naturally, we are very good at it. While food and hotel service serves as second nature to Filipino hospitality workers, hospitality procurement can be better. In this article, we will talk about how B2B eCommerce can simplify hospitality procurement, so you can focus on serving, rather than procuring.
How Big is the Hospitality Industry in the Philippines
Just to provide you with a quick overview, data from Mordor Intelligence, the hospitality industry in the Philippines is ranked as the world’s fourth fastest-growing economy in 2021 as the Philippine tourism sector saw a significant recovery contributing 10.4 percent to GDP in 2021, poised to grow at a CAGR of more than 10% by 2028.
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s most recent iteration of the Economic Impact Report, the Philippines’ tourism sector increased by 129.5% in 2021, reaching 41 billion USD.
Growth from Foreigners’ Spending
Domestic Tourism Expenditure has the highest growth in 2021 at 38.7%, followed by outbound tourism expenditure at 27.1%.
Digitizing Procurement for the Hospitality Industry
Digitizing procurement changes the procurement process within the hospitality industry. This enables and equips hospitality businesses the use of digital tools to simplify and enhance the traditional procurement processes. By seamlessly integrating procurement tech solutions into its operations, e-procurement optimizes the entire procurement lifecycle for hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality establishments. Digitized procurement spans from product selection to procurement approvals, to efficient delivery logistics and after-sales customer service.
For the hospitality industry, digitized procurement emerges as a game-changer, streamlining the procurement journey for both individual businesses and larger hotel chains. Whether you’re managing a startup hotel or an established resort, the benefits of digitized procurement are for every scale, and size.
In particular, hotels can leverage e-procurement through B2B eCommerce platforms tailored to the unique needs of the hospitality industry. Take, for instance, a trusted B2B eCommerce solution like Shoppable Business, which equips hotels with tools and features designed to simplify and enhance their procurement processes.
Embracing digitized procurement and the support of specialized B2B eCommerce, the hospitality industry can change the way they buy for their business, efficiency and cost-saving solutions.
How Digitization Simplify Hospitality Procurement
- Better Spending Visibility
With digital integration in procurement, everything becomes transparent, automated, and streamlined. E-procurement through B2B eCommerce platforms a transparent view of your procurement spending. Furthermore, it empowers you to set budget thresholds and allocate budgets per department, enabling you to prevent going over the budget, while aligning with your procurement cost-saving objectives.
- Product Sourcing made easy
Digitization empowers hospitality procurement by accessing a wide range of thousands of vetted suppliers, hundreds of thousands of authentic products, and services. This allows hotels and restaurants to efficiently source their needs by perusing diverse product catalogs, categories, comparing pricing and deals, resulting in substantial time and cost savings strategies.
- Streamlined, Automated Workflows
Unlike traditional procurement methods, E-procurement excels at automating and streamlining the procurement process. The automation of these processes encapsulates purchase requisitions, order approvals, reordering, scheduled deliveries, payments, and everything in between.
- Live Data Analytics
B2B eCommerce platforms equip hospitality establishments with tools and features to analyze all procurement data on their user dashboards. This data encompasses inventory levels, product trends, and more, allowing for data-driven decision-making to efficiently optimize procurement processes.
- Better Vendor Selection
Within the hospitality industry, B2B eCommerce platforms are teeming with a plethora of vetted suppliers on their platform, making the supplier selection process a breeze for hospitality establishments. This offers time and cost savings for hotels, restaurants, and similar businesses, thanks to features and tools that effortlessly aid in discovering and assessing suppliers.
Additionally, in situations where your primary supplier encounters issues in meeting your demands, hospitality establishments can opt for backup suppliers on the platform offering the same products, terms, and deals.
- Buy in Bulk
The core principle of procurement, which is purchasing products in bulk to capitalize on quantity discounts, remains unchanged in digitized procurement within the hospitality sector. What distinguishes it is that hotels and restaurants can engage in online contract negotiations with suppliers, eliminating the need for face-to-face transactions. This does not only improve overall negotiation & transaction efficiency and productivity to your establishment, but also to your suppliers. A win-win transaction overall.
- One-click ordering & re-ordering
Digitization is all about automation and streamlining the traditional procurement process. In the hospitality sector, establishments can create reorder listings and submit purchase orders for frequently purchased items. This eliminates the manual effort involved in product selection and supplier negotiations, enabling hotels and restaurants to instantly procure everything they require. This, in turn, prevents purchasing delays arising from product selection, approvals, and other aspects of the procurement lifecycle, ultimately boosting productivity and ensuring a well-stocked inventory.
- Order Tracking
E-procurement marketplaces offer real-time order tracking and status updates, allowing hospitality establishments to closely monitor the progress of their orders. This ensures timely deliveries and reduces the need for manual follow-ups.
Another valuable aspect of order tracking is the provision of after-sales customer service to hospitality businesses. Even after sales are completed, hotels and restaurants can receive post-sales customer support in case of any issues during the shipment and after receiving their orders. If there are any damages or dissatisfaction with their orders, after-sales customer service can provide assistance to their valued customers.
- Stay Compliant with Ease
Procurement extends beyond securing the best deals and approvals; it also encompasses compliance, a critical, yet overlooked part of procurement. E-Procurement brings a solution by making it easy for hotels and restaurants to stay compliant with every purchase they make.
B2B eCommerce platforms issue electronic sales invoices for each business transaction. This eliminates concerns about misplacing physical invoices and receipts, as all records are stored virtually and accessible anytime, anywhere, for your convenience.
- 100% Authentic Products, Guaranteed
In the Philippines, B2B eCommerce platforms like Shoppable Business ensure that hospitality businesses access only the authentic, branded products.
How? Shoppable Business implements a careful vetting process for suppliers and products, guaranteeing authentic products overall its product catalogs. Moreover, it is powered by GS1, marking it as the Philippines’ inaugural B2B eCommerce marketplace with barcodes integrated into its products, further solidifying product authenticity and trustworthiness for the hospitality industry, looking to embrace digitized procurement.
What Hospitality Equipment Can You Purchase from E-Procurement
From inventory food stocks, kitchenware, appliance, and maintenance equipment; restaurants, bars, and hotels can purchase everything they need from e-procurement.
Restaurants
- Food and beverages (meat, ingredients, alcohol)
- Kitchen equipment and appliances
- Tableware (plates, glasses, silverware)
- Furniture (tables, chairs)
- Linens and napkins
- Uniforms for staff
- Cleaning supplies and equipment
- Decor and lighting
- HVAC
Hotels
- Bed linens and bedding (sheets, pillows)
- Towels and bathrobes
- Toiletries (shampoo, soap)
- Furniture (beds, chairs)
- Room amenities (coffee makers, minibars)
- Cleaning supplies and equipment
- HVAC and maintenance tools
- Key card systems
- Front desk and lobby furnishings
- Security systems
Resorts
- Pool and beach equipment (lounge chairs, umbrellas)
- Outdoor furniture (patio sets)
- Water sports equipment (kayaks, snorkeling gear)
- Spa and wellness products
- Landscaping and gardening supplies
- Event and entertainment equipment
- Recreational and sports gear
- Decorative elements for themed resorts
- Transportation services (shuttle buses)
Where Can Restaurants and Hotels Digitize their Procurement
Meeting the benchmark of Filipinos being the most hospitable people in the world is overwhelming and demanding. Customers won’t expect less of the hospitable service that servers provide. With that being said, hospitality establishments should focus on providing customer service, no less than the standard, rather than focusing too much on the physical efforts of procurement.
If procurement is a trouble for your hospitality business, a B2B eCommerce platform in the Philippines, Shoppable Business, can ease hospitality procurement for restaurants, hotels, and resorts.
Everything from the procurement lifecycle: product requisition, selection, vendor selection, negotiation, approvals, so on and forth, digitized procurement can streamline everything in between.
Why Become a Seller in Shoppable Business
- Access to a large customer base – giving businesses the opportunity to expand their reach and increase sales
- Increased visibility and brand awareness – a platform for businesses to showcase their products/services and potentially attract new customers
- BNPL (Buy now, Pay later) – grow your ASP; buyers/companies can apply for a loan up to ₱150,000.00
Why Become a Buyer in Shoppable Business
- Wide product selection from different categories – a one-stop-shop solution for businesses’ procurement needs
- Save company time and money – Customized orders, RFQ for specific quantities, bundles, configuration, Track their orders, view purchase history
- Need it now but limited budget – BNPL apply and get up to ₱150,000.00
Start your transition to digitized procurement with Shoppable Business as a buyer for your procurement needs or a seller to provide procurement solutions for your clients.
