Hilton Supply Management - Business Development Achievement of the Year

Company: Hilton Supply Management, McLean, VA
Company Description: As the procurement division of Hilton, Hilton Supply Management (HSM) leverages a combined spend of over $11 billion to negotiate competitive contracts with industry-leading suppliers that ultimately reduces hotel costs and increases owner value. As the only truly global hospitality procurement powerhouse, HSM services 11,000+ properties with more than 140 brands in 119 countries.
Nomination Category: Business Development Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Business Development Achievement of the Year - Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism Industries

Nomination Title: HSM Customer Engagement: Growth Amidst a Pandemic

The HSM Customer Engagement team serves as the first touchpoint in the customer journey, providing personalized service experiences and market-specific expertise to meet individual requirements. The primary functions of this team are to educate potential customers on the value of Hilton Supply Management, to explain how HSM programs and services provide competitive benefits over existing suppliers and to ensure that contracts are equitable to both parties.

Founded in 2018, the Customer Engagement team is comprised of regional managers and directors that have been tasked with developing a set of key accounts across the Americas. This team was formed to take the place of an account management function that exercised limited sales responsibilities and took a mostly passive approach to sales. Today’s HSM Customer Engagement team takes an active approach to outreach and communication with our customers, and has seen tremendous success in doing so. Within the last three years, the department has produced an increased sales volume of over 200% and is set up to continue exceeding targets in years to come.

As a result of their resounding success, HSM as a global division has focused on duplicating the Americas team’s efforts by building similar teams in APAC and EMEA.

Outline the nominated achievement since July 1 2019 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):

Since July 1, 2019, the HSM Customer Engagement team has signed 1224 new partners, with 742 signed in 2020. The revenue/spend value of the new partners signed in 2020 is $223M. The team used a consultative selling approach to win these customers, bringing in such big partners as Inn Ventures, BlueGreen Vacations and Viva Resorts. We also renegotiated contracts with two of our largest customers, RLHC and Highgate.

During this time, we have also expanded into markets outside of the typical hospitality vertical. In 2020 specifically, we began working with restaurants, casinos, vacation rentals, office buildings and multi-family living. The revenue impact is estimated to be around $50M in spend, combined.

The HSM Customer Engagement team has also successfully captured 25% of revenue growth from our largest competitor. Whereas our competitors largely lost customers in 2020, our overall system growth grew in the high single digits, and we successfully pulled key customers away from competitors such as Avendra, Foodbuy and Source One.

Finally, our team quickly shifted to grow business during the pandemic when hotels were closing at a rapid pace. We did this by selling excess inventory to retail, healthcare, senior living and first responder entities. Some of the companies we engaged with were Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Total Wine, CoreTrust, Vi Living, Rockville MD COVID response team, Longview Senior Housing, Community of Hope response team, Brookdale, HealthTrust, ALDI, Meijer and Target. Our total confirmed spend in these markets was close to $500K.

Explain why the achievement you have highlighted is unique or significant. If possible compare the achievement to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):

These achievements are significant because not only do they demonstrate our team’s key attributes, but they were largely achieved during a global pandemic and economic downturn that wreaked havoc on our industry. Our team managed to remain successful while also improving performance and increasing spend.

There are several reasons why HSM was able to capture so much business from our competitors during this timeframe. Backed by a leading hospitality company and armed with decades of experience, we’ve seen firsthand the value that a well-managed purchasing program can bring in every spend category, in every part of the globe. HSM Customer Engagement also offers unparalleled support, including a dedicated help desk, strategic account management and field resources to ensure our customers are well-cared for and take full advantage of our services.

We also make things incredibly easy for customers. Our propriety eProcurement cloud-based platform simplifies the buying process, and leading-edge technology offers analytics and project reports at anytime from anywhere. HSM’s FF&E team handles strategic sourcing and project procurement from start to finish for new builds, conversations and complete renovations.

Finally, our relationships with suppliers help us outstrip the competition. We align with the industry’s top suppliers, offer multiple supplier options per category and leverage our economies of scale to negotiate best-in-class pricing.

Our year-over-year metrics show that our business value tripled from 2018 to 2019 and stayed strong in 2020. Our number of deals signed and business units contracted also increased significantly and also remained steady during this time.

Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):

Included is a presentation that highlights some of our efforts over the past two years, along with YOY metrics and photos from engagement events. Each year (with 2020 being a unique exception), our team personally engages with current and prospective customers in a variety of settings from large hospitality conferences to prestigious tournaments like The Masters. Since July 2019, we have entertained customers at Wimbledon, baseball games, private dinners, and various conferences. These interactions are strategically planned based on top targets with a focus on fostering genuine relationships with both current and potential customers.

Also included are our YOY metrics. Since the creation of the Customer Engagement team in 2018, the group has seen tremendous success. In 2019, the team saw a 205% increase in business value signed, a 35% increase in the number of deals signed, and a 76% increase in business units contracted. As you can see in the presentation, these numbers held strong in 2020 despite a global economic downturn.

Lastly, you will see some examples of our promotional materials. This collateral showcases the key elements of our program using direct messaging that resonates with potential customers and ultimately drives business. A prominent feature repeatedly mentioned is our leading-edge technology that provides customers with a convenient buying experience with anytime, anywhere analytics. Our team also leverages CRM platforms like Salesforce to drive deeper relationships with customers to ensure they are happy not only through the sales process, but throughout their entire partnership with us.