Major Chicago Hotel Implements BirchStreet’s Single Property Solution to Streamline Purchasing and Inventory Management
Newport Beach, Calif., May 30, 2007 – BirchStreet Systems, a leading provider of eProcurement and back office automation solutions to the hospitality industry, today announced that the InterContinental Chicago has selected its Single Property Solution to streamline purchasing and inventory control. One of Chicago’s premiere hotels, the InterContinental Chicago is the latest property to adopt BirchStreet’s Single Property Solution to manage critical hotel operations.
The Single Property Solution (SPS) is a version of the BirchStreet Application Suite, a comprehensive back-office business system built specifically to the needs of the hospitality and food service industries. The system was designed to automate the “Procure-to-Pay” cycle cutting inefficiencies out of the process while strengthening financial controls.
“The SPS is a perfect complement to our enterprise offering,” said Doug Sanborn, president and CEO of BirchStreet Systems. “SPS provides everything needed to automate the procurement process and supports all of the purchasing needs of a hotel property in an affordable and flexible package. The solution offers best-in-class property level automation benefits and leverages our network of over 30,000 integrated industry suppliers.”
The InterContinental Chicago’s director of purchasing, Deshia Goldman, has first-hand experience with BirchStreet’s enterprise solution. “I have used the system nearly everyday since 2003 at another major Chicago area hotel, so I know how easy it is to use and how much of a difference it can make,” explained Goldman. “I look forward to the same fantastic results now that we are bringing it to the InterContinental Chicago.”
Under the advice of Goldman, the InterContinental Chicago selected BirchStreet’s SPS for the variety of benefits it provides, from ease of use to competitive cost of ownership. “The ability to move all purchasing and inventory control into one easy-to-use online system will improve our productivity and allow us to maintain a higher degree of control over our purchasing activities,” she added. “BirchStreet’s solution not only outshines the competition in features and functionality but also exceeds alternative solutions in its affordability.”
The BirchStreet Application Suite can be run as a single-property package or as an enterprise-wide solution to help hospitality organizations identify ways to leverage their collective buying power. The software provides a comprehensive tool to drive consistent business processes and financial control in a single property or across a portfolio of properties. BirchStreet delivers its solution over the Internet, using the “Software as a Service” (SaaS) model, which reduces the total cost of ownership compared with the traditional method of buying and maintaining enterprise software.
About the InterContinental Chicago
The InterContinental Chicago on the Magnificent Mile, operated by the International Hotel Group (IHG), is one of Chicago’s premiere hotels. With its art deco exterior and Roman-style swimming pool, the hotel was originally built as the Medinah Athletic Club in 1929 and is a historic Chicago landmark. Its extensive renovation translates into the highest standards for guest comfort, set within an old-world elegance that is combined with the best in modern amenities. The hotel is within walking distance to many City of Chicago attractions including Navy Pier, Magnificent Mile Shopping and Chicago Museum Campus.
About BirchStreet
BirchStreet delivers its solution over the Internet, using the “Software as a Service” (SaaS) model, which reduces the total cost of ownership compared with the traditional method of buying and maintaining enterprise software. BirchStreet delivers its on demand eProcurement and back office solutions to some of the world’s leading hospitality companies, including Hilton Hotels Corporation, Marriott International, Interstate Hotels and Resorts, Carlson Hospitality and The Marcus Corporation.
Over 1,000 hotels use the Company’s full-featured, full-service procure-to-pay solutions combining flexibility, reliability and scalability with the operating advantages of an outsourced service. Multi-lingual and multi-currency capable, BirchStreet’s solutions provide “best of the web” capabilities to mid-tier and global hospitality companies. BirchStreet allows customers to reduce the risk, complexity and cost associated with large-scale procurement and back-office solutions, while empowering business users and delivering unprecedented ROI.
The application suite leverages BirchStreet’s network of over 30,000 industry suppliers and includes eProcurement and RFQ; budget tracking and workflow; recipe management and menu engineering; inventory and receiving; AP automation; and capital projects.
Headquartered in Newport Beach California, the Company is managed by a team of hospitality and enterprise software veterans. For more information, visit www.BirchStreetSystems.com