The Oracle: Issue #2

THE ORACLE - OCTOBER ISSUE - #02
MEET VENNERS
Gamechangers’ list of supplier partners is packed with
experts committed to supporting operator members
build strong, expanding and profitable businesses.
This issue The Oracle met with Scott Hulme, MD at Venners,
to discuss how their partnerships offer profit building, and
secure and compliant venues.
We have developed a strong
consultancy side of the business
that offers investigations, advice
on financial and operational
processes, food and drink control
plus other practical services.
We also offer the monitoring of
company compliance to ensure
that processes are working. We
work closely with the policies that
a business already has in place, to
check and report that your teams
are adhering to them.
Operators are expected to be the
heads of all departments, and they
simply haven’t got the time. We’re
here to take away the stress and
pain operators face, by providing
practical action points to control
and improve the space’s efficiency
and profitability.”
Why is data important?
“It’s all about competition. To be
the best operator you need to
have the best data.
Data gives a crucial snapshot to
assess business health. It should
cover every area of the business
and goes beyond keeping track of
food and drink. Of course, losing
10 pints or wasting food, should
be addressed. But to truly focus on
adding pounds to the bottom line, it
is just as important to monitor data
related to equipment, invoices, staff
costs and prices - and to make
corrections accordingly.
Operators ultimately have to find
the right companies who can
support them, are trustworthy
partners and can work on budget.”
What kind of changes are
you seeing?
“Competitive Socialising is
attracting new people and
franchisees into the industry,
injecting fresh ideas, and keeping
the sector competitive, innovative,
and fast paced. However, these
people often come from a
non-hospitality background and
may not have had the opportunity
to see how setting up essential
controls benefit their operation.”
What are you currently
working on?
“There is so much we are focusing
on and we look forward to being
able to share our research,
benchmarking, industry standard
reports and price indexing soon.”
MEET THE SUPPLIER
How long have you been
in hospitality?
“I have worked in hospitality for
36 years, starting as a waiter
and working my way up to pub
manager. I am now MD at Venners.
When I left college, I started my
career in accountancy but carried
on working in the evenings at the
pub. My boss at the accountancy
firm asked me to quit my
hospitality job to concentrate on
accountancy. I thought, you know
what, I actually enjoy my evening
job in hospitality more than my day
job in accountancy.
I just love the culture of the
sector, but I do also enjoy working
with facts and figures, which is
why almost 30 years ago now, I
joined Venners - to get the best
of both worlds. So, I have been in
hospitality on both sides of the
fence and that’s given me a good
grounding and understanding of
what the industry is and needs.”
What do Venners offer?
“Venners are an established and
respected stocktake and audit
company. We pride ourselves on
working with operators, giving
them real time practical advice and
support, as well as helping them
implement processes.
Good old-fashioned stocktaking
is a valuable resource for the P&L.
How many bottles are left? How
many steaks can you still sell? Have
you lost a keg? Beyond answering
those types of questions though,
we offer operators so much more….
Your stock has monetary value.
If someone stole £50 out of your
safe, you’d call the police. But
when it comes to stock going
missing it is often not seen to be
quite as serious as when cash
Check out Venners today:
www.venners.com
goes missing. Then again, it’s
no good turning up at a site
saying, ‘you need to lock all
your stock up for 24 hours
a day so that none of it gets
pinched!’
Scott Hulme, Managing
Director of Venners
“ If someone stole £50 out
of your safe, you’d call the
police. But when it comes
to stock going missing it is
often not seen to be quite
as serious as when cash
goes missing. “
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