Streamlining Success: Stephen Harrington on BirchStreet and the Evolution of Delaware North's Supply Chain

In an insightful interview at NACC 2023, Stephen Harrington, chief supply chain officer for Delaware North, delves into the transformative impact of BirchStreet on their supply chain management. Harrington's role involves overseeing a diverse portfolio, including hotels, casinos, and sports arenas, making a unified and efficient procurement process a top priority.

“The opportunities that we were trying to solve when we were looking for a system was to get on one platform that we could drive purchase to pay consistently throughout our entire portfolio,” he remarked. 

The quest for a seamless purchase-to-pay process led Delaware North to BirchStreet The decision was rooted in the platform’s hospitality-centric focus and its ability to meet the unique needs of Delaware N’s diverse operations. BirchStreet emerged as the solution that could unify their procurement process across the entire portfolio.

Stephen noted, “After we implemented BirchStreet, the opportunity to see all of our spend across our entire portfolio, to leverage that spend with our supply partners and drive compliance across the board made a huge impact right down to the P&L.”

BirchStreet’s implementation brought about a transformative change in Delaware North’s supply chain dynamics. The platform empowered them to gain comprehensive visibility into their spend, enabling strategic leveraging of that spend with supply partners. This not only enhanced compliance but also had a tangible impact on the bottom line.

“It allows our entire team to go one place to place an order for something that only my team has approved. So, they only buy the things that we have contracts for when they place the order.”

Stephen drew a parallel between BirchStreet’s unified ordering experience and the simplicity of personal online shopping. The platform serves as a centralized hub where Delaware North’s team can confidently place orders for pre-approved items. This streamlined process ensures that orders align with established contracts, simplifying the entire procurement workflow.

Looking ahead, Delaware North is set to implement recipe management as a key strategy. This reflects the company’s commitment to enhancing not only operational efficiency but also sustainability practices.

According to Stephen, “We’re starting to implement Recipe Management this year. When I think about controlling that recipe to deliver a consistent experience for our guest, better manage food waste, Recipe Management is going to be at the heart of that.”

The shared insights and mutual learning contribute to the continuous improvement of Delaware North’s supply chain operations. Stephen commented about BirchStreet that he holds “an appreciation for “the partnership that we have with them and the community. We can take away so much from each other that’s going to benefit everything that we do.”

From driving consistency to leveraging spend visibility, implementing recipe management, and embracing sustainability, BirchStreet stands as a pivotal ally in Delaware North’s journey toward operational excellence.

Want to hear the full interview? Listen in.