what are the elements of a sound & fair foodservice contract? mark kraner executive director of...

What Are The Elements of a Sound & Fair Foodservice Contract?

Mark KranerExecutive Director of Campus Retail OperationsGeorge Mason University

H. David Porter, FCSI, AuthorPresident & CEOPorter Khouw Consulting, Inc.

Fundamental Elements

How To Determine the Optimum Dining Program

Scope of Work

Background request Site visit Market research

Focus groups & interviews

Web-based survey Interactive Work Session Financial Analysis Preliminary Design Strategic Plan

Development Operator Selection

Services

Ask Yourself These Questions

What is the optimum dining program for our unique campus?

How do we organize dining in order to optimize social engagement?

Do we need to enhance facilities?

What will it cost? How do we secure the

optimum contract?

Contractor as Consultant?

Do not use your foodservice operator as your consultant.

Legal analogy….If you represent yourself, you have a fool for a client.

Determine Who You Are• What makes your campus unique?

• Demographics

• Geography

• Culture

• Traditions

• Preferences

• Growth plans/enrollment

• Political environment

• Financial realities

GOAL: To expand the student dining experience.

Determine Who You Are

Ask these questions: What is your retention rate? What is your missed meal

factor? Is meal plan participation up or

down? Are the meal plans a good

value or not? Can students use their meal plans when they want to?

Is there a lack of social connectivity on campus?

Does the program attract or subtract from student life on campus?

Market Research

Interview students & stakeholders.

Directors of admissions, housing, res life and advancement (retention)

Residential & commuter students Faculty & staff Catering customers & conference planners Campus administrators

Determine customers’ perceptions regarding: Hours of operation Monday-Friday & Saturday and Sunday Menu variety Meal plans Methods of service Locations Ambiance Speed of service Customer service

Market Research

Survey the campus community including students, faculty & staff. Where are customers eating off campus/calling for delivery? What time of day/night? How do they pay for purchases? What they do now is a better indication of what they will do.

Use market research determine where the program is lacking & where opportunities lie.

Market Research

Evaluate your facilities. Do they meet today’s standards or are they in a time

warp? Are they competitive with your cross applicant schools? How much deferred maintenance exists?

Optimum Dining Program

Develop the optimum dining program for YOUR campus.

Elements should include: Concepts Brands Hours (Monday-Friday & weekends) Menu variety Meal plans Methods of service Methods of payment Locations Ambiance Speed of service Customer service


Financial consequences How will meal plan

participation change? How much more labor will you

need or how can the current labor be better utilized? Can you reduce labor?

If you open new locations, how many operating days will they be open and what will the average check be?

How will your operating expenses change?

How many can you anticipate growing your bottom line in a five-year period?


Identify necessary facility changes. Facilities should be designed

to functionally support the optimum dining program.

Do the current spaces need to enlarged or redesigned to ensure easy customer throughput & the ability to provide top-notch service?

How many customers does each facility need to support at the peak meal period? Will this change in the future?

How much will it cost to make changes?

Before

After


Once campus administrators agree on the optimum dining program, begin to prepare the RFP.

What is Social ArchitectureTM?

Securing an Optimum Contract with a Focus On Social ArchitectureTM

We are not asking you what you think the program should be, we are telling you what the program will be and asking you to bid on it.

Encourage bidders to elaborate if they want to.

Don’t Ask…DO tell…

Optimum Contract Process

RFP Development – Operator Selection

No program ambiguity Clearly articulated financial goals Foodservice Program

Location(s) Menu variety & selection Catering Hours of operation

Technical Section Appendices

Draft Management Agreement

Sample RFP Menu Profile: No Ambiguity!

Pre-bid Conference – Operator Selection

Describe process to date.

Highlight key elements of the RFP.

Collect questions. Tour all dining venues

& campus.

Bid Integrity Evaluation – Operator Selection

Evaluate each bid in accordance with scoring methodology. Overall program Training Sustainability Catering

Compare financial bids line by line to ensure integrity of responses.

Bid response vs. RFP requirements

Rank bidding contractors based on their responses to the bid specifications.

Bid Integrity Evaluation: Financial – Operator Selection

Financial Review Vendor 2

Daily Board Rate FY '08 Alt 2 (10 yr.) Base Base BasePlatinum Daily Cost 21.56$ 19.85$ 21.90$ 21.94$ Platinum Annual Cost 5,109.72$ 4,704.45$ 5,190.30$ 5,199.78$ Gold Daily Cost 21.51$ 18.97$ 20.31$ 21.94$ Gold Annual Cost 5,097.87$ 4,495.89$ 4,813.47$ 5,199.78$ Silver Daily Cost 21.45$ 18.09$ 19.70$ 21.94$ Silver Annual Cost 5,083.65$ 4,287.33$ 4,668.90$ 5,199.78$ Non-Traditional Annual Cost 2,263.35$ 1,050.00$ 2,163.50$ 2,500.00$ Total Board Plan Participants 1,013$ 1,332 940 956 Total Board Sales FY '08 4,599,720$ 5,284,973$ 4,021,109$ 4,468,896$ Retail Sales FY '08Venue 1 75,009$ 47,850$ 53,930$ 40,385$ Venue 2 508,985$ 288,446$ 326,097$ 252,112$ Venue 3 31,734$ 48,257$ 28,566$ 24,682$ Venue 4 245,481$ 135,887$ 28,290$ 116,658$ Venue 5 190,692$ 150,377$ 169,347$ 267,998$ Venue 6 42,037$ 18,113$ 24,874$ 16,665$ Conferences 139,500$ 283,866$ 344,107$ 340,545$ Catering 1,264,575$ 402,500$ 1,032,332$ 808,756$ Total Retail Sales 2,498,013$ 1,375,296$ 2,007,543$ 1,867,801$

Annual Revenue FY '08 7,097,733$ 6,660,268$ 6,028,654$ 6,337,697$ Revenue over the term (4 1/2 yrs.) 32,772,959$ 31,406,643$ 29,880,761$ 29,303,636$

Commission FY '08 1,561,501$ 1,465,259$ 1,326,304$ 1,500,004$ Commission for the Term (4 1/2 yrs.) 7,210,050$ 6,759,815$ 6,573,766$ 6,750,130$

Cost of Goods Sold FY '08 1,726,593$ 1,931,834$ 1,621,024$ 1,277,982$ Total Payroll FY '08 2,862,709$ 2,169,561$ 2,009,425$ 2,662,958$ Total Expenses 5,497,051$ 4,976,081$ 4,556,613$ 4,712,436$ Capital Obligation Payback 410,000$ 410,000$ 410,000$ 410,000$ Capital Investment 1,764,972$ 1,100,000$ 825,000$ 390,000$

Vendor 4Vendor 3Vendor 1

Bid Integrity Evaluation: Management Candidates

Require finalists to bring dining manager & catering manager candidates to the interview.

Interview these candidates separately from regional & district managers. Determine candidates’ strengths &

weaknesses How involved were these candidates

in preparing this response? How much do they know about your program?

Determine if his/her personality is the right fit for your campus.

The success or failure of a contracted campus dining program often is a result of the dining director’s and/or catering manager’s job performance.

Contract Negotiations

Secure executed agreement Memorialize what has been bid Construct of accountability Proposed services/program

elements vs. last minute changes—beware!

There is no scenario where an unsigned agreement benefits school.

Be prepared to walk away Secure executed agreement Start transition

Compliance Checks

No later than the end of Year 1 of the contract, rehire your independent advocate to evaluate how the contractor is/is not implementing all aspects of the dining program as outlined in the contract.

Conduct market research to determine customer satisfaction.

Eat in the facilities to determine menu variety, quality, cleanliness, etc.

Meet with campus administrators to gain insights.

Available on Amazon.com

Thank you!

Mark Kraner: [email protected] David Porter: [email protected]

Twitter: @pkcdavid LinkedIn: H. David Porter