Background
With seven renowned brands and more than 4,500 hotels in 100 countries and territories, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is one of the world’s leading hotel companies. It’s a 
complex global business with non-stop operations and intense competition in every region.
complex global business with non-stop operations and intense competition in every region.The Challenge
To maintain leadership in the industry and accelerate growth, IHG constantly looks for ways to sharpen its focus on its core business—taking great care of millions of guests—by outsourcing non-core business processes and back office operations to experts.
That’s why it asked us to help improve its approach to document management in its corporate headquarters in Atlanta that oversees operations in North and South America.
HG wanted to reduce costs, improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of its office infrastructure, establish a state-of-the-art, in-house print production centre and create a model for document management services that could be replicated at other IHG hotels and facilities.
[Tweet “Xerox Helps IHG Save $1+ Million per Year”]
To achieve these goals, IHG turned to a strategic service provider that had helped it save more than $1 million per year on a major IT support services project… Xerox.
The Solution
To help IHG improve the efficiency of its document services in Atlanta, we conducted an in-depth assessment of its office environment using disciplined Lean Six Sigma-based tools and methodologies.
We then worked closely with the IHG team to implement an office optimization plan that replaced outdated, inefficient document devices with advanced multifunction systems and solid ink colour printers.
A key element of the plan involved the conversion of IHG’s office infrastructure from a hard-to-manage, fixed-cost capital asset into an efficient “utility” model—a simplified, pay-as-you-go pricing structure covering managed services from equipment, output and supplies to maintenance and support.Next, we teamed up with IHG to establish a professionally managed in-house print centre that would provide high-quality document production capabilities to employees and reduce the need for costly outside printing.
In addition, we implemented a “green office” strategy for IHG by using fewer—but more productive—multifunction devices that were more energy efficient. Recycled paper and two-sided copying and printing also supported its sustainability goals.
The Results
The office optimisation program me delivered a number of important benefits to IHG.
- It dramatically improved the quality and reliability of the document services available to IHG employees and guests.
- It brought powerful new scanning capabilities to the corporate office, which helped improve efficiency, automate document-driven business processes and reduce the consumption of paper and supplies.
- It converted an inefficient, hard-to- manage, fixed-cost infrastructure into an optimised managed service operating on a “utility” model with simplified pay-per-use pricing.
- It helped IHG reduce energy and paper consumption and lower its impact on the environment.
Based on the outstanding results in Atlanta, we began working with IHG to expand the office optimisation project to hotels and facilities throughout North and South America by applying our global service delivery capabilities.
The in-house print centre developed by IHG and Xerox also produced dramatic results.
- It gave employees an easier way to create professional-looking documents that enhance the IHG brand.
- It increased productivity by letting employees submit jobs over the web right from their PCs.
- It saved IHG more than $1.5 million a year by reducing the need for costly outside printing.
These services also met another key customer requirement: they allowed IHG to free up valuable resources to focus on its core mission—taking great care of millions of guests every year.
