Mitchells & Butlers

The Mitchells & Butlers story

A business does not survive for more than 120 years if it’s not innovating and evolving. What began in 1898 when two Midlands families came together to form Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), has transformed into a leading pub, restaurant, and hotel company in the UK and Germany. Technology has been central to creating this admired hospitality operator. A culture of innovation has allowed M&B to scale to more than 1700 locations, across a range of brands and formats. The businesses deliver net sales of almost £23,000 a week and more than £180,000 operating profit a year—some of the highest levels in the industry.

Meeting the speed of retail

Being in the retail and hospitality business means adapting to constant change. However, M&B location managers were using a limiting, time-consuming legacy system to track and organise purchases. The process lacked a dynamic catalogue—resulting in incorrect ordering and wasted money spent on the wrong items for each brand.

• The existing solution was a third-party, supplier-owned platform that was not designed for its current use.
• Lack of a centralised ordering solution made reporting, oversight, and control difficult for the M&B corporate office and operations management.
• At the local level, managers were unable to confidently purchase the right products on time and within budget.

 M&B conquer the day with Fourth

M&B saw a clear opportunity to improve the purchasing and procurement process across the portfolio. They sought a scalable solution that would give managers the freedom to make the right purchasing decisions while offering visibility to the procurement team.

• Fourth’s Inventory Management allowed M&B to take control of purchasing costs and processes with a complete software solution and mobile app for purchasing and receiving.
• The tool enables M&B to create and manage multiple catalogues across sectors at more than 1700 locations.
• By allowing procurement teams to control vendor catalogues with real-time visibility, every location manager can maintain compliance with purchasing standards while meeting business goals.

Scaling to satisfaction

Efficiently implemented and adopted over just a few months, M&B experienced immediate value with Fourth’s scalable ordering solution. With 15 indirect consumable suppliers and 4,500 different product lines now at the fingertips of pub and restaurant managers, the M&B procurement team proactively monitors purchasing and analyses data from more than £25m spent annually through the platform. Fourth – Purchasing Edition saves time and money for this industry leader.

• Ordering accuracy increased with an approval-based, intuitive mobile platform.
• The solution fuels full visibility of more than 150,000 orders per year. Budget visibility and management is easier for both on-site managers and the corporate finance team—leading to more informed business decisions.
• Catalogue management is performed centrally with a minimal number of resources.
• Managers now have more time to focus on delivering great guest experiences.

Looking forward

An innovative mindset continues to push M&B forward. With Fourth, they have found a partner and a platform that has them well-positioned for whatever the future may bring.