Aramark Final Paper 1

Washington State University

Managed Services

Mark Beattie

Final Paper

12/10/2017

Quan Vu

Yoshi Cortes

Eva Tang
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Aramark

Executive summary

In this paper, as assigned to us by Dr. Mark Beattie as a research assignment, we will go

over the information that weve conducted through our research and provide details about

Aramark. Aramark, Enriching and nourishing lives as their mission statement, have recently

been nominated once again for the best place to work for LGBTQ Equality. It just received a

perfect score of 100 percent for four consecutive years on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index, a

national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices on LGBTQ

workplace equality that has the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as its administration

(Cutler, 2017). So, to carry on, we will talk about Aramarks product and services, how they are

providing their food, facilities and uniform services to their clients and what the qualities are in

their products that keep Aramark on top of other companies. Then, we will discuss about the

market that Aramark is currently succeeding in and about the marketing strategy that theyre

applying. We will also discuss about its social responsibility and diversity, by talking about its

endeavors given to Aramark to assess and be accountable for its effects on the environmental and

social well-being of the immediate setting it operates in. Lastly we will discuss about its

management team and personnel, how they manage wages and benefits for their employees, and

how they can keep such a diversity in place, working smoothly altogether.

Products/services

Aramark is one of the leading provider in the world of food, facilities and uniform services to

education, healthcare, businesses & industry, and sports, leisure & corrections clients. The

company focuses its market in North America which is composed of United States and Canada.
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Aramark currently hold the second place in food and facilities services as well as uniform

services (Aramark 10-k, 2015).

Table 1 in the Appendix has a broader list of clients and services.

A. Food and support Services

Aramark is the exclusive provider of food and beverage services at most of the locations in which

they serve. They are responsible for hiring, training and supervising the personnel as well as

ordering, receiving, preparing and serving food and beverage products that are sold at those

facilities.

At those facilities, Aramark also provides other capabilities such as plant operations and

maintenance, custodial/housekeeping, energy management, clinical equipment maintenance,

grounds keeping and capital project management. Aramark believes that their (1) quality and

breadth of services management talent, (2) service innovation, (3) reputation within the industry,

(4) pricing and (5) financial strength and stability (Aramark, 2015) are the factors that help them

stay on top of the competition in the food and support services industry.

B. Uniform

Aramarks uniform segment supplies uniform, work clothes, other garments, and ancillary items

such as mats and shop towels in countries like United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and through a

joint venture in Japan.

Aramarks uniform services provide to matches their clients demands in uniform to meet a few

criteria: establishing corporate identity and brand awareness, projecting a professional image,

protecting workers (uniforms that help workers in difficult environments such as heavy soil, heat,

flame or chemicals by protecting them) and protecting products (uniforms that help protect
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products against contamination in the food, pharmaceutical, electronics, health care and

automotive industries). (Aramark, 2015)

Aramark provides full service employee uniform solutions, including design, sourcing and

manufacturing, deliver, cleaning, and maintenance. They rent uniforms, work clothing,

outerwear, particulate-free garments and non-garment items and related services, including

industrial towels, floor mats, mops, linen products, and paper products to businesses in a wide

range of industries, including manufacturing, food services, automotive, healthcare, construction,

utilities, repair and maintenance services, restaurant and hospitality. (Aramark, 2015)

Aramark believes that the factors that help them stay on top of the competition are the quality,

service, design, consistency of product, and distribution capability, particularly for large multi-

location clients, and price.

The Market

The market that Aramark has chosen to tackle on is food, hospitality, facilities and uniform

services. Within the food and support services business, there are competitors ranging from local,

regional, national and international companies, as well as from the businesses, healthcare

institutions, colleges and universities, correctional facilities, school districts and public assembly

facilities that decide to provide these services themselves. The clients do not always choose the

lowest cost provider and tend to place a premium on the total value proposition offered. In the

North America segment, Aramark is faced with many competitors such as Centerplate, Inc.,

Compass Group, Delaware North Companies Inc. and Sodexo SA (Aramark, 2015). Yet,

Aramark still manages to hold the second position in the industry.

With the uniform services, Aramark also holds the second place even though the rental industry

has already consolidated with many large competitors. There is significant competition in all of

the areas that Aramark serves. Even though their competitors are smaller local and regional firm,
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they also face other large competitors like Cintas Corporation, G&K Services, Inc. and UniFirst

Corporation (Aramark, 2015).

Marketing Strategy

Aramark is in a very competitive environment where there are many managed services companies

that compete for the same type of clients. Aramark has diversified its holdings in order to not

focus on one market segment that could affect the company as a whole because, as we learned

from Payne-Palacio and Theis (2016), Marketing operates in a dynamic environment influenced

by external and internal forces. Outside forces include politics, the economy, government

regulation, laws, social pressures, technology, local competition, industry trends, and, of course,

customer attitudes and behavior(p. 467). It is important for Aramark to juggle all of these

considerations in their marketing strategy and by being diversified it helps it to hedge its risks and

also be exposed to better opportunities. Even though Aramark is in 22 countries and has over

270,000 employees, they are able to be competitive by aligning [their] sales efforts directly with

the sectors and services in which [they] operate(Aramark, 2015). This level of being more

personalized in their individual contracts has been invaluable in the company and is seen by the

interview conducted by Yoshi. According to Michael Buzalka of Food Management, Aramarks

portfolio consists of Education (37%), B&l (22%), Sports/Leisure/Corrections (22%), and

Healthcare (20%) which is very similar to its biggest competitor, Compass Group with

B&l(29%), Healthcare (29%), Education (24%), Sports/Leisure (15%), and Defense/Off-

shore/Remote (3%). According to Food Management, Aramark and Compass group were the two

largest contract companies of 2015. However, one factor that Food Management does not

consider is the large sector of uniform and career apparel that Aramark provides institutions.

According to Marketline (2016), a publisher of global business, one of Aramarks strengths in

their SWOT analysis is its diversification of all of its services.

Social Responsibility and Diversity

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Social responsibility refers to the endeavors put in place by a given company to assess and be

accountable for its effects on the environmental and social well-being of the immediate setting it

operates in.

Aramark is committed to its corporate social responsibilities. In its CSR manifesto, the company

states that its key focal areas include strengthening the diversity of its personnel, enhancing

consumer wellness and health, protecting the environment, and strengthening communities. To do

so, the company is involved in some initiatives which include community involvement programs

where they establish and nurture essential community partnerships that best help it achieve its

mission and impact the community. The firm also carries out environmental sustainability

programs that deal with responsible sourcing, waste minimization, and efficient operations to

conserve natural resources. Additionally, the hand wellness initiative encourages healthy eating

and making healthy choices.

To balance the cost of these initiatives, Aramark continuously improves its operations and creates

consistent, replicable programs, give clients a variety of correctly-sourced and eco-friendly

products to choose from, and support clients in their corporate responsibility endeavors through

offering insights and experiences. The firm is also keen to help its employees and customers alike

to identify viable solutions to the issues of utmost importance to them.

Aramark considers itself a diverse company as it states that diversity and inclusion form the

backbone of its workforce and that they are essential to the success of the company. The company

adopts some initiatives to help it achieve the desired diversity level. Aramark aims to have a

workforce comprised of people from different backgrounds that mirror the diversity of the

communities it serves. Also, as part of its diversity initiatives, Aramark partners with

organizations and suppliers that are diverse, to deliver services that address varied cultural needs

to its clientele. The company also strives to have employees work in an environment and culture
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that encourages differences and fosters inclusion. Aramarks diversity program is one of the best

globally because the company strives to be all-inclusive (DiversityInc 2017).

Management Team

Aramark is led by the CEO, Eric Foss, who previously was the CEO of Pepsi Bottling Company

where he was key in driving growth and helping make the company go public. According to the

Aramark website, this seems to be his same goal now that he is CEO. According to salary.com,

Mr. Fosss base pay is $1.7 million while stocks, option awards, and bonuses in 2016 amounted

to about $5.3 million so it is clear that Mr. Foss compensation relies heavily on how well the

company and its stock are doing. While this can incentivize Mr. Foss to grow the company it

seems to be heavily dependent on growth, which could jeopardized the company if the growth is

unsustainable.

Personnel

Aramark employs over 270,000 employees in 22 countries so it has a very diverse level of

employment. Being that Aramark is such a large company, it is difficult to get a true sense of how

they treat their employees or how well management works. For example, on the website

Glassdoor (2017), which analyses companies based on employees input, the top pro comment

is that the company has a good work/life balance and at the same time the top con comment is

that Aramark has no work/life balance. This is understandable from a company that, as stated

earlier has over 270,000 employees. On the same research site though, the CEO, Eric Foss has a

70% approval rate and the company has a score of 3.1 out of 5 so it is in the median of employee

satisfaction.

Yoshis Interview

From interviewing Kate Vandeford at the Washington State Convention Center Yoshi was able to

get a better sense of the day-to-day operations of Aramark. While Aramark as a whole seems to
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focus on getting contracts for different venues and keeping those relationships, Katie had a very

client focused outlook on the corporation. Yoshi was able to learn how menu planning is very

important even in a large place like the WSCC and how matters such as allergies and dietary

needs are handled when they have 300+ events. Final Yoshi learned how the relationship works

between Aramark, the WSCC, and outside vendors since they are all a system that has to work

together.

Quans Interview

Tulalip have one major supplier Sysco that they get 90% of their goods from. The supervisor

looks over the Banquet Event Order and then tells the Coordinator what is needed. If there are

additional needs they have a system called Red Rock that they input the items needed and things

from Costco or Office Depot or other vendors are then sent to their receiving department. At

times we have to physically drive to stores and pick up items needed for our guest. To improve

this process it would be helpful to get the BEOs earlier and to get additional stores that deliver

added to Red Rock. They get their budget from the profits that they made the previous year. They

have different percentage allocated to glassware, silverware chairs, tables, tablecloths, etc.

monthly. For guests supplies, they buy as needed and that money has no limit if that makes them

more money. Pads, pens, candies and items for breaks are guests supplies. They believe that their

ordering supply process is better because Tulalip is a huge company, they have two casinos, the

bingo hall and the government side that use the same system. This gives them buying power and

they get better prices than the normal hotel or banquet facility. The areas that do need more

attention on is the receiving process from the distribution companies, can at times be difficult. In

this aspect other companies have better systems.

Evas Interview
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After interviewing with Anne, Im able to know more about Anne position and her relationship

with the company as a Catering and Sales Manager. This interview gave me a better

understanding on what the industry looks like and what is it like in a typical day at work to be in a

huge organization like Aramark. Since Anne works at the Husky Stadium, her workload could be

different due to game season. Moreover, she shared with me that forecasting and purchasing is

important in her role just like what is mentioned in our textbook. She also shared a same opinion

with me which is we all know that working in the hospitality industry could be challenging but

we all love that feeling when we saw our customers laughing and sharing nice experience, all the

exhaustion we had were worth it.

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Appendix

Table 1: Clients and Services

Sector Type of Food Facilities Service

Clients Service

Education Colleges and Dining Facilities management

Universities Services Custodial Services
Public school Catering Grounds
districts and Food Energy
systems Service management Construction management
Private Management Capital project management
schools Retail
Operations

Healthcare Hospitals Food and Clinical equipment maintenance

Nursing nutrition Environmental services
homes services Laundry and linen distribution
Retail Plant operations
operations Energy management
Strategic and technical services
Supply chain management
Purchasing
Central transportation

Business & Office parks Dining Housekeeping management

Industry and buildings services Plant operations/maintenance
On-site Energy management
Manufacturing restaurants Groundskeeping
plants Catering Landscaping
Corporate Transportation
cafeterias Convenience Capital program management
Mining stores Commissioning services
operations Executive Building operations consulting
Oil & Gas dining
drilling rooms
operations Coffee and
vending
Drinking
water
filtration
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Sports, Professional Concessions Recreational and lodging services

Leisure & and collegiate Banquet Commissary services
Corrections stadiums and and catering Laundry and linen management
arenas Retail and Property room management
Concert merchandise Housekeeping management
venues sales Facility management
National and Food and
state parks nutrition
Convention services
and civic Premium
centers and
Correctional restaurant
facilities
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Works Cited

Aramark. (2015, October 2). ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1584509/000158450915000215/fy2015aramark

10-k.htm#sF8E66725879FAFBB4B226582E584805E

Buzalka, M. (2015, March). FM's top 50 Contract Management Companies 2015. \

Food Management, 48, 17-33.

Cutler, K. (2017, November 13). Aramark Once Again Named a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ

Equality. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from http://www.aramark.com/about-

us/news/aramark-general/best-places-to-work-lgbtq

DiversityInc. "No. 49 | Aramark | Diversityinc Top 50." Diversityinc, 2017,

http://www.diversityinc.com/aramark/.

Ph.D., J. P., RD. (2016). Foodservice Management: Principles and Practices, 13th Edition.

[Chegg]. Retrieved from https://ereader.chegg.com/#/books/9780133801101/

Salary.com. (2017). Compensation Information for Eric J. Foss , President and Chief Executive

Officer of ARAMARK. Retrieved November 24, 2017, from

https://www1.salary.com/Eric-J-Foss-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-ARAMARK.html

http://www.aramark.com/about-us/leadership

Marketline. (4, november, 2016). Company Profile: Aramark Corporation. Retrieved November

24, 2017.

Glassdoor, Aramark (2017, November 22). Retrieved from

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https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Aramark-Reviews-E2716.htm

Interview info:

Kate Vandeford, Catering Sales Manager

Washington State Convention Center

Vendeford-katherine@aramark.com

206-694-5110

Anne Schwenn, Catering Sales Manager

Husky Stadium

Schwenn-Anne@aramark.com

Martin Gerhold, Banquet Manager

marting@tulalipresort.com
425-971-6017