Thanks
Darren
Darren
Wonder if Fabio (the incumbent head of IFS, and therefore the person who probably should recieve most of our brickbats) has left, been given the heave-ho, or got promoted?
Mike
Mike
Perhaps we'll see some changes for the good in the coming months?
Thanks
Darren
Darren
quote:Originally posted by ukcobra
Very tempting to apply .... What a great interview opportunity.
Looks like you need to be CIPS (Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply) accredited to get that far.
Effectively, this job is a buyer of products and services, whether that is cleaning or catering or amenity kits (Hi GJ!).
One thing which is interesting if you read the job spec for this position, is that it looks like a key role of the successful applicant will be to review the current situation of In-Flight Service - 'This role will be intrinsic in developing and changing the goverance model which is currently managed through the House with LSG' (sic).
(Shame that whoever posts the job ads doesn't spell check.)
Most people on this board know my feelings about The House and how I perceive that VS inflight service has mostly suffered since they have been running these elements.
The successful applicant will have an interesting time, I'm sure.
Mike
Very tempting to apply .... What a great interview opportunity.
Looks like you need to be CIPS (Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply) accredited to get that far.
Effectively, this job is a buyer of products and services, whether that is cleaning or catering or amenity kits (Hi GJ!).
One thing which is interesting if you read the job spec for this position, is that it looks like a key role of the successful applicant will be to review the current situation of In-Flight Service - 'This role will be intrinsic in developing and changing the goverance model which is currently managed through the House with LSG' (sic).
(Shame that whoever posts the job ads doesn't spell check.)
Most people on this board know my feelings about The House and how I perceive that VS inflight service has mostly suffered since they have been running these elements.
The successful applicant will have an interesting time, I'm sure.
Mike
quote:Originally posted by mike-smashing
Most people on this board know my feelings about The House and how I perceive that VS inflight service has mostly suffered since they have been running these elements.
Mike
What's 'The House' ?
Paul
Most people on this board know my feelings about The House and how I perceive that VS inflight service has mostly suffered since they have been running these elements.
Mike
What's 'The House' ?
Paul
We can get better, because we're not dead yet
quote:Originally posted by pjh
What's 'The House' ?
The House is a joint-venture agency set up between Virgin Atlantic and LSG SkyChefs (huge airline caterer, part of the Lufthansa Group, for those who don't know) to manage the Virgin Atlantic In-Flight Service element product - this covers flight catering (right down to the procurement of ingredents and ready-made items, and getting them delivered to the flight kitchens), aircraft cleaning, duty free, in-flight cabin consumables (pillows, blankets, headsets, sleepsuits, amenity kits), maintenance of galley equipment, and, I believe, procurement and provision of IFE content.
Previously, VAA used to manage all these functions in house, letting seperate contracts to various suppliers of services, such as Gategourmet, LSG and others for flight catering, Fernley (now part of IAS) for aircraft cleaning, etc.
The House was set-up during VAA's outsourcing exercise in the early 2000's. The relevant departments inside VAA were downsized or closed down entirely and transferred (with some of their staff) into The House, along with staff which came from LSG, plus any new hires.
VAA's role is to construct product specifications for The House to execute on, under a contractual framework. This is a two-way process, with The House able to feed back into the specification development.
The role of The House is to do all the 'leg work' in managing suppliers and all elements of the supply chain, and be able to draw on both parent organisations' expertise to be able to deliver this.
In theory, this was intended to free VAA from doing all the leg work, and employing specialists in each area, and release the VAA in-flight management staff to be more creative.
VAA only has a single contract with The House, and no direct contracts with (or direct control over) the various suppliers and contractors who deliver the service.
It's common to contract out these things, but it's not that usual to see this sort of abstraction layer between the purchaser (the airline) and the various suppliers of services.
My opinion, having experienced similar situations in my current line of work, is that this arrangement adds a damaging level of indirection to the customer/supplier relationship, results in a loss of control for the buyer of the product or service, and a reduction in accountability on the part of the supplier.
Mike
What's 'The House' ?
The House is a joint-venture agency set up between Virgin Atlantic and LSG SkyChefs (huge airline caterer, part of the Lufthansa Group, for those who don't know) to manage the Virgin Atlantic In-Flight Service element product - this covers flight catering (right down to the procurement of ingredents and ready-made items, and getting them delivered to the flight kitchens), aircraft cleaning, duty free, in-flight cabin consumables (pillows, blankets, headsets, sleepsuits, amenity kits), maintenance of galley equipment, and, I believe, procurement and provision of IFE content.
Previously, VAA used to manage all these functions in house, letting seperate contracts to various suppliers of services, such as Gategourmet, LSG and others for flight catering, Fernley (now part of IAS) for aircraft cleaning, etc.
The House was set-up during VAA's outsourcing exercise in the early 2000's. The relevant departments inside VAA were downsized or closed down entirely and transferred (with some of their staff) into The House, along with staff which came from LSG, plus any new hires.
VAA's role is to construct product specifications for The House to execute on, under a contractual framework. This is a two-way process, with The House able to feed back into the specification development.
The role of The House is to do all the 'leg work' in managing suppliers and all elements of the supply chain, and be able to draw on both parent organisations' expertise to be able to deliver this.
In theory, this was intended to free VAA from doing all the leg work, and employing specialists in each area, and release the VAA in-flight management staff to be more creative.
VAA only has a single contract with The House, and no direct contracts with (or direct control over) the various suppliers and contractors who deliver the service.
It's common to contract out these things, but it's not that usual to see this sort of abstraction layer between the purchaser (the airline) and the various suppliers of services.
My opinion, having experienced similar situations in my current line of work, is that this arrangement adds a damaging level of indirection to the customer/supplier relationship, results in a loss of control for the buyer of the product or service, and a reduction in accountability on the part of the supplier.
Mike
Mike - I don't think the level of abstraction is unusual in other industries and types of services. What may be unusual here and of higher relevance in VS's business, but hidden to me, is the agreements in place with House for quality of delivery etc. and the control VS has over this from a contractual perspective.
Perhaps the issue is not the structure per se but the the level of control VS has through clauses in contracts and their ability to leverage these?
Perhaps the issue is not the structure per se but the the level of control VS has through clauses in contracts and their ability to leverage these?
There's a plane at JFK, to fly you back from far away
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
all those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
quote:Originally posted by slinky09
Perhaps the issue is not the structure per se but the the level of control VS has through clauses in contracts and their ability to leverage these?
Oh, no doubt, add to that failures in this framework are frequently visible to the travelling public, and affect both hard and soft product.
(But we digress from the subject, which is that VS have openings even in this climate - and if the mods want to peel this off into a 'What is 'The House'' thread, go for it...)
Mike
Perhaps the issue is not the structure per se but the the level of control VS has through clauses in contracts and their ability to leverage these?
Oh, no doubt, add to that failures in this framework are frequently visible to the travelling public, and affect both hard and soft product.
(But we digress from the subject, which is that VS have openings even in this climate - and if the mods want to peel this off into a 'What is 'The House'' thread, go for it...)
Mike
Thanks for this fascinating thread. The facts Mike has outlined could certainly explain an awful lot about the perceived decline in VS standards.
I certainly hope that the whole outsourcing thing saved VS a LOT of money, because the pain and service failures they have suffered because of it are massive.
Nick
I certainly hope that the whole outsourcing thing saved VS a LOT of money, because the pain and service failures they have suffered because of it are massive.
Nick
Man, I am glad I spotted this posting!
I am a third year student studying business (finance and marketing) and apart from it being suggested from the careers service, I always wanted to do an internship before starting my honours year
Anyway, I have had a look on the recruitment website for VAA and as far as I can see they offer no form of internship. Does anyone know of anything they had done in the past, or are likely to commence? I really, really have such a desire to work for the company for a long time but so many positions require previous managerial experience, which alas - I don't have! If anyone could offer me advice on placements (unpaid or paid, I am really not fussy!) or anybody to contact please get in touch.
Thanks
I am a third year student studying business (finance and marketing) and apart from it being suggested from the careers service, I always wanted to do an internship before starting my honours year
Anyway, I have had a look on the recruitment website for VAA and as far as I can see they offer no form of internship. Does anyone know of anything they had done in the past, or are likely to commence? I really, really have such a desire to work for the company for a long time but so many positions require previous managerial experience, which alas - I don't have! If anyone could offer me advice on placements (unpaid or paid, I am really not fussy!) or anybody to contact please get in touch.
Thanks
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