Commonwealth National Golf Club, Horsham, PA
Terry Tumolo, General Manager

In 2003, when Matrix Golf & Hospitality was considering Avendra for its network of clubs, Terry Tumolo, general manager of Commonwealth National Golf Club in the Philadelphia area, was openly skeptical. His prestigious club, with a course designed by Arnold Palmer, is one of Pennsylvania’s biggest clubs and in the top five in terms of dollar revenue.

“I believed that the quality of goods purchased at our property were above what an organization like Avendra could offer,” states Terry. “I resisted the idea of using distributors and vendors that I assumed were below our standards.”

Three years later -- after using Avendra’s food & beverage, golf, grounds, and administrative programs -- what is Terry’s reaction? Based on quality of goods and services, Terry says:  “My attitude shifted immediately from ‘why would we use Avendra?’ to ‘why wouldn’t we?’ Today, more than 90% of our purchasing (excluding regulated goods such as liquor, beer, etc.) is leveraged through Avendra.”

Training for Savings
The savings help, of course. Terry estimates that while some areas offer much more dramatic discounts, on a blended basis the Commonwealth National is saving a total of somewhere between 8-10% of their annual spend. This type of margin is significant – and Avendra’s tracking and reporting systems make profitability easier to monitor on a consistent basis. “In tough years,” Terry says, “even a 3-5% savings on the bottom line can make a huge difference to our operations.”

Terry was impressed with Avendra’s extraordinary level of customer support during the integration phases. By offering extensive training to club staff on both the systems and technology used to support the Avendra programs and the Avendra suppliers that make up the programs, the Avendra team helped Commonwealth National boost their benefits. “They educated our people to make sure we were taking advantage of everything available,” he says.

Based on this satisfaction, Commonwealth anticipates a strong future with Avendra. Summarizes Terry, “We’re planning on expanding our purchasing volume 25% over the next 12 months and we’ll continue to use Avendra at the levels we have in the past – maybe even a bit more!”