Success story: Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast is the operator of the UK’s west coast mainline service, which is Britain’s foremost long-distance railway. They promise to deliver a cleaner, greener railway service that links towns and cities together to create a vital economic artery for the UK, and their network routes include Glasgow, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Chester, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, and Llandudno.

Owned by a partnership of FirstGroup and Trenitalia, Avanti West Coast began operations in December 2019, taking over the West Coast franchise from Virgin Trains. They are taking the opportunity to reimagine railways for a new generation and putting customers, employees, and the environment at the heart of their business.

It is often recognised that adversity can be a key driver of innovation and a review of onboard food and drink when the COVID pandemic hit has certainly proved to be the case for Avanti West Coast, which saw an opportunity to develop an additional revenue stream as well as deliver great customer service in a safe and efficient way. And the good news is, it’s here to stay.

Whilst the onboard shop remained open, the trolley service was suspended, and customers were encouraged not to walk up and down the train unnecessarily to help maintain social distancing and keep everyone safe. The train company explored alternative options before landing on a decision to launch a trial to introduce an order and pay option, with delivery, that customers could use without leaving their seat…. the perfect solution to keep everyone happy!

Avanti West Coast worked with Omnifi to develop an at-seat ordering solution with a bespoke version of the company’s Orderbee product that has proved so effective in hospitality venues across the country. It needed to be simple for customers to use and provide a straightforward option for staff to handle alongside managing ongoing service at the onboard shop.

The trial was run as a stand-alone system, using existing tills and tablets on the 76-train Pendolino and Voyager fleet.

To use the service, customers simply log onto the onboard Wi-Fi using their mobile device or laptop and connect to the dedicated page in the browser to view the menu. Payment is made with debit or credit card, PayPal, or one-touch through Apple or Google Pay, and the customer experience of viewing, ordering, and paying can be completed through an effortless interface in less than 60 seconds.

Passengers are able to order in advance or choose a time slot, which is a rail-specific feature designed to ensure they can plan refreshments around how long they will be on the train, and those traveling on Pendolino trains also have the option to order from their seat and collect from the shop.

The results of our trial proved At-Seat Order was a great addition to services and a perfect solution for customers who did not want to leave their seat. It’s a new, easy way for those traveling to enjoy great food and drink with us and to pay digitally, providing extra reassurance during a journey so customers can travel with confidence. For those traveling on their own or who don’t want to leave their seat – this is a perfect solution.

Sarah Copley - Executive Director, Commercial at Avanti West Coast

Customer communications such as confirmation of order, delivery is on its way, or items are ready to collect, are also adapted for use on trains. Customers receive these messages via text message to overcome varying levels of data connectivity.

The Orderbee solution for Avanti West Coast is web-based and easy to use by both staff and customers. Rather than collecting user information by requesting a raft of personal data, there are few barriers to using At-Seat Order as the Orderbee approach recognizes that passengers need their experience to be as straightforward as possible.

• Improved efficiency, saving 5000 working hours, equivalent to 625 working days or 125 working weeks previously spent on laborious admin tasks
• Raised £185,046 of credits from inaccurate invoices that would otherwise have been missed
• Saved approximately 150,000 paper invoices passing through Head Office – the equivalent of about 19 trees
• Generated efficiencies in paying invoices with everything in one place
• Real-time data provides precise product lists and volumes to suppliers, improving negotiations on prices and time to turn-around contracts - generated savings, further time efficiency and less waste
• Higher levels of consistency achieved for food quality and allergen information across Cairn Group
• Standards improved across quality and availability, encouraging familiarity, loyalty, advocacy and repeat bookings
• Contract reminders have enabled Cairn Group to research and negotiate the best rates possible for service contracts, avoiding out of contract rates and making further cost savings with minimum effort

Modules used

• PO Control
• Advanced stock management
• Flash reporting
• Recipe and menu engineering
• Waste management
• Contract management
• Capture – MP Scan

We can’t imagine a time without the system in place. It has proven to be central to so many aspects of Cairn Group’s operating processes and has an impact on both financial and experiential performance like no other.

Furthermore, consistency and availability are important to guests who expect to find comfort and familiarity when they visit any venue within Cairn Group portfolio. Everything that is served in their hotels and restaurants is ordered through Access Procure Wizard, from food and drink to amenities, and this gives a standard across the group that encourages loyalty and repeat bookings.

The time factor alone has saved numerous staffing hours and enabled us to focus resources on less mundane tasks that impact positively.