Catering & Facility Services - Managing Service Providers with Flexopus
Elias the Helper
Contents
Workplaces and offices only function if all processes function optimally and all employees can carry out their tasks in a targeted manner. Modern offices are full of talented and diverse people, but the involvement of third-party providers is still essential for some jobs.
Regardless of whether it is catering, IT service providers or cleaning services: In many areas, it is the right decision to call in external support. With Flexopus, service providers and third-party providers can be easily digitized, managed and included in workplace management.
This way, you always have an overview of all current and future service providers and can view and manage the entire process—from invitation to completion—with Flexopus.
Catering & Facility Services with Flexopus
With Flexopus Catering & Services, you can register, document, and commission service providers easily and paperlessly.Here, any conceivable third-party provider can be included directly in the planning without leaving the familiar Flexopus working environment.
In combination with the room booking system, entire meetings can be planned from start to finish: From starter catering at the start to cleaning service afterwards — with Flexopus, you remain in control.
Catering or service booking process
A catering or service booking is carried out in the familiar environment of the Flexopus application. Here, the booking tile can be accessed directly from the start page, similar to workstations or meeting rooms.
In the booking overview at user level, catering and service bookings appear together with all future bookings. In addition, all data can always be viewed and managed via the admin area.
The actual process takes place in simple steps, but there are several options for making a booking:
Individual booking of catering and services
- “Catering & Services” selection
- Enter details (title, date, location, provider, and notes)
- (Optional) Select location
- Save
The created contractor receives the order directly by email. All details (title, date, location, notes) are also stored here.
Book catering & services via room booking
The prerequisite for this is to activate the event management option. Here, the simple room booking is extended and converted into an event creation, which allows meetings and meetings to be created in more detail. A catering or service order can also be added to the events:
- “New event” selection
- Enter details (name, date, time, location)
- “Add service order” selection
- Enter details (location, provider, notes)
- Save
After saving, the created event is saved together with the catering & service order and stored in the booking overview. The contractor is informed by e-mail and thus receives all necessary details about the order.
Depositing contractors for catering & services
Each contractor must be entered in the admin area at the beginning. This allows administrators to keep track of all stored contractors and can also manage them.
In addition to details about the provider, the associated buildings and the managed positions can also be managed here. In this way, users are only shown what is actually being offered and false bookings are avoided.
There is also an overview of all active orders, which can also be viewed retroactively. This makes it possible to ensure who was in the building on which day — in case of a necessary retroactive contact.
Service provider features
The Catering & Service module adds another tile to the usual Flexopus application. By activating the module, a variety of useful functions are added:
Catering and service providers
Manage service providers who perform services in your building. This could be, for example, an external catering service provider who provides catering for meetings, a janitorial service that carries out regular checks, or an IT service desk that deals with IT-related issues.
Manage services offered
In the admin area, service providers and their positions can be managed. Here you can display almost anything as you like. From drinks and rental equipment to cleaning, seating or disposal services.
Managing orders
Catering and facility services are easy and intuitive to manage as an administrator. The “Service Provider” tab allows all orders to be displayed in real time and flexibly adjusted.
Approve orders
Define role owners and their access rights to external service providers. In this way, it is possible to determine which third-party providers need approval and can use the cost center feature to keep an eye on their spending.
Limit orders
Define the framework conditions for ordering catering and facility services yourself. You have full control over the quantities that can be ordered, how far in advance you have to order and how spontaneous changes can be made.
They have full control over the functions, benefits and restrictions associated with their created service providers and can therefore personally define in which context the third-party providers can be used and booked.
Use cases for catering & facility services
The case studies for catering & facility services are varied, ranging from simple orders to generous work orders and can take on any form and complexity.
Case 1
For example, one of your employees may have made a mistake and now the dishwasher in the in-house kitchen has broken down. In order to avoid superfluous endless communication, they have already added a plumbing & tradesman company to the admin area as a precaution. In order to keep track of costs, every new order requires approval from the location manager first.
The person concerned therefore takes care of the order independently, ensures that the responsible persons are present on the day the order is placed and handles all the workload himself. In the end, the administrator only has the task of approving the order and assigning the cost center.
Case 2
A big meeting is coming up. A new contract partner comes by in person with a few representatives. The visit should be smooth and as comfortable as possible. As an admin, you create a new booking using the room booking system.
They add all necessary employees and also want to hire a small catering service. Due to the large number of people, you also need new seating for the meeting rooms. The meeting is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
You add two service bookings to the room booking. One for catering with 10 pretzels at 8:45. The seating should be carried out the evening before. You adjust the time for this order accordingly and order the company at 17:30 the day before.
With one click, you can book the room at the same time, inform all participating employees and commission the two service providers at the same time. The meeting is therefore prepared and completely stored in Flexopus. You always have an overview.
Benefits of Catering & Facility Services
The integration of catering & facility services into your workplace management system offers numerous advantages. Flexopus can be used smoothly with the feature and can therefore be intuitively integrated into your daily work routine:
- App connection:
Bookings can also be made and managed via the Flexopus Android and iOS app via the user area.
- Costs at a glance:
With order limits and cost center assignments, you can keep an eye on all expenses, even if several people book.
- Ease of use:
The booking process is similar to existing procedures. This means that the feature can be used directly by everyone.
- Multifunctional:
There are several ways to make bookings and all required services can be defined according to your wishes.
- Provider management:
The list view of all service providers allows easy access and a simple overview.
- Building allocation:
Vendors can be assigned to different buildings. This means that you only book where it is planned.
- categories:
Orderable products can be divided into categories to keep the ordering process as simple and efficient as possible.
- GDPR-compliant:
As with all Flexopus products and services, data is processed in Germany in strict accordance with GDPR and ISO27001.
Conclusion
With Flexopus, companies can easily and efficiently manage their catering and facility services without losing control. The integration of catering and facility services into the workplace management system enables seamless planning and organization of external service providers — whether for meetings, events or everyday tasks. Thanks to the user-friendly interface, flexible customization and full transparency of orders and costs, administrative effort remains minimal, while the quality of service offerings is always guaranteed. Flexopus not only contributes to a smooth workflow in everyday office life, but also ensures that every detail, from booking to billing, is handled professionally and in accordance with the highest quality standards.
