Since the start of the health crisis, bars and restaurants have gone through successive periods of closure and reduced capacity. This turbulent period inevitably led to a drastic fall in these businesses’ turnover (-35% on average compared with 2019, or €31 billion (1)), with far-reaching repercussions across the whole sector.

The ANIA (Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires, France’s national food industry association) recently carried out a survey on how the economic and social situation of food companies has changed since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

According to this survey, “lockdown has caused an overall 22% drop in the turnover of the food processing industries.” (2)

It is therefore only natural that professionals and customers alike were eagerly awaiting the reopening that began on 19 May 2021.

While the prolonged closure of shops and meeting places had brought activity to an abrupt halt, this reopening is placing intense demands on the entire food industry value chain.

From the head offices of large groups to suppliers’ production sites, by way of purchasing departments and commercial distribution, the need to collaborate – and to meet in person – is stronger than ever.

This return to normal life, which must go hand in hand with health measures that remain strict, is also pushing food industry companies to adopt modern solutions for the smart management of their workplaces, starting with visitor management.

Reception scenarios to suit a wide variety of sites

Welcoming visitors is no longer just about traditional sales visits to head office. The many different reasons for visits and the diversity of sites bring just as many constraints that must not be overlooked.

A buyer coming to place orders at a sales office or distribution site and a food engineer visiting a production site will not be welcomed in the same way. Note that they will not have the same expectations of the visitor experience either.

The starting point for tailoring the scenario comes before a visitor management solution is installed.

It is important to categorise the site in detail and identify:

  • access arrangements,
  • security policy and facilities,
  • the health protocol,
  • the people on site and potential visitors,
  • whether or not there is a reception team.

Many other factors can be taken into account depending on the nature or context of the site.

For example, a visit to a factory or production site will rarely be supervised by a reception team. However, these sites may be required to receive more and more external visitors and are subject to strict safety and security processes and health protocols. In this case, a mobile reception system on a tablet (or kiosk) can be provided to the existing security teams so that they can track visits in real time on the ground.

When a reception team is on site, as is often the case at head office, visitors who have not been pre-registered can still be received: the receptionist registers them directly from their computer dashboard, then prints the badge and grants access to the site. Outside staffed hours, the same procedure can be automated using a kiosk. Signing NDAs and other documents, together with automatic notifications to both the host and the visitor, completes the visitor experience.

Visitor management at Danone (head office)

At Hamilton Apps, we are fortunate to count Danone among our most loyal customers.

The Danone group (3) is one of the world’s leading food companies, and has focused its business on four divisions:

  • fresh dairy products,
  • bottled water,
  • medical nutrition,
  • infant nutrition.

Several years ago, the company chose our visitor management solution for its head office in the heart of Paris.

Pascal Morainvillers, Head of Occupant Services at the Danone group, shares his experience of the health crisis with us.

“Dynamic reception has allowed us to reach out to our visitors ahead of time. Our aim is to be able to register them before they arrive. Since we started using Hamilton Visitor, we have seen real progress in anticipating visits, considerable time savings on registration and a marked improvement in the quality of our welcome. We strongly recommend this tool on all these counts.”

The food industry is also on the front line in this very particular context. Visitor management is becoming a key part of your operational strategy for preventing the virus from spreading on your sites.

Are you a food industry professional who wants to welcome your visitors safely? Contact our experts.

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