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Agri-food sector puts visitor management to the test

Since the beginning of the health crisis, bars and restaurants have successively gone through periods of closure and reduced capacity. This phase of turmoil has inevitably led to a drastic fall in the turnover of these establishments (-35%on average vs. 2019, i.e. 31 billion euros (1)), with a profound impact on the entire sector.

The ANIA(National Association of Food Industries) recently conducted a survey on the evolution of the economic and social situation of food companies since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.

According to this survey, "the containment is causing an overall drop of 22% in the turnover of food industries. » (2)

It is therefore quite natural that professionals and customers alike were looking forward to the reopening on 19 May 2021.

Whereas the prolonged closure of shops and meeting places had brought activity to a sudden halt, this reopening is placing intense demands on the entire value chain of the agri-food sector.

From the headquarters of large groups, to the production sites of suppliers, via purchasing departments or commercial distribution, the need to collaborate, but also to meet, is thus reinforced more than ever.

This return to normal life, which has to go hand in hand with no less stringent sanitary measures, is also prompting companies in the food industry to adopt modern solutions for the intelligent management of their work spaces, starting with the management of their visitors.

Hosting scenarios to suit the diversity of the sites :

From now on, the reception of visitors is no longer just a matter of traditional commercial visits to the head office. The multiplicity of opportunities to visit and the diversity of the sites imply as many constraints not to be neglected.

A buyer coming to place an order in a sales office or on a distribution site and a food engineer visiting a production site will not be welcomed in the same way. It should be noted that they will not have the same expectations in terms of the visit experience either.

The starting point for this adjustment of the scenario is before the installation of a visitor management solution.

It is important to categorise the site and identify :

  • access arrangements,
  • security policy and facilities,
  • the health protocol,
  • the on-site population and potential visitors,
  • the presence, or not, of a reception team.

Many other elements may be taken into consideration 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 receive an increasing number of external visitors and are subject to strict safety and health protocols. It is therefore possible to add a mobile reception system on a tablet (or terminal) to the security teams in place in order to allow them to monitor visits in real time on the ground.

When a reception team is present on site, as is often the case at a head office, visits outside the pre-registration process can be made and the host(s) can then check in directly from their computer dashboard, print the badge and give access to the site. In the hours not covered, the same procedure can be automated using a kiosk. The signing of NDAs and other documents, as well as automatic notifications to both the resident and the visitor, complete the visiting experience.

Visitor management at DANONE (head office)

At Hamilton Apps, we are fortunate to have DANONE as one of our most loyal clients.

Groupe DANONE (3 ) is one of the world's leading food companies, which has centred its activity around four divisions:

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

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

Pascal MORAINVILLERS, Head of the Occupier Services Division at Groupe DANONE, shares his experience of the health crisis.

"The dynamic reception allowed us to reach out to our visitors. Our goal was to be able to register them before they came. Since using Hamilton Visitor, we have seen real progress in anticipating visits, a considerable saving of time linked to registration and a strong improvement in the quality of the welcome. We highly recommend this tool for all these criteria. »

The agri-food sector is also on the front line in this very particular context. Visitor management is becoming a major issue in your operational strategy to combat the transmission of the virus within your sites.

You are a professional in the food industry and you want to welcome your visitors in complete safety? Contact our experts. 

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