Wijnstra Catering has been providing high-level concept catering with a creative touch since 2005. In addition to indoor and outdoor locations in Tilburg, they also offer catering at external venues. Wijnstra Catering is one of the early adopters of MICE Operations; they have been using MICE software since July 2016.
When Kiki Verbaten - Franken joined Wijnstra Catering in 2014, the company acquired a second location. The company was growing, but it lacked overview. Everything was managed from a calendar, but there was little structure. Events were confirmed from different mailboxes, and quotes were generated in Word. Based on previous experience with a hotel chain, Kiki knew the convenience of a system that allowed all departments to work together and have all information in one place. When Wijnstra Catering joined MICE in 2016, it quickly became clear that this would be an ideal system for them.
Updates over the years
In recent years, Wijnstra Catering has witnessed the introduction of many new features. Kiki says, "The invoicing aspect made possible by the integration from MICE was a very nice update for us at the time. We used to have a separate cash register, but that's no longer necessary. If there's a change in quantities, we simply adjust it, and it automatically reflects on the invoice. Ideal!"
"Furthermore, the packages work very well for us," says Kiki. "In just three or four clicks, we can put together a business meeting, for example. But it also works for catering: we have created standard packages for the most common requests. If I click on those, I can send a suitable quote with just a few actions. It works very easily and saves a lot of time."
MICE has ultimately contributed to our growth. It remains human work, of course, but far fewer mistakes are made, and we can use our time much more efficiently.
Kiki Verbaten - Franken, Wijnstra Catering
"It's cool to see that a lot of the feedback we've given over the years has actually been taken into account," says Kiki. "Often, we saw our own points come up again with a new update, which is very nice! Recently, we had a meeting with the Implementation Specialist from MICE. Together, we went through some things in the system, and we still discover features that we can use better. For example, certain functionalities that we didn't use before but can be very useful for us. It's nice to be able to look at this together."
The future
Wijnstra Catering continues to grow, says Kiki: "We will keep going as we are now. MICE will, of course, remain a part of this; it works very well for us. It is so ingrained in our company, and everyone can work with it. We can't do without it anymore!
MICE remains a part of our future; we can't do without it anymore!
Kiki Verbaten - Franken, Wijnstra Catering