Read our series of Marketplace Spotlight interviews with the people who are making the Yocova platform come alive. Here we speak to Mohan Mathew, Co-Founder and Director of AeroChef, about the company’s vision to transform the airline catering process, how its solution promotes collaboration and communication among stakeholders in the industry, and how it supports sustainability and enhances passenger experience.
Mohan Mathew is the Co-Founder and Director of AeroChef, a provider of an airline catering software system designed to streamline operations and optimise inflight catering processes. Founded in 2005, AeroChef has since grown to be a leading solution provider and serves over 50 airlines and 2,200 flights per day and over 65 million meals each year.
We speak to Mohan about AeroChef’s vision for the future, how its solutions promote collaboration in the sector, support sustainability objectives and enhanced passenger experience, and about the company’s vision to continue to transform airline catering in future.
Can you tell us about AeroChef?
“AeroChef is a provider of advanced inflight catering software designed to streamline operations and optimise the airline catering process through system-driven collaboration between airlines and inflight catering suppliers. We started out in 2005 and have, since then, been developing solutions by leveraging cloud and mobile technology to eliminate manual errors and time-consuming paperwork, and bring about a better airline catering experience. With AeroChef, our customers can enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize wastage through intelligent menu planning, demand forecasting, streamlined supply chain management and more.”
What challenges does AeroChef address and how does it help airlines overcome these?
“Providing exceptional inflight services is crucial for airlines to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain a competitive edge, and catering is an important part of it. This has, however, long been held back by traditional manual processes, which have led to inefficiencies, increased costs and even errors. Our software has emerged as a game-changer in helping both airlines and suppliers to overcome these challenges. With its advanced features, automation capabilities and data-driven insights, we help to optimise the catering workflow, reduce costs and wastage, increase efficiency, and set a new standard for inflight catering experiences.”
What are the key benefits of AeroChef for airlines?
“We have inflight caterers and airlines in over 12 countries already taking advantage of our services to deliver meals to 50 airlines seamlessly daily. We help airlines to streamline operations, manage inflight catering suppliers, reduce bottlenecks in their catering processes, reduce wastage and drive down costs. By automating tasks such as meal provisioning, delivery notes, reverse invoicing with inflight catering suppliers and shared inventory management, our software reduces the risk of manual errors and enables caterers to focus on what’s important, delivering high-quality meals. Additionally, our customers take advantage of the real-time analytics and reporting, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and continuously improve their catering processes and services. All this together ultimately helps airlines to provide a better in-flight catering experience for their passengers.”
Can you tell us about AeroChef’s 2023 release?
“Our latest release this year is a version specifically designed for airlines needing a more cost-effective and efficient system to manage catering suppliers, and an integrated approach for the delivery of catering services. Functionally, the software offers a range of benefits in Menu Planning, Galley Management, Meal Order Processing, Catering Vendor Management, Invoicing Checks and Reconciliation, among many others. We have re-engineered the software on the latest technology stack for the cloud and mobile era, making it easily accessible, scalable, secure, and user-friendly. The software now has an additional built-in automation service and integration service layers, meaning that we’ve drastically reduced the time it takes to implement the system. It’s also ready to integrate with other industry-standard airline systems such as Sabre and Amadeus and has built-in plugins for financial accounting systems such as SAP, Oracle, Sage, Xero, and others. We also made onboarding and training easier through our intuitive and user-friendly interface., We believe we provide functionality and features not available within competing systems, and airline customers can quickly take advantages of the benefits AeroChef provides, bringing an almost immediate return on investment.”
How does AeroChef promote collaboration and communication in the airline catering process?
“We’ve long recognised that effective communication and collaboration across the airline catering process is essential, which is why we facilitate this through our centralised platform where catering vendors and airlines seamless exchange data. Our software provides a space for caterers, suppliers, and airline staff to exchange information, track orders, delivery, and invoices, and resolve any issues efficiently and securely. By bringing together all stakeholders onto a single platform we support efficient supply chain management and enable improved communication, which ultimately results in streamlined operations, fewer delays, and better overall productivity.”
How can AeroChef help the industry to operate more sustainably?
“Since we facilitate the seamless integration of a wide network of suppliers and vendors, we create a streamlined supply chain management process. The software forecasts pax loads, meal quantities and procurement of ingredients, tracks inventory levels and enables real-time communication between airlines and suppliers. By reducing food wastage and optimising the supply chain , AeroChef reduces the risk of stock outs or overstocking, minimises wastage and leads to a more efficient and cost-effective use of supplies at each stage, and ultimately a more sustainable approach to airline catering.”
Can you tell us how AeroChef contributes to improved passenger experience?
“Enhanced passenger experience is a major focus across the industry just now, as airlines seek innovative solutions to satisfy customers, meet changing expectations and demands, and keep pace with competitors. Inflight catering is only one part of a passenger’s overall inflight experience, but it’s a very important one. AeroChef’s advanced features enable airlines to automate tasks such as meal orders, dietary requirements, and special request handling, ensuring the timely and accurate provision of meals. And with the help of our platform, airlines can offer a seamless and personalised dining experience to passengers and cater for individual preferences. This not only boosts customer satisfaction, but it also helps airlines to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.”
What is AeroChef’s vision for the future?
“Our vision is to continue driving innovation and staying at the forefront of inflight catering technology. We aim to further enhance automation capabilities by integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning. By leveraging these emerging technologies and incorporating real-time data analytics, we envision a future where the airline catering process becomes even more efficient, cost-effective, and tailored to individual passenger needs. We’re really committed to supporting the digital efficiency needed by airlines, caterers, passengers, and crew, and to delivering solutions that continue to set new standards of excellence in the industry.”
How can airlines and aviation partners access AeroChef’s solution?
“AeroChef’s Airline Catering Management system is available to buy on the Yocova Marketplace. The software system is integration-ready and compatible with almost all airline reservation and accounting systems. It’s available on the cloud as a software as a service model or, for larger customers, can be hosted on a private cloud. Integration and onboarding to AeroChef is quick and easy, so new customers can experience the benefits right away.”
For more information, to contact or collaborate…
You can contact Mohan on Yocova via his personal profile.
Author: Team Yocova
Published: 06 October 2023
Feature image: Courtesy of AeroChef
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When CAFS ( Casino Air Catering & Flight Service ) contacted Kott Software for a solution to help manage the Air Catering business. Little did we realize that CAFS would grow to become the Largest network in Airline Catering in India nor ,that we would have a solution to manage the complex nature of the business with multiple locations and Airline partners.
Today, we have achieved our goals and happy to say that Aerochef has a key role in our success story