Roger Williams RAIL CATERING
NSB uniforms, with NSB branded menus and product labeling. The co-operation can be compared to a traditional franchise model in the food service industry, where the catering provider runs the business within the franchise owner’s brand and concept description. In this way the customer sees a seamless offer throughout their journey experience with NSB.
For the catering provider the source of profit is the sale of food and beverages, which requires an efficient and commercially oriented operation. However, without a true partnership approach between the caterer and the railway operator, the contract model would be unsustainable due to the volumes and so, whilst the business model provides incentives to reduce operational costs, it also provides incentives to both parties to seek new ways to increase sales. Indeed, it is the success of the sales which drives the overall success of the partnership.
Since 2010 the contract has delivered an increase in sales and a significant reduction in operational costs for both NSB and Togservice. Today, some 40% of the travellers in NSB’s long distance trains use the catering offer. This is an amazing level of sales penetration when compared, for example, to the UK industry benchmark of around only 15%, and demonstrates how well the two parties have worked together to create the potential of the onboard service.
Essential partnerships Contractually the business model is complex and challenging, and the key to success lies in a good partnership, mutual trust and openness between the parties. Pål Tindberg, catering manager at NSB explains: "The contract model has been a success first and foremost because all staff members are employed in a professional
environment focused on catering – not train operations. The choice of business model is important, and a success factor for the contract is that both NSB and Togservice chose to let the people who negotiated the contract, manage it through the contract period.
"I think train operators across Europe have increased expectations for profitability and that this will create a stronger focus on commercial aspects in the future. This means that different types of business models must be evaluated and explored as we have here in Norway. The number one question for the train operators and the industry to answer is which type of model will deliver the best profitability, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty?"
Is this reflected in the caterer’s viewpoint? Lars Gotaas, managing director in Rail Gourmet Togservice said: "The contract is exciting to work with and works well for both parties, because together we are able to influence customer satisfaction, catering profitability and ensure a great customer service”. He continued: "It took both courage and insight for NSB to outsource the onboard service only eight years after it was in-sourced. This has been a key success factor and I would encourage other train operating companies to do a similar thing in order to maximize customer satisfaction whilst achieving the most beneficial commercial option.”
Professional service Having travelled on the services between Oslo and Bergen and also to the north of the country, I can vouch for the friendliness of the staff and the professionalism of the services provided. Café
bars offer a range of hot and cold traditional Norwegian dishes which can be eaten in the seats provided by the bar or taken back to your seat. In Komfort class there is a self- serve coffee and tea facility in each coach so you don’t have to wait for someone to come to you and can have a hot drink any time that suits you without having to go through to the café bar.
Pictured left: Pål Tindberg, NSB and Lars Gotaas MD of Togservice share an onboard coffee as they celebrate their successful partnership
For group travel, an advance purchase option either by phone or online allows pre-ordering of food and drink to be delivered to specific trains. This service is in its infancy but the potential for increasing this facility for customers is always being reviewed and reflects the progress in other countries and modes of transport. Clearly, the bespoke nature of pre-order requires a different level of logistics resource and so ensuring the right balance between service innovation and cost is critical. On regional commuter trains there are no staffed facilities but on key routes there is a vending service comprising of hot and cold drinks, snacks and confectionery, the logistics of which are also managed by Togservice. This has been a gradual growth area, spurred on recently by the implementation of credit card readers, meaning the issue of having the right change disappears!
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