Community Catering Perfectly Organized
Interview with Dipl.-Ing. Jörg Küfen, Managing Director of uwm Catering Logistik GmbH
Catering in schools, kindergartens, and day care centers is a complex process. The interests of the kitchen as well as those of the parents, sponsors, and employees are involved. With mature, proven, and innovative concepts, uwm Catering Logistik GmbH supports all participants. The company from Demen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern provides digital support to all actors: in organization as well as in ordering and billing.
"We have a lot of experience - also with large caterers," says Dipl.-Ing. Jörg Küfen, Managing Director of uwm Catering Logistik GmbH. "We also know the production side and strive for fair and partnership-based relationships. Moreover, we always individually address the needs of our customers on site. Another important aspect is cybersecurity, which plays a big role for us."
Fully Organized
The expertise of uwm Catering Logistik is production control and logistics within the framework of community catering. Digital platforms are provided to organize orders and supply. Thus, production control includes, for example, the purchasing of food for catering as well as its storage. "These are all components that help our customers accomplish their tasks and focus on their essential duties," emphasizes the Managing Director.
For the facilities, uwm takes over the complete organization of the food supply service. This service includes everything from orders and cancellations to order lists and the management of logistics and food distribution. Parents and children can conveniently place their orders via the internet or an app, with invoices and receipts provided to them at any time. For elderly people, there are also paper-based solutions that can be fully automated by uwm. Suppliers and carriers receive all the relevant information for them and are supported in billing and logistics planning with high professionalism.
Optimize Processes
uwm Catering Logistik GmbH was founded as a result of Kulinaria GmbH & Co. KG, which was established in the 1990s by Wolfgang Höfer, the father-in-law of the current CEO. 'At the beginning of the 2000s, my father-in-law considered how certain aspects of communal catering could be improved and optimized through innovative technologies and processes,' Jörg Küfen describes the beginnings. 'Thus, in its initial phase, uwm was one of the first companies to introduce ordering terminals and customer cards to the market, utilizing electronic data transfer capabilities. This enabled uwm to position itself early on as a highly innovative and forward-thinking company in the management of large-scale kitchens.'
Following the death of his father-in-law, Jörg Küfen became the CEO in February 2023. He brings his professional knowledge from the automotive industry, where efficient processes play an important role. Currently, the company, which is still family-owned, employs 15 permanent staff, 15 drivers, and 150 distribution staff on a 520-euro basis.
Actively Engage Customers
uwm's clients include providers of communal catering and the sponsors of the supplied schools and kindergartens. The range of clients includes nearly 200, varying from those serving 25 meals to up to 10,000 meals daily. In addition to schools and kindergartens, hospital kitchens and ‘Meals on Wheels’ providers also use the services. About half of the clients are from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with the rest from all over Germany.
In the past, uwm often received new orders by participating in tenders, but now Jörg Küfen wants to act more proactively: "We will intensify the active approach to potential customers and also want to give the small caterer around the corner the opportunity to survive. In the spirit of glocalization, we want to strengthen small and local partners." Therefore, the managing director also wants to revive the previous presence at industry fairs.
Focus on Sustainability
Inspired by his own children, Jörg Küfen places a strong focus on sustainability: "This is very important to us. This is also reflected in our external presentation. Sustainability must be the core idea of all digitalization. Therefore, all digital services must be provided CO2-free. To this end, we use electricity from our own solar park and only rent servers that are operated in a CO2-neutral manner. Furthermore, we are working to continuously reduce our energy performance per service provided. Another component of sustainability is optimizing production to reduce waste as much as possible."
In the long run, the managing director wants to give every customer the individual option to calculate and access their CO2 footprint.
Continued Growth
As part of the recent generational change that took place at uwm Catering Logistics, Jörg Küfen also wants to change some of the structures: "Previously, the company was largely organized hierarchically. I, on the other hand, am a fan of flat hierarchies. Therefore, it is a major concern for me to create a spirit of collaboration across departments. As a boss, I like to act as a moderator." The future of the company, according to the managing director, clearly points towards growth: "In the next five years, I want to triple our customer base and make sustainability a broad reality." In doing so, Jörg Küfen quotes Bertold Brecht: 'Change the world, it needs it.' And it is exactly this opportunity to shape things that drives him anew every day: "I enjoy it. It motivates me."