Benzinga | Oct 12, 2021 12:31PM EDT

Cantaloupe Says Food Express Implements Co's Seed Platform

Today, Cantaloupe Inc., (NASDAQ:CTLP) ("Cantaloupe" or the "Company"), a digital payments and software services company that provides end-to-end technology solutions for the unattended retail market, announced that Food Express has implemented its Seed Pro and Seed Office platforms, with added features to support its deliveries, merchandising, and micro markets. Through the agreement, Food Express is utilizing Cantaloupe's platform to manage all lines of business across multiple branches, helping operators streamline operations and scale more efficiently.

Founded in 1985, Food Express is one of America's fastest growing food service companies in the Southeast. A family-owned business, the company is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina and has four branches in Raleigh, Charlotte, Spartanburg, and Atlanta, Georgia. Food Express is also a USConnect(r) affiliate, supporting thousands of clients with its fresh food vending machines, Bistro to GO!(r) Markets, customized dining, and office coffee services.

"Like many businesses that grow quickly, we started to experience critical challenges in managing multiple branches under one streamlined set of processes. We were also concerned about how the workload of transitioning to a new solution would affect employee morale," said Hugh O'Neill, President, Food Express. "We found Cantaloupe to be the perfect partner as it quickly addressed these concerns by demonstrating to our employees how Seed would make their lives easier. Implementation was completed in record time as the Seed platform integrated seamlessly into our VMS, and daily communication supported the project plan and key next steps for onsite teams at multiple branches. We immediately saw positive results and couldn't be happier."

According to Food Express, implementing Seed enabled the company to:

* Eliminate hours of manual work downloading, manipulating data, and consolidating it into one report

* Fuel simple cross-branch alignment on standard processes

* Generate more accurate data through dynamic scheduling, significantly reducing bring-backs and only servicing accounts when they need it

* Improve inventory management, with drivers adopting the easy-to-use Seed Mobile app for in-field management

Food Express has reported a 30 percent reduction in vending service visits, a 75 percent increase in average fills and a 97 percent increase in average collections per visit, all within just six weeks of implementation. To learn more about this implementation, you can access the case study here.

"We are excited to partner with Food Express, as the company is a perfect example of a high-growth retailer that can quickly benefit from the operational efficiencies the Seed platform brings to the unattended retail market," said Sean Feeney, chief executive officer, Cantaloupe, Inc. "Our goal is to ensure our customers can get up to speed as quickly as possible. Seed provides operational simplicity and incredible cost savings. Now Food Express has the powerful ability to operate their vending, markets, and OCS on the same platform, and is better able to manage multiple branches through a consistent set of processes, as well as manage inventory and remove manual processes that were slowing growth."