Even prior to Covid, keeping commercial kitchens running at full-steam and maintaining maximum equipment uptime had already been a major challenge for service companies & restaurants. Finding technicians, training and keeping them engaged is one of the biggest bottlenecks the service industry is facing.
Hence, it’s the core focus of the executive and management teams of most equipment repair companies. But that comes at the expense of not putting as much focus on other areas of the business such as dispatching technicians, customer service, billing customers, asset tracking etc. which often overburden a company’s employees.
If calls from customers are not answered promptly, there are delays in dispatching technicians, invoices don’t go out in time, accounts go on hold due to lack of communication, etc., it can kill the cash flow of a service business and cause major breakdown in the customer experience. Enter Origo.
Scott McGrath and his team at Origo have embraced that challenge with a portfolio of innovative business support tools to support the nation’s kitchen equipment service providers. As an Australian-owned company, Origo has created a global mentality for the industry’s kitchen service providers. “We understand from how the phone is answered to deploying the right technician,” McGrath said. “What the US restaurant and foodservice professional needs.”
“Our goal is for our commercial kitchen service clients to understand their strengths and weaknesses,” shared McGrath. “By sharing that mindset, they are then able to tap into the operational and cost efficiency that Origo provides. Ideally, the Origo US customers has 30+ technicians, multiple offices, and an acquisition program in place. Additionally, they service both hot and cold kitchen equipment.”
Much of the company’s success in the US has come from its accounting roots. The history of the company began in Australia and has grown quickly to help food service businesses across the US.
“Our cofounder, Rohan Wass, had an accounting organization in Australia with a client base that was looking to outsource. I met him through mutual business friends, and we decided there had to be a better course of action within the industry to increase customer satisfaction,” McGrath explained. “We started small, signing a few clients, but then built the company up when we began to specialize in the commercial kitchen sector. It wasn’t until Rohan met our finance director in a pub in the Philippines that we got involved in the foodservice equipment space.”
That 2015 encounter, has allowed Origo to specialize in helping those in the kitchen service world to maximize how they deploy their talent and prioritize and accomplish goals. Origo’s international team strives to help businesses refocus their goals while minimizing the workload. Businesses that are looking to expand into new locations or expand existing ones are typically confronted with a time-consuming process. This is where Origo comes in.
“We find people ready to help run the business and perform a variety of tasks,” McGrath said. “Businesses that are short-staffed may have someone in billing who is also answering phones while also doing dispatch. We handle the backend and create a value creation plan, which is about operational improvement. Very simply it makes no sense to have a talented tech answering the phone rather than being in the field working to help a customer get their kitchen up and running.”
To accomplish that goal, Origo runs a 12-week “sprint” aimed to help improve the current operating processes while helping to perform jobs. This may mean helping in customer service, answering phone calls, completing dispatch work, ensuring work orders are completed, or sending invoices out on time.
“We are aware that we can’t change an entire business overnight,” McGrath said. “With our Value Creation Plan (VCP), we are able to help management identify the most prominent issue and build a plan to see what equipment needs to be serviced and by who. ‘Phil’ might be the right guy to fix a new combi, while an older tech ‘Bob’ knows how to bring an old walk-in box back to life. We want to know what we can help improve over the next 12 weeks.”
The recipe has proven to be a success with Origo understanding of the global business world, leading to the processing of over a million work orders. The company works directly with the client, stressing that involvement with the client is crucial to the success of the client’s goals. Additionally, they deliver all necessary training to their client, working as both a backend and frontend management company.
“We are specialists for operational equipment and have the industry experience and knowledge in specialized roles and portal administration to make a strong impact on a business’s growth,” McGrath explained.
The solution-orientated company believes in a global talent effort and has perfected the creation of building remote teams.
“We are convinced that most businesses simply don’t use the majority of the technology they invest in due to time and energy conflicts,” McGrath said. “Origo takes that issue away. Small businesses don’t always have the luxury of stopping and slowing down to refocus their priorities and develop new strategic growth plans. We help bring focus to their business plans.”
The Pandemic has created an unprecedented opportunity for acquisition in the commercial kitchen service sector. To accomplish that successfully, Origo is poised to support the successful roll up and on-boarding of the service executives’ vision for growing their company.
For more information, visit the Origo website. Scott McGrath is available to discuss how Origo can help your operation by emailing him at Scott.mcgrath@origobpo.com or by phone at 512-521-0428.
