The Future of Canteens – Toma & Pej

TL/DR: The all-in-one canteen solution has revolutionized how Toma manages their canteens for facility managers, employers, and employees. The increased efficiency has not only been notable during the lunch rush but also for the administrative staff – as the invoicing and payment process has been streamlined.

Imagine a canteen that is fully digitalized. Where employees can order lunch, access menus, and pay with a digital canteen card on their phone. While on the other end, the invoicing between the parties is sorted autonomously to ensure a smooth administrative process. This was the goal presented by Toma, one of the largest canteen suppliers in Norway, when they contacted Pej. Today, Toma has multiple locations with Pej that are fully operational, complete with digital canteen cards, order verification units, and PORAS (Pej and Oracle Report & Analytics Solution).

Since 2020, the joint effort has led to Pej having one of the most comprehensive and scalable canteen solutions on the market, one that is appreciated both by Toma’s staff and guests that dine in the canteens. Magne Haugen, Head of Payment Solutions at Toma, says that Pej has been an important part of their ongoing efforts toward canteen digitalization:

“Having digital solutions is very important for our customers. Pej helps us to offer an outstanding product, beneficial for all parties.” – Magne Hauge, Head of Payment Solutions, Toma

Beneath, the canteen solution and customer journey will be described in more detail.

1. Digital Canteen Cards

To order and pay for discounted meals, employees have a personal digital Canteen Card in Toma’s app provided by Pej. The card is easy to set up, impossible to lose and flexible in terms of credit or debit – it can either be pre-charged or run on credit. By implementing a digital canteen card, Toma has seen benefits in its day-to-day operations as employees can enjoy quicker lunches without long lines at the counter. While also enabling the staff to focus on what matters, that is, delivering high-quality lunches and keeping the facility nice and clean for the guests.

2. Order Verification Units

After an order has been placed, the guest receives a QR code in the app. As a final step of verification, the QR code is scanned in one of Pej’s Order Verification Units. The end-user gets a printed note to show to the staff if controlled. And, the meal is served – bon appetit!

3. Reports and Analytics Solutions

To reduce time spent on invoicing and handling the administrative tasks of a rather complex payment flow Pej has developed PORAS. In short, It provides Toma with ready-to-send invoices of each employer’s monthly expenditures as it automatically handles order information provided by Oracle’s Gift & Loyalty Credit Programs. PORAS has been an important part to reduce Tomas’s time spent on administrative tasks:

“PORAS is a game changer. It saves the finance department a significant amount of time as they don’t need to collect ordering data from each employers and employees’ expenses. This demonstrates how important digital elements in canteens is a win-win situation.” – Joel Oredsson, COO Pej

Coming soon: Subsidized Pricing

As the next step in the product offering for Canteens, Pej is to launch full support for flexible subsidized pricing solutions. In short, subsidized pricing is a way for an employer to let their employees pay a lower price in a restaurant. The subsidy is later paid by the employer per invoice. It enables great negotiating possibilities for the facility manager, it gives the company room for employer branding, and the canteens are provided with an efficient way of creating recurring guests. A win-win-win situation, simply put.