Case Studies - Better Meal Delivery App​
Transforming Meal Delivery Operations:
How Langley Meals on Wheels Enhanced Efficiency and Service with Our App
Customer Overview
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Organization Name: Langley Meals on Wheels
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Industry: Non-profit, Meal Delivery Services
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Size: 15 employees, 100 volunteers
July 2024
General Background
Langley Meals on Wheels, established in 1979, is dedicated to delivering fresh, wholesome meals to the doors of their clients. Their menu includes both hot, cold, and frozen meal options to cater to various needs. Volunteers provide not only meal deliveries but also friendly social interactions, checking on the well-being of those living alone and responding quickly in case of emergencies. Langley Meals on Wheels empowers individuals to maintain their independence at home and engages the community through various programs like Food & Friends, the Firehouse Cafe, Healthy Living Bags, and the Home-from-the-Hospital program.
Challenges
Before implementing our app in March 2020, Langley Meals on Wheels faced several challenges with their old application. The previous app was outdated, lacked support, and could not be upgraded. It offered no remote access and had very few features, primarily limited to producing daily route sheets. Searching for a program to replace their old system had been underway for a few years, and they were unable to find a solution that would work well for their organization.
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Implementation and Use
The onboarding and implementation process for our app was highly customized to their needs, allowing Langley Meals on Wheels to transition ahead of schedule. They now use the app every day, for various tasks including onboarding new volunteers and clients, reporting, optimizing routes, invoicing, and managing recurring orders.
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Impact and Benefits
​Our app has significantly improved Langley Meals on Wheels’ meal delivery operations. It has built more capacity, reduced errors, and increased efficiency, and allowed for more personalized service to clients. The app has made scheduling volunteers more efficient, contributing to the overall streamlined operations.
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Quantifiable Improvements
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Unique Clients Served: Increased from 220 in Fiscal 2020 , to 479 in 2024 Fiscal Year (an increase of 117% over 5 years since implementing the BMD app)
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Meals Delivered: Increased from 29,364 in Fiscal 2020 to 62,957 in Fiscal 2024 (an increase of 114% over 5 years since implementing the BMD app)
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Staffing Levels: Maintained similar meal delivery staffing levels despite increased workload
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​The app has helped Langley Meals on Wheels reach more clients and improve service quality. The time required for daily operations reduced from around six hours to less than one hour. It has made handling special diets and meal plans easier, resulting in fewer errors and better customer service.
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Feedback from Volunteers and Staff
Volunteers find the app easy to use and appreciate the clear, easy-to-understand information it provides. Staff members also find the app user-friendly and quick to navigate to complete their daily activities.
Specific Outcomes
The app has enabled Langley Meals on Wheels to extend their services to include health and wellness tracking, increasing the value provided to clients. The app’s ability to track everything needed for their operation and to extend functionality as their programs expand has been a significant benefit.
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Scalability
Since implementing the app, Langley Meals on Wheels has been able to scale their operations, serving more clients, offering more programs, and expanding to more locations.
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Metrics and KPIs
Langley Meals on Wheels measures success using metrics such as meals sold, clients served, and volunteer turnover. All these metrics have shown significant growth, and volunteer turnover has remained steady despite the increase in programs.
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User Experience
The app is highly user-friendly. Volunteers can be trained to perform tasks in the system within a few hours, and staff members require only a couple of training sessions to understand how to operate their programs. Issues are infrequent and usually related to new feature releases, which are promptly resolved through updates.
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Comparison to Other Solutions
Langley Meals on Wheels has used two other programs: an Access app with limited features and no support, and ServTracker, which had many errors, long onboarding time (over 4 months), slow support responses, and was difficult to train staff on. Our app, in contrast, has been reliable, feature-rich, and easy to use.
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Future Needs and Improvements
Langley Meals on Wheels would like the app to be extended so that volunteers can register on-line, access their profile information, schedules, and route delivery information. This would be more convenient for the volunteers, as they can access everything they need without requiring contact with a staff member. This reduces the time spent administrating volunteers and communication to fill open shifts and routes. They would also like to see their clients able to register on-line, order meals, view, print and pay their bills. This would save their staff time and improve their customer service options. They plan to continue working with us to enhance the app’s features and adapt as the sector and demographics change.
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Overall Satisfaction and Recommendation
Langley Meals on Wheels is extremely satisfied with our app and the service provided. They would absolutely recommend our app to other non-profits, highlighting exceptional customer service, an intuitive app that is easy for all staff to use, and a solution built specifically for organizations like theirs. Shannon Woykin, Executive Director, praised the CEO's talent and commitment to the non-profit sector, emphasizing her deep understanding of client needs.
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Conclusion
The partnership between Langley Meals on Wheels and our company has transformed their meal delivery operations, significantly enhancing efficiency, scalability, and service quality. This case study highlights the substantial benefits of our app for non-profit organizations dedicated to ensuring no one goes hungry.