Running a catering business often feels like a high-stakes juggling act. Between handling client inquiries, preparing detailed offers, confirming orders, and managing logistics for multiple events at once — it’s easy to snowball into big problems from small inefficiencies. For Watertanden Catering, a Dutch company serving corporate events, that pressure was a daily reality. Over the past two years, we’ve partnered with Watertanden to automate and streamline nearly every stage of their operations — from lead capture to order processing, and soon, even inventory ordering. Here’s how that journey unfolded.

Table of Contents:

1. About Watertanden Catering
2. Before Automation: The Main Challenges
3. The Road to Automation – What We’ve Done in Two Years
4. Lead Management and CRM Integration
5. Automated Offer Creation with PandaDoc
6. Order Confirmation and Event Scheduling
7. Upcoming Developments – Inventory Ordering via API
8. Summary: Key Results and Business Impact

About Watertanden Catering

Watertanden Catering specializes in corporate and event catering. Their clients expect not just delicious food, but flawless execution — from dietary adjustments to precise delivery times.

Like many catering companies, Watertanden was dealing with:

• Dozens of incoming inquiries every week.
• Time-consuming manual offer creation.
• Complex event logistics and multiple dietary preferences.
• Managing product quantities and supplier orders.

In short, the team spent as much (or more) time on administrative work than on what truly matters—creating unforgettable dining experiences.

Before Automation: The Main Challenges

Before we began, most processes at Watertanden were manual. Leads came in through web forms and emails, and staff had to re-enter data into the CRM. Offers were created manually in Word or Excel, often taking hours. Order confirmations were handled via back-and-forth emails, and event details were scattered across different documents and calendars.

Every order carried the risk of:

• Data inconsistencies and version errors.
• Omitting important actions and delaying bids.
• Lack of complete data flow between team members.
• Making errors in orders.

It was clear that automation could not only save time but also improve client satisfaction and operational accuracy.

The Road to Automation – What We’ve Done in Two Years

Our collaboration began with the integration of basic lead forms and semi-automated offer emails while the company was still using Freshsales CRM. But as Watertanden’s processes evolved, it became clear that Freshsales wasn’t flexible enough for the level of automation we envisioned.

We migrated the entire CRM system to Pipedrive, which provided a more intuitive interface and seamless integration with other tools like Make (formerly Integromat) and PandaDoc. From there, the journey to automation accelerated.

Lead Management and CRM Integration

The first step was ensuring every lead was captured automatically — no more lost emails or manual data entry.

And that’s why:

• Web inquiry forms were connected directly to Pipedrive, instantly creating new deals with all client details.
• Automated workflows now trigger follow-up emails and reminders for clients.
• Leads are automatically categorized based on event type, size, and urgency.

This reduced response time significantly and ensured that every potential client received timely communication — without anyone manually tracking follow-ups.

Automated Offer Creation with PandaDoc

Offer creation was one of the most time-consuming parts of Watertanden’s workflow. Each quote required pulling in event details, pricing, and dietary requirements — a process prone to human error.

To solve this, we:

• Created templated offers in PandaDoc, dynamically populated with data from the CRM,
• Automated offer generation and sending based on the event type and scale.
• Enabled personalized client details (name, event date, location, guest count, dietary preferences) to auto-fill directly from CRM fields.

Now, instead of manually building each offer, the system generates and sends a fully branded, personalized document in seconds. No manual input. No delays.

Order Confirmation and Event Scheduling

Once a client accepts an offer, the next phase begins automatically.

And it goes as follows:

• An Order Confirmation workflow generates a detailed PDF, summarizing menu selections, quantities, timings, and client details.
• This document is automatically stored in Pipedrive and shared with the kitchen and logistics teams.
• Each confirmed order is then synced with the team calendar, ensuring clear visibility of upcoming events and deadlines.

This has eliminated confusion between departments and streamlined team communication.

Upcoming Developments – Inventory Ordering via API

The final piece of the automation puzzle is now being completed: automated inventory ordering via direct API integration with Bidfood, one of the leading food suppliers in the Netherlands. Once launched, this system will automatically calculate required quantities based on confirmed orders and trigger supplier requests directly — without human intervention.

Seamless Automation will be the first company to implement this integration, working closely with Bidfood’s engineering team to configure the new service. This innovation will further reduce human error, minimize food waste, and ensure consistent product availability for large-scale events.

Summary: Key Results and Business Impact

After two years of gradual, strategic automation, the impact has been remarkable.

We managed to achieve:

• Significant time savings in offer creation and order handling (from 4-5 hours to 1 hour).
• Faster response times to client inquiries (from max 10 processed leads per day to 20-30, with the same staff).
• Not wasting time repeating information over and over again and checking everything multiple times.
• Clear visibility into all upcoming events and team availability.
• Higher client satisfaction thanks to smoother communication and reliable delivery.
• Savings up to 5,000 euros per month.

But perhaps the most important outcome is cultural: automation has allowed the Watertanden team to shift their focus back to what they love — food, service, and creativity — while technology quietly takes care of the rest.

This project shows that automation isn’t just for tech companies. Catering, hospitality, and event businesses — industries built on precision and timing — can gain massive value from smart digital workflows.

The key is to start small, automate one process at a time, and choose tools that work together to create a seamless experience for your team and clients. Over time, even incremental improvements can completely transform how a company operates.

If you believe your business could benefit from smarter workflows, let’s talk about how automation can make it happen: