Ruetech Aviation Catering Solution: ERP for In-Flight Catering
Flight schedules and passenger numbers determine an aviation caterer’s daily production. The kitchen must accommodate last-minute changes while maintaining HACCP records and batch traceability through to the aircraft. The Ruetech Aviation Catering Solution connects these tasks in one system.
This guide explains the solution’s functions and where standard software ends and custom development begins. It draws on an anonymised project with an airport caterer whose operating figures have not been approved for publication.
Overview: Flight-schedule data provides the basis for production orders. HACCP checks are recorded in the system, and batches are linked from goods receipt through to aircraft loading. Costs and utilisation can be assessed using the shared operational data.
What sets flight catering apart from other catering
An event caterer plans production around a customer order. An aviation caterer works from flight schedules and passenger numbers, both of which can change at short notice and require adjustments in the kitchen.
The HACCP plan defines the food-safety control points. Checks must be documented for later audits, and a recall requires records showing which batches were used on which flights.
Production from the flight schedule
The system creates production orders from the imported flight schedules. Planners review the orders and make any necessary adjustments.
Recipes are stored as bills of materials with quantities per portion. Menus can be configured by airline, route, class and season.
HACCP documentation and audit trail
Inspection plans for the HACCP control points are stored in the Quality module, where staff record their checks. Each deviation is logged as a separate case and tracked through to resolution.
Each entry records who made it and when. Auditors can use these records to review the process in the system.
Batches from goods receipt to loading
Each batch receives a number at goods receipt. Production records link the ingredient batches to the finished products, and that link remains traceable through to aircraft loading.
During a recall, you can identify the flights affected by an ingredient batch or trace a delivery back to its ingredients.
Cost and utilisation for management
Inventory, manufacturing, quality and accounting share one database. Management can review costs and utilisation using the operational records, without a separate exercise to combine spreadsheets.
What is standard and what Ruetech built
Standard functions include bills of materials, production orders, batch tracing and quality checkpoints, alongside purchasing, stock reorder points, accounting and DATEV export. We configure these functions for your operation.
Ruetech developed the flight-schedule import for the reference project. Further extensions may be needed for a particular business, such as loading lists or billing in an airline’s format. We assess those requirements using a real day’s flight schedule.
Technology
The Ruetech Aviation Catering Solution is built on Odoo, and Ruetech is an Odoo Silver Partner. Ruetech develops the flight-schedule import and other extensions as its own modules.
Who the solution is for
The solution is designed for mid-sized caterers producing meals for airlines. It is not aimed at global airline caterers with their own group IT. Projects covering production, quality and a flight-schedule import usually fall within the Transformation package. See the pricing page for terms.
The aviation project is documented in an anonymised case study; permission to name the client has not been granted. The Rauschenberger case study also offers an example of shared sales and accounting processes in catering.
Your first step: one day of flight schedule
Send us a day’s flight schedule together with the production orders your kitchen derives from it. You can redact airlines, flight numbers and quantities. We will review the documents and discuss which processes the solution already covers and which extensions your operation would need.