5 Tips For Keeping Your Catering & Delivery Van Organized

When you use a van for your catering or food delivery service, that van is your portable workspace. If your van is cluttered or disorganized, it's only going to slow down your work and prevent you from delivering the best possible service to your customers and clients. Your business can reach its full potential if you can master organization for your catering van or food delivery truck.

The Benefits of an Organized Food Delivery Van

Working in a disorganized space can be frustrating and also potentially detrimental to the success of your business. Investing in your van's organization will make your job easier so you can focus on impressing your clients. Consider the following benefits to organizing your foodservice vehicle:

• Increase your efficiency: When everything has a dedicated spot that is easy to access, you can spend less time searching for lost items and get your work done faster. When you cut out unnecessary delays, you have time for more clients, which helps boost your revenues.
• Exceed sanitation standards: Food safety and sanitation practices are a priority for any business in the food industry. An organized van is much easier to keep clean to meet and exceed FDA regulations.
• Protect your equipment: In a messy van, your equipment may bump and grind against other supplies, becoming damaged or even broken. Prematurely replacing equipment eats into your profits. Organizing your equipment protects it from unnecessary wear and tear so that it lasts for many years to come.
• Maintain your inventory: There's nothing worse than driving to a client or event and realizing you forgot something.When your van is organized, it only takes a few moments to ensure you have everything you need for the day.
• Make a positive impression: An organized catering van looks and functions better to help you make a great first impression with your clients. That way, they're more likely to order from you again.

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Tips for Organizing Your Catering Van

Here's how to keep a food delivery van clean, as well as a few tips for food delivery van organization:

1. Lay the Base

Before putting anything into your van or truck, think about laying a stable base. You'll want to put the biggest items on the bottom so they can serve as a strong foundation for placing other things on top. Start with heavy boxes, large equipment like generators, cooking or warming equipment, air compressors and anything else you might need for the day ahead.

2. Organize Vertically

Stacking layers of supplies on the floor can damage your cargo and make it challenging to find what you need. Installing storage equipment like drawers and shelves on your van's walls will help you utilize the verticle space in an accessible way.

Investing in shelving for your food delivery van helps you maximize the available space and keep up with your organization system.

3. Think Strategically

Make sure the things you need or use most often are easily accessible near the doors. Conversely, store anything you rarely use in the far reaches of your van that are more difficult to reach. Organizing your van this way helps improve your efficiency as you make deliveries and serve your clients and customers.

4. Remember the Lighting

Light is the most underrated organizational tool. You want to have some sort of lighting that helps you see into the darkest corners of your van.  Light helps you find what you're looking for quickly, which will help you become more productive during the workday.

5. Cut Down on Clutter

Think carefully about which supplies you actually need while you're organizing your catering van. Only keep the essentials. If you haven't used something in more than six months, you may never use it again — so take it out. Losing the clutter maximizes food delivery van organization by making it easier to find what you need when you need it.

Essential Equipment for Your Food Delivery Van

Some essential organizational items you'll want to include in your catering van include:

• Protective floor mats: Rubber or composite floor mats will protect your floor from dirt and scratches and create traction to hold your cargo in place while you drive.
• Shelving: At Advantage Outfitters LLC, we offer delivery van shelving packages that are custom-fit to the most popular trade vehicles. We also provide individual catering shelving units that you can mix and match to create a custom upfit that works best for your business.
• Bins: Storage containers are essential to keep smaller items organized and secure. We offer durable plastic bins that are custom-fit to 10", 12" and 14" deep shelves. You can use them to store serving utensils, condiments, small ingredients or any other supplies you want at easy reach.
• Drawers: Tool and parts drawers provide a secure place to keep all kinds of things. They're fully enclosed, so there's no chance of your items bouncing out on the road. They come in a wide range of sizes for all of your storage needs.
• Lighting: Most trade vans are challenging to maneuver in the dark. LED lighting will illuminate your cargo space so you can find everything you need easily.
• Hooks: A simple hook can help maximize the space on your rear doors or the side of a shelf. You can use them to store work uniforms, hair coverings, aprons, chefs coats or anything else you need every day.
• Paper storage: Paper holders are a convenient way to organize menus, contracts, receipts, order forms or any other documents that are essential to your business. Choose from two, three and five slot versions to meet your needs.
• Roof racks: Ladder racks can double as catering racks for vans to optimize the roof so you can transport tables, chairs, signs and other large pieces of equipment.

Upfit Your Catering Van With Advantage Outfitters LLC

At Advantage Outfitters, we help service professionals make the most of their vans and trucks. We offer a wide range of shelving for food delivery vansand other catering van accessories. Everything you find in our selection represents the highest standards for strength and durability, and you can always count on a custom fit. You'll be able to keep your food delivery van clean and organized when you choose our products.

Browse our selection of delivery van shelving and other products that ensure food delivery van organization and cleanliness so that you can deliver the best service to your customers!

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