Asia Express Food is a fast-growing importer and distributor of Asian and exotic food products, based in the Netherlands. With hundreds of employees, their office was quickly running out of space and an expensive office relocation seemed like the inevitable step.
But before making that leap, Asia Express Food chose to see if they could optimize the space they already had. With desk sharing software and support from Dibsido, they created a more flexible and cost-effective solution.
Key outcomes Asia Express Food achieved through partnering with Dibsido
✅ Avoided a costly office move that would have disrupted operations and required large investment
✅ Gained insights into actual desk usage and gathered information about who’s working from home or how many desks sit empty on a typical day
✅ Got the data to support smarter, more efficient decisions about their office setup in the future
"We signed with you, and basically the next day, everything was ready. We really appreciated how fast the implementation was done.”
Yvonne Berg, Asia Express Food
A lot of good came out of the partnership between Dibsido and Asia Express Food. But, as with any change, a few challenges did arise along the way. Nothing we couldn’t handle!
Helping people adjust to desk sharing
The first real challenge was shifting the team to a new way of working. The good news was that Asia Express Food had already introduced hybrid work during the pandemic, so working remotely wasn’t anything new.
What was new, however, was the idea of desk sharing.
Implementing the system technically took just a day. But getting people used to the change and making desk sharing feel natural was a bigger challenge.
“People had some trouble adjusting to it in the beginning and didn’t want to give up their desks. It felt like something was being taken away from them,” says Yvonne, recommending that any company introducing desk sharing bring people into the conversation early. When teams understand the ‘why’ behind the shift, they’re far more likely to embrace the change.
Tip
How to ease into desk sharing
For companies used to fixed desks only, switching to hot desking can feel like a big change. We completely agree with Yvonne that preparing your team in advance makes a huge difference. What also helps is to start small, by allocating just a few spots for hot desk booking in the beginning.
This gives people a chance to test the system and get used to the new setup. Once things settle, desk sharing can be gradually expanded to a larger part of the office or the entire company.
“We really appreciated how fast, friendly, and solution-oriented your responses and overall customer service were. Also price-wise, Dibsido is quite competitive compared to other solutions on the market.”
Yvonne Berg, Asia Express Food
Tackling the problem of unused reservations
Every new app brings new habits.
At Asia Express Food, one early issue was unclaimed desk bookings: People would reserve a desk but ended up not showing up for work, leaving the spot unavailable for others the entire day.
This can be a common issue in hybrid setups. But with Dibsido, it can be solved with a smart feature that keeps things running smoothly: automatic desk release.
Tip
How does automatic desk release work in Dibsido?
At Dibsido, we hate to see wasted office space! That’s why the app lets you set a time limit for check-ins. If someone doesn’t show up and confirm their booking by then, the desk is automatically released and becomes available again.
Growing with the company
Asia Express Food first introduced Dibsido in the part of the office where the space shortage was most critical. Now, they’re preparing to roll the app out across the rest of their workplace.
Expanding an already adopted system is always easier than starting from scratch—and with teams already familiar with how it works, the next steps should be much more straightforward. Once the foundation is in place, scaling becomes a piece of cake (almost!)
With new workplace needs coming into focus, Asia Express Food is also exploring ways to use Dibsido beyond just desk booking. One of the features they’re currently looking into is parking, particularly how to make the use of their EV charging stations a little more balanced.
“We have some EV charging posts. Right now it’s first come, first served, and the same few colleagues get them every morning. If we could make that more fair, I think people would really appreciate it.”
Yvonne Berg, Asia Express Food
As luck would have it, Dibsido already comes with a feature built for exactly this. The app lets teams book parking spots, mark which ones have EV chargers, and set up custom booking rules. You can limit how often each employee can reserve a spot or give priority to colleagues with longer commutes, so everyone gets a fair shot.
At Dibsido, we help companies make the most of the space they already have. We can’t make your office bigger, but we can make it work better. From desks to meeting rooms to parking spots, we’ll help you run a smoother workplace setup.
Want to see how it might work for your team? Let’s talk.
Read our recent articles
Our platform is designed to empower businesses of all sizes to work smarter and achieve their goals with confidence.
