Delivery/Packaging

DELIVERY: Third-Party and Native Delivery Considerations

Take Orders via Multiple Channels Ensure that all orders run through the POS to track revenues properly and receive payments.

S T E P 1

Send

Directly to Kitchen Automated or manual ticket process.

S T E P 2

S T E P 3

Prep & Packing Use the empty dining room to layout orders efficiently. Separate self deliver orders from aggregator orders.

Delivery Management Track assets (human and physical capital) in real time. This allows you to communicate with customers in an automated fashion so they know when orders are coming, allowing you to stop fielding calls about order location and focus on bringing in orders.

S T E P 4

Owned Delivery Primer

Bringing delivery in-house via “owned” or “native” delivery has benefits and challenges. Here are several key considerations as you evaluate owned delivery for your brand.

LIABILITY: Restaurants can accept liability and find the right provider to help, or provide a waiver and pass liability to staff as a condition of accepting the position.

SAFETY: To minimize your exposure as a business, ensure your facilities are pepped to handle sanitary requirements and provide PPE to all your employees per federal and state guidelines.

TRANSPORTATION: Restaurants will either need to provide a vehicle, which will factor into your overall cost, or more commonly employees will use their own.

STAFFING: Try to understand your volumes during various times of day. Ensure you have enough drivers available during peak times. This assessment should also factor in fulfillment staff who act as inbetweens kitchen and drivers.

PACKAGING: Look at packaging as a way to market your brand and create a positive user experience. Look into custom-branded packaging and driver uniforms. Make sure that your food travels well. Experiment to see if you need special packaging to fit your dishes. Look for a way to expand your in-restaurant experience to your customer’s front door.

ECONOMICS: An assessment is recommended to ensure your owned delivery channel is profitable. Create a minimum for orders, if necessary. With high volumes, delivery fees can be waived to add to the customer experience.

Third-Party Delivery

If you’re considering using delivery providers, here are several key considerations.

TECHNOLOGY: Requires integration via API for custom solutions or native integration with online ordering providers integrated with logistical delivery providers.

PACKAGING: Look at packaging as a way to market your brand and create a positive user experience. What will this experience be like for the consumer?

ECONOMIC IMPACT: For consumers, delivery fees will be higher than marketplace orders. How do restaurants subsidize fees to make it appealing? Tips collected for online order and delivery are generally attributed to the driver with contract language stating minimums.

Marketing Your Delivery Service

If you are promoting third-party delivery companies, you are relinquishing the customer, and paying hefty commissions on your own customer.

If you have your own channels, like a website or app, market them. Use signage to promote your owned channels when dine-in returns, and encourage word of mouth employee and customer referrals to your owned channels. If you have the budget, explore digital marketing for additional exposure.

Emphasize the cost savings, build a loyalty program that rewards consumers for ordering multiple times.

Create signage, promote on social and customer channels, and strive for word-of-mouth referrals.

If someone calls, tell them about your digital products.

Interact directly with your customers, and create a database you can market to.

Reorders = compound growth, even if it is a small percentage monthover-month.