Why You Need Delivery Management & Optimization Solutions

Third-party delivery apps are a headache to manage. Juggling orders across multiple platforms and tablets provides little visibility and plenty of room for error.

With delivery remaining a strong revenue source for 2021, it’s important to get plate-level detail from all of your delivery orders, not just a check at the end of the month. Delivery management and optimization solutions help you aggregate your orders in one place and allow you to make informed financial decisions.

Americans are ordering delivery more than ever before

While a third of Americans are looking forward to eating at restaurants again, over one in four people say that they won’t feel comfortable dining at a restaurant until they have a COVID-19 vaccine. In the meantime, people are relying on delivery: the amount of Americans ordering food through a third-party delivery app has increased 25% between 2019 and 2020. Not only are they ordering food online, they’re also ordering more food online: Grubhub saw a 20% rise in average order size compared to 2019.

The food delivery industry will continue to grow over time

While the increase in food delivery has certainly been impacted by the pandemic, there is reason to believe it won’t slow down once the pandemic is under control. Since 2014, the delivery industry has grown 300% faster than dine-in traffic. Today, there are 5.6 million people using food delivery apps, and that number is expected to reach a massive 53.9 million people by 2023. The US food delivery market increases by 20% each year: by the end of 2020, the delivery market is expected to reach $26 billion in revenue.

While delivery makes your customers lives easier, many restaurateurs feel that it makes their lives more difficult

The majority of restaurants see the benefit of investing in delivery with 60% of restaurateurs reporting that offering delivery has led to an increase in revenue, but managing delivery can feel unfulfilling and overwhelming. Delivery makes customers’ lives easier (87% of Americans who use third-party delivery apps agree that it makes their lives simpler), but it can make restaurant professionals’ lives more difficult – 43% of restaurant professionals say that third-party delivery apps interfere with the direct relationship between their restaurant and their customers.

Delivery should mean more success, not more stress.

In spite of difficult circumstances, restaurants did an impressive job of evolving their business from mostly on-premise to majority delivery in 2020. Now that the majority of restaurants have a presence on delivery platforms, in 2021, restaurateurs can focus on taking control of their delivery business.

What is a delivery management and optimization platform?

Delivery management and optimization platforms exist to make the experience of online-ordering as efficient and enjoyable for your restaurant as it is for your customers. Delivery management and optimization solutions let restaurants control their delivery business from a single tablet rather than trying to keep up with endless platform-specific tablets, notifications, and orders.

What benefits do delivery management and optimization platforms offer?

Consolidation. Restaurants use delivery management and optimization platforms to streamline online orders from all of their online ordering platforms into a single tablet. This can clean up the look of your front-of-house with fewer tablets and reduce stress for your team with fewer platforms to manage.

Insight. Not only do restaurants use delivery management and optimization systems to take control of day-to-day delivery operations, they also use these platforms to gain insight into delivery performance. Delivery management and optimization systems can be your source of truth in terms of holistic delivery performance by providing your restaurant with cross platform menu item-based performance, location-based performance, and platform based performance.

For example, platforms like these can tell you that your burger performs best on Uber Eats from your 55th st location – from there, you might consider running a promo on Uber Eats to sell more of that menu item. On the contrary, they can tell you that your dinner salad underperforms on every platform in all of your locations – from there, you might consider removing it from your delivery menu and replacing it with something more like your burger.

Key features to look for in a delivery management solution

1. Store management from a single tablet. Aggregating your orders across all online ordering partners into one feed allows you to keep your menu and store hours up to date in real-time, 86 items when you run out of ingredients, and update menu items or prices when things change. Pause store hours and make operating hour updates on all platforms through a single process.
2. Auto-accept + print. Eliminate “human error” in order fulfillment. Auto-accept and print ensures you miss fewer orders to increase your fulfillment and revenue.
3. Expansion. Using an order aggregator can help you increase your reach and revenue through new online-ordering platforms and virtual brands. Partner with multiple online-ordering services without the extra stress. Use your current inventory and space to turn out more deliveries to more customers through multiple storefronts.
4. Unified delivery data. No need to pull individual reports from each delivery platform at each location. See all your delivery data in a single, easy to understand place.
5. Financial performance trends. Use financial data and insights across locations, delivery platforms and brands to prepare and plan for growth.

Partner with Otter to superpower your delivery business today

Otter provides your restaurant with the delivery management and optimization technology you need, but Otter is more than just a platform. Restaurants who use Otter receive round the clock support and consulting from a team of dedicated account managers who will do whatever it takes to help you succeed in delivery.

Want to learn more about Otter? hello@tryotter.com | tryotter.com