How to Start Delivering Food – A Step-by-Step Guide

Want to start delivering food from your restaurant, but don't know where to start? If so, you've come to the right place. See how to organize deliveries step by step. 

1. Prepare the premises for receiving orders

As we know, good organization is the key to success – if you plan the process of preparing, serving, and delivering meals, you'll save time and money. A POS system significantly aids order processing . It allows servers to immediately mark an order as a delivery meal and send this information directly to the kitchen. The staff will be better informed, and the entire meal preparation process will be faster and error-free.

TAKE ACTION:

• review the menu for delivery – are all the dishes suitable for boxing and delivery to the customer? If not, prepare a special menu for delivery,
• make sure you have the right packaging for transporting food,
• consider whether the work organization in the premises is good enough to introduce delivery orders – consider improving processes in the kitchen and service.

2. Choose how to collect orders

There are many options to choose from when it comes to order collection, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just one. However, it’s worth focusing on the solution that will bring the most profit to your establishment.

Food ordering app

Currently, the largest number of orders are placed via mobile apps and their online order collection platforms. We previously discussed this in the article "Digitalization – What Impact Does It Have on Food Delivery?" This is a very convenient solution for customers, as they can use a single app to order food from multiple locations and choose from a variety of dishes. Food ordering portals typically offer their own couriers to deliver orders, but they charge the location a commission. It's also important to note that the most popular apps don't operate across Poland, but rather in select cities.

Another option is to use DirectBistro , a mobile app that doesn't charge a commission to the restaurateur and can be used in any city . The app supports online ordering, and contactless payment methods include przelewy24.pl and BLIK. It also offers the ability to send text messages and other push notifications that attract users' attention and showcase interesting promotions or new menu items.

Phone number

This is the most traditional way to take orders. This is how customers from smaller towns, which are not served by popular meal delivery portals, most often order meals. Taking orders by phone is prone to errors – due to poor connection quality, a lack of information from the waiter, or illegible notes. A salesperson has many things on their minds, which can lead to distraction and errors in order recording. Fortunately, there are solutions like POScaller , which allows the customer's order details and address to be immediately entered into the POS system and sent to the kitchen. Furthermore, if the customer is a regular customer, their contact information may already be stored in the system, so the waiter can use it instead of having to re-enter it.

Regardless of the ordering system used, a contact phone number should always be available in the restaurant. The customer must be able to contact the establishment in case of exceptional situations, or when they simply prefer to talk by phone.

Own website

Having your own website is expensive, but it has a positive impact on the image of the restaurant. However, it is important for the website to be aesthetic, clear and up-to-date. It should encourage people to take advantage of the offer, and not scare away potential customers. Consider whether it is worth investing money in creating a restaurant website, since food is most often ordered through applications adapted to browsing restaurant offers on a phone.  

TAKE ACTION:

• compare offers from several food delivery platforms,
• analyze the possible profits and losses resulting from contracts with intermediaries, especially the issue of commission fees,
• think about how to promote your restaurant in terms of online orders - whether to link your restaurant to a well-known brand or do it through your own channels or use an appropriate tool to send personalized messages to customers

3. Decide who will handle the delivery

Food ordering portal couriers

Food ordering portals usually offer their own couriers who deliver meals using professional food transport equipment. The only task the restaurant has is to pass on the order to the supplier. This is a great convenience for restaurants and bistros that do not have another delivery option. 

Own courier

Couriers from popular food delivery platforms can be overwhelmed during peak hours, which significantly increases the wait time for your meal. By hiring your own driver, you can be sure that the delivery will be made on your terms, and the driver is 100% focused on delivering the food from your establishment. 

While hiring your own driver comes with costs such as extra pay, a car, fuel, and food packaging, you don't incur commission costs for orders, and all the money you earn goes to you, without any middlemen. 

The on-site driver can more efficiently manage deliveries using the POSdriver smartphone app. By connecting to the POS system, order details and customer data appear on the driver's phone, eliminating the need to type anything in or enter it into the navigation system. The app allows for efficient settlement after a full day's work, and the owner can generate delivery reports.

POSdriver is perfect for deliveries to chains of establishments, as the courier can pick up orders from multiple locations. As we know, the more trips, the more profitable it is to have your own driver. Therefore, it can be a good idea to "share" a delivery driver who serves multiple establishments.

Having your own driver is the only way to deliver in small towns that are not covered by food ordering portals or courier franchises.

Collaboration with a company offering gastro-couriers

A middle ground is partnering with a company that delivers food from restaurants to customers, such as Stava . If a restaurant struggles with irregular delivery orders, making retaining an in-house driver unprofitable, a good solution might be to use the services of a specialized logistics company. Stava is available in a growing number of Polish cities and supports the development of delivery services for establishments that have no other option for food delivery.

TAKE ACTION:

• consider whether you have an alternative to your own driver – check whether the city you operate in is covered by a courier franchise or a food ordering platform,
• if you have the opportunity to use the services of food ordering portal providers, analyze the benefits and losses resulting from such cooperation,
• check if you can afford to hire your own driver and pay the bills related to maintaining the car – calculating the average number of orders delivered during the day will help you make the right decision,
• consider whether full control over your own driver and the ability to analyze reports on deliveries are important to you,
• if you run a chain of locations, your own driver can be a dedicated delivery person from all locations – consider this solution.

The food delivery market is constantly growing, and with it, consumer demands, as we discussed in detail in our previous post. However, in the current situation in Poland, where sales in restaurants have been limited to delivery and takeout orders, deliveries are the only way to make money.

If you are interested in applications that improve the handling of online and delivery orders, take advantage of our special offer, including the DirectBistro , POSdriver and POScaller applications, which you can read more about HERE.