INSIDE

EFFICIENCY

ONLINE ORDERING

MASTER CHECKLIST

MAPPING

PERFORMANCE

Restaurant Technology Field Guide:

Driving Delivery: A POS Technology Guide

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TRAINING

Inside

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Profitable pizza delivery: driving restaurant delivery operations.

For more than 80 percent of pizzerias, pizza and delivery go hand in hand. That means one of the challenges pizzeria owners face on a daily basis is overseeing drivers and deliveries. Are you getting deliveries to customers on time? If not, is the problem kitchen inefficiency, under-performing drivers, or bad ready time estimates?

If delivery is a big part of your business, it takes constant attention and a commitment to ongoing monitoring. A point of sale system designed for pizza and delivery drives efficiency—for a more profitable delivery service.

Read on for tips, examples, and best practices in delivery management. Watch for the checklists at the end of each section—and the Master Checklist at the end for practical steps you can take to reduce costs and improve delivery performance.

Efficiency

INSIDE

EFFICIENCY

ONLINE ORDERING

MASTER CHECKLIST

MAPPING

PERFORMANCE

Delivery Efficiency Starts with Driver Scheduling How many times have you had drivers sitting idle? Or been so busy that scheduled drivers couldn’t keep up? Your POS system’s labor and forecasting tools can help you avoid nights like these.

An accurate forecast lets you create next week’s schedule based on historical sales and eliminate guesswork.

Look at historical sales and forecast by hour. Pay attention to the breakdown by day part and order type, to determine the number of drivers you need to schedule per shift—and the length of shifts you need to schedule to address peak demand for delivery services. Some point of sale systems, like SpeedLine POS, can recommend staffing requirements based on forecasted sales.

Before you create a schedule, a glance at the numbers can show you where the problems are. You can view the report and see you’re having delivery issues from 10 p.m. to midnight, or at lunchtime, or anytime throughout your day. And you can use this information to create more efficient, cost-effective schedules.

The secret to delivery efficiency is scheduling—and if you don’t have enough drivers, your delivery operation won’t be successful.

Efficiency

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Do you know how much it costs to deliver a pizza?In addition to drivers’ salaries and vehicle costs, your true delivery cost has to factor in related expenses such pizza bags, boxes, and liability insurance.

Costs add up quickly, especially if you have slow times when you must keep a driver on shift even though volume is low. If your delivery costs eat up all your profit, you may need to review your prices and fees.

Delco owner Lexy Frautschy of Ian’s Pizza comments, “We started tracking the pizzas we sell most and restructured our menu and pricing,” he explains. Better pricing meant more profit: “Our food cost used to be in the mid-thirties. Now, with SpeedLine, we got it down to the low twenty percent mark.”

Rather than implementing a price increase, some operators, like Diana Cline at Diana’s Cucina and Lounge, prefer to apply a delivery charge to cover their

costs. Delivery zones allow them to set a fee structure for their deliveries and apply the correct delivery fee according to where their customers live.

When she initially set up the POS to systemize delivery charges, Cline told us that customer complaints about delivery order totals actually decreased. Customers were happier—because they were now being charged the same amount on every order. And Cline was ecstatic because from that first month, she has been collecting an extra $600 a month in fees.

“You get the occasional customer who complains,” Cline says, “but I explain to them it goes to the driver to cover the cost of insurance and gasoline. Customers are welcome to come in and pick the order up if they feel it’s not a fair price, but for the extra two bucks or so, they usually find it’s not worth the effort.”

While the POS gives you the data to schedule more accurately, some wait time between runs may be unavoidable. Another way to get more mileage per labor dollar is to ensure your drivers are not sitting idle between runs. “When our drivers come back, we ask them to do dishes or tidy up the front of the house,” Frautschy says.

“They may also cut slices or put finishing touches on a pizza.” Drivers can take out the trash, fold pizza boxes, or sweep your sidewalk. They can also help with marketing activities such as preparing mailings, contributing to your restaurant’s Facebook fan page or Twitter feed, or reviewing the day’s new customers in the POS to make sure you have complete addresses for marketing.

From that first month, she has been collecting an extra $600 a month in fees.

Expediting Dispatch

Expediting Deliveries Want to make more money on delivery orders? Set up the dispatch options in your point of sale system to manage delivery volume and expedite deliveries.

Visual alerts. Set visual alerts on the Dispatch Screen for a clear view of orders sitting too long in the kitchen, or drivers running late on deliveries. Watch the delivery performance stats throughout the shift to identify quickly if you need to call in another driver, or send one home–or pull a driver aside for a chat about extra stops along the way.

Interactive visual dispatch. SpeedLine LiveMaps includes an interactive visual dispatch system that considers not only the best route, but also live traffic conditions in routing and predicting delivery times. Touch pushpins on the map to assign orders to a driver.

Dual expeditor screens. If your POS system supports it, add a second expeditor station for an interactive map view of your orders—or a live digital wall map on a large-screen TV for instant visibility into delivery volume, and easy grouping of orders in a neighborhood for speedy (and cost-effective) delivery.

Efficiency

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Control the drive factor:The LiveMaps visual dispatch

system considers best route and live traffic conditions in routing

and predicting delivery times.

Real-Life Savings: Extra $40K per Year in Delivery Fees“Before we installed our SpeedLine system, we would guess where our customers lived based on our knowledge of the area,” explains Diana’s Cucina and Lounge owner Diana Cline, “and then charge them something we thought would work. But fees changed all the time. When we installed SpeedLine, we set up delivery zones and charges in the computer. All we have to do is press Delivery, and the computer charges the right amount every time. Customers are happy because they do not get overcharged. And we’re ecstatic because we’re collecting an extra $40K a year in delivery fees.”

Efficiency Checklist ; Calculate your true delivery costs (including related expenses such pizza bags, boxes, and

liability insurance) before you set prices and delivery fees. ; Set visual alerts for a clear view of orders sitting too long in the kitchen, or drivers running

late on deliveries. ; Break down your sales forecast by hour and order type to identify driver staffing

requirements. ; Consider in-store and out-of-store pay rates for drivers if local labor law allows. ; Manage delivery costs by setting accurate delivery zones by drive time. ; Control the drive factor with routing and delivery times based on current traffic.

Mapping

Getting orders out the door efficiently is only half the battle: your drivers also need to make their way safely and quickly to their delivery destination.

An in-depth knowledge of your delivery area, coupled with a good old-fashioned map, can get you to most places in good time. But there are always those obscure addresses that can stump even the most experienced driver.

Integrated Delivery MappingA POS system can integrate with mapping software, for easy mapping of deliveries and turn-by-turn driving directions. The software can provide directions for a specific address or map the best route for a run that includes multiple addresses. Some systems, like SpeedLine, can even send the driving instructions to the driver’s smartphone and use the driver’s native mapping app for accurate, hands-free navigation.

Look for an online, always-current solution such as SpeedLine LiveMaps™.

Integrated mapping helps speed delivery times and increase customer satisfaction. It makes it possible to track actual mileage for deliveries based on the recommended route, and can be especially valuable when training new drivers.

“Delivery and pick-up represent 80 per cent of our business,” says Ray Cantelo, manager of operations at Beggars Pizza, a regional chain operating in the Chicago area. “I’m thankful we have mapping integrated into our SpeedLine system, because it maps routes for us from point A to point B and then back to the restaurant. Having mapping has helped us a lot when we’ve opened restaurants in areas we’re less familiar with.”

Mapping

Driver SafetyMapping software can also help increase driver safety:

z “If someone tries to give us an address that does not exist, the computer will recognize that and flag it as an invalid address,” adds Coutu. “If the system says an address is invalid, employees can’t take the order without a manager override.”

z And the POS system can use your delivery zones to restrict delivery in some areas, or limit it to daylight hours, for example.

Expeditor ControlsA second expeditor monitor at your dispatch station provides a full-screen interactive map view of deliveries. Use this visual view of your current orders to monitor delivery volume and group deliveries for faster delivery with live pushpins. A larger map view of current deliveries and zones on a big-screen TV ca replace your old, out of date wall map with a live view for the entire staff.

Heat Map ReportingSome POS systems may also offer integrated map views of key customer data. SpeedLine LiveMaps™, for example, adds a new level of analytics, with heat map views to give operators new insight into customer purchase trends and market reach.

Mapping Checklist ; Add an interactive expeditor map station to your POS setup to sort and group

deliveries.

; Mount a large TV on the wall in place of your wall map for a live view of current deliveries.

; Geocode your delivery database to verify valid addresses (and warn you of potential prank orders).

; Use heat map views of customer data to identify hot neighborhoods and purchase trends—and see areas where late deliveries are a poblem.

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Who’s cheating?Certain employees will always try to cheat the system.

“Some drivers feel it’s okay to ‘snake’ deliveries from other drivers,” comments Two Guys Pizza owner Cory Medd, and find creative ways to do it. Likewise, some managers cheat the system to make their numbers look better. Security controls can block much of this – but to be certain that your numbers are an accurate reflection of what’s really happening in the restaurant, close attention to the driver reports is essential.

Look beyond the store metrics to your drivers’ delivery detail for a shift:

z Any deliveries returned in lightning speed? Medd noted one common cheat: drivers assigning an order to themselves, immediately “returning” themselves, and taking two more pies to get around the store’s two-order delivery limit.

z Are your out-the-door times in line from one driver to the next? Some managers pressure drivers to assign orders to themselves early—sometimes even before the pizza is out of the oven—to meet a tough OTD Time metric.

Reports showing these types of problems provide the documentation you need to coach or terminate a cheating driver.

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Performance

Manage for Peak PerformanceTracking delivery performance can help you streamline operations and build better schedules. Even the most experienced managers see the value in detailed performance statistics from the POS system to spot problems and opportunities for improvement early.

“Our SpeedLine POS provides us with detailed delivery numbers,” Frautsch comments. “Just by being aware of these numbers, we can often tell where we could schedule one more person to really help us cut delivery times down.”

Accurate delivery statistics also improve performance across a chain. Managers use the store-level detail and regional or chain-wide comparisons to monitor performance and identify problems.

The system should track and manage key performance metrics, by driver and overall, such as:

Promise Times

Tighter ControlsOther features in the POS system can help you manage driver performance as well: Enter driver’s license and vehicle insurance expiration dates to keep drivers with expired insurance or licenses off the clock (and off the road). Set controls to require drivers to drop cash, or even cash out on return from a run for tighter cash control and better tracking of discounts and coupons applied to delivery orders.

If labor code in your area permits, look at the POS system’s payroll options for drivers. Some chains pay drivers a lower tipped minimum wage while out of the store on deliveries, and a higher non-tipped wage when they’re working in the store.

Some POS systems can track in-store and on-the-road times for drivers throughout each shift. Also set up the POS system’s mapping solution to provide actual mileage for deliveries. If you’re paying driver mileage, set the system to calculate reimbursement based on best route in current traffic.

9 On-time and late deliveries 9 Out the door times 9 On the road time 9 Wait time between runs 9 Quoted times

9 Delivery times 9 Driver mileage 9 Driver and delivery fees 9 Deliveries per run 9 Coupons and credits applied after delivery

Delivery Areas & Fees: Getting it RightRestaurant operators leave thousands of dollars on the table each year in delivery fees charged inconsistently, or set too low to recover expenses. SpeedLine for example, expands on the ability to set delivery zones & fees by drive time, allowing operators to import zone details from a Google KLM file or fine tune them by hand on a map—for perfect fees that reflect the true cost of delivery. The result? A more profitable delivery service.

Performance Checklist ; Compare late deliveries with driver stats to identify problems or coaching opportunities.

; Enforce driver cash out after every run for tighter cash control.

; Set the right expectations with your customers: set the POS to auto-calculate delivery times.

; Watch your delivery metrics for signs a driver or manager is trying to cheat the system.

; Use cost-effective database marketing to recover lapsed customers and drive repeat business.

; Automate delivery confirmations so your customers know exactly when their pizza left the restaurant and when to expect it at their door.

Performance

Managing Customer ExpectationsOn time deliveries are a key factor in customer satisfaction—and their perception of “on time” begins with the delivery time your order entry staff promise them when they place an order.

This same “promise time” is the basis of a number of related delivery performance statistics as well—so it’s crucial that your promised delivery times are accurate.

Most pizza POS systems provide some means of setting quoted times for delivery orders. SpeedLine POS provides both automatic settings and manual override options for quoted times. Set the system to predict the quoted “promise time” automatically based on order volume and kitchen load for a high degree of accuracy—and to warn when out the door times approach a maximum limit that you predefine.

Work Your Delivery DataWhen it comes to marketing, pizza and delivery restaurants have an advantage over other restaurant concepts: the kind of competitive advantage savvy companies use to eat up market share. Information is your secret weapon, and guest intelligence is built into the point of sale system.

For a profitable database marketing program, follow these steps:

1. Train staff to enter complete addresses: When employees entering incorrect or incomplete information, you wind up wasting marketing dollars mailing to bad addresses. So show staff what information you need to collect and why it’s important. Make it a requirement for raises or incentive payouts, and coach them on it regularly. Remind them to also ask each return caller if any of their contact information has changed.

2. At least weekly, run a New Customer report to verify that each new address is complete and correct. If information is missing, assign someone to look it up!

3. Delete customers who have not ordered in more than six months. Since redemption rates for lazy customer mailings drop sharply after 120 days, deleting old records can help you keep marketing costs in check.

4. Use SpeedLine LiveMaps or purchase a street database with accurate streets and zip codes for your trade area. When new customers call, the POS system checks the street database to auto-complete address fields with accurate information—including the correct ZIP code, which order takers often forget to enter.

Set the system to predict the quoted “promise time”

automatically based on order volume and kitchen

load for a high degree of accuracy—and to warn

when out the door times approach a maximum limit.

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Automated Delivery Confirmations. When you assign orders to a driver, SpeedLine automatically sends an email to customers informing them that their order is on its way, and provides an accurate ETA based on current traffic. Your customers know exactly when their pizza left the restaurant and when to expect it at their door.

Drive Delivery Online ; If you don’t already offer web and mobile ordering, start!

; Choose a web ordering solution that integrates with your POS—and gives you all the features you need.

; Make sure your web ordering provider’s pricing model suits your order volume.

; Promote your web ordering site in all your advertising and printed materials.

; Offer incentives to get customers to try your online ordering services.

Web and Mobile Ordering Fuel DeliveryDelivery and online ordering go together like pepperoni and cheese. Web and mobile ordering give your customers multiple convenient ways to order for delivery or carryout. And easy online access lets viewers browse all your menu selections. That’s why people spend more—20 to 30% more on some restaurant sites—when they order online. At the leading pizza brands, web and mobile ordering today

represent more than 40% of sales.

Apps allow customers to place orders from their computers, mobile phones, tablets, and social networking sites. Increasingly, your customers are coming to expect online ordering—even from their local pizzeria.

The customer database in your pizza POS systems allows a tight integration

with your web ordering menu—making it possible to add customers, edit customer information, add and recall orders, and display information on stores, streets and zones.

But pizza orders can be complex—so both the online ordering site or app and the POS system receiving the order must be able to handle half-and-half portions, create-your-own combinations, and complicated coupons. Some SpeedLine users support more than a hundred coupons on their websites, requiring a depth and flexibility that can only be provided by a fully integrated POS system with smart coupon controls.

Online Ordering

3 ways to build online ordering volume1. Drive phone sales online. Ed Zimmerman of Real Time Ordering

(RTO) suggests, “One key to successful online order volume is to convert existing regular customers to use your online order system. This frees phone lines and staff to service newer customers who don’t know your operation as well.” Encourage staff to tell customers about the online ordering site, and promote it in your hold messaging too.

2. Promote web ordering everywhere. Zimmerman adds, “To attract current customers to your website, print “ORDER ONLINE” everywhere: on carry out menus, signs, flyers, box toppers, business cards—everywhere ink will stick. Attract drive-by traffic to your site too: hang a banner in front of the restaurant.” Sy Bor Wong from Brygid Technologies agrees: “When I speak with restaurant owners, I remind them that it is critical to promote and advertise to let their customers know they have a restaurant website and offer online ordering. Even something simple like: ‘Order Online Now! Mobile Ordering Available!’ can be very effective.” Wong adds, “Social media and email marketing are also very effective means to reach a wider customer base.”

3. Use incentives to move sales online. Wong also shared this tip: “We have also seen many restaurants provide incentives to encourage customers to order online, such as offering 10% off their order or a free soda or breadsticks or even free delivery as an example. By freeing up your phone lines and your staff, you can handle more orders at lower cost, while reducing ordering time, errors and time answering the phones.”

People spend more—20 to 30% more on some restaurant sites—when they order online.

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The “Click Away” FactorNot offering online ordering yet? Consider this: web and mobile ordering for pizza delivery today has become so prevalent that many consumers—especially in younger demographics—won’t consider picking up the phone to place an order anymore. If your local restaurant location doesn’t have a convenient web ordering site, and one that’s easy to use, they’ll click away and take their business elsewhere.

Master Checklist

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Master Checklist

20 Steps You Can Take To Increase Delivery Profitability

Efficiency ; Calculate your true delivery costs

(including related expenses such pizza bags, boxes, and liability insurance) before you set prices and delivery fees.

; Set visual alerts for a clear view of orders sitting too long in the kitchen, or drivers running late on deliveries.

; Break down your sales forecast by hour and order type to identify driver staffing requirements.

; Consider in-store and out-of-store pay rates for drivers if local labor law allows.

; Manage delivery costs by setting accurate delivery zones by drive time.

Mapping ; Add an interactive expeditor map station

to your POS setup to sort and group deliveries.

; Pay mileage based on best route in current traffic.

; Mount a TV on the wall in place of your wall map for a live view of current deliveries.

; Geocode your delivery database to verify valid addresses (and warn you of potential prank orders).

; Use heat map views of customer data to identify hot neighborhoods and purchase trends—or areas where late deliveries are a problem.

Performance ; Compare late deliveries with driver

stats to identify problems or coaching opportunities.

; Enforce driver cash out after every run for tighter cash control.

; Set the right expectations with your customers: set the POS to auto-calculate delivery times.

; Watch your delivery metrics for signs a driver or manager is trying to cheat the system.

; Use cost-effective database marketing to recover lapsed customers and drive repeat business.

Online Ordering ; If you don’t already offer web and

mobile ordering, start!

; Choose a web ordering solution that integrates with your POS—and gives you all the features you need.

; Make sure your web ordering provider’s pricing model suits your order volume.

; Promote your web ordering site in all your advertising and printed materials.

; Offer incentives to get delivery customers to try your online ordering services.

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