When your pizza delivery times slip, customer satisfaction, reviews, repeat orders, and revenue often follow. In a world where customers expect their food hot and fast, there’s little room for error. The good news? You can fix it.
Understanding the Numbers: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Efficient delivery is a two-part process that can be measured with specific industry KPIs. By focusing on both, you can identify and solve problems in your operation.
Out-the-Door (OTD) Time
This is the time it takes from when a customer’s order is placed until it is packaged and assigned to a driver. A high OTD time often points to a bottleneck in the kitchen or a lack of available drivers.
On-Road Time
This is the time from when the driver leaves the restaurant until the order is delivered to the customer. While some factors like traffic and weather are out of your control, efficient routing and smart batching can significantly reduce on-road time.
On-Time Delivery Rate
This KPI measures the percentage of orders that are delivered within the promised time frame. Consistently meeting or exceeding your promise times is the ultimate goal.
Tracking these metrics with the right technology provides a clear picture of your delivery performance so you can make informed decisions.
How to Boost Efficiency Without Cutting Corners
Most delivery delays happen inside the restaurant, not on the road. By improving your internal processes and leveraging the right technology, you can dramatically improve your delivery times.
Smart Kitchen Coordination
Use your data to understand how long each type of order takes. Intelligent Kitchen Display Systems (KDS) help organize orders visually and streamline the workflow. As Nicole Bean of Pizaro’s Pizza puts it, a streamlined system “makes the communication between us, the customer, and the system more seamless.”
Intelligent Dispatching
Stop relying on guesswork and paper slips. An advanced POS system should automatically route deliveries and assign them to drivers based on their location and availability. The right system can even queue up the next delivery for a driver before they return to the store, minimizing their downtime.
Strategic Batching
Grouping multiple deliveries on a single trip is smart—but only if the orders are in close proximity. Advanced software helps you batch deliveries intelligently to avoid late, lukewarm pizzas and unhappy customers.
Real-Time Driver Visibility
With a robust delivery management system, you’ll have a live map of your entire delivery fleet. This isn’t about micromanagement; it’s about accountability, safety, and giving your staff and customers peace of mind. As Ryan Wortham, VP of Operations and Training at Pizza World, puts it, knowing where drivers are “holds them accountable and has even lowered our insurance rates!” Jacob Stephens, owner of Post Game Pizza (storefront pictured below), also shares, “You’re so secure when you can see [drivers] on the map… you can really help guide them.”
Set the Right Expectations with Smart Promise Times
While “faster” delivery is a common goal, the most crucial factor for customer satisfaction is setting and meeting accurate expectations. Customers get frustrated not just when their pizza is late, but also when it arrives at a time they didn’t anticipate. Whether it’s 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late, an unexpected delivery impacts customer satisfaction levels.
The FoodTec intelligent “promise time” feature uses machine learning to provide an accurate delivery estimate. Instead of a manager manually setting a static time for an entire shift, which is rarely accurate, this type of system analyzes key factors in real time:
- The number and size of orders in the queue.
- The kitchen’s current production capacity and efficiency.
- The number of available drivers, traffic, and weather.
- How quickly drivers are returning from deliveries to pick up new orders.
This feature enables a restaurant to predict a precise and reliable Promise Time to your customers, such as 27 or 32 minutes, not a rounded-off guess. This transparency builds trust and improves the overall customer experience. Donnie Leary, District Manager at Vito’s Pizza and Subs, notes that “The drivers seem happier with the tips now” after they added Delivery IQ, which tracks order status live for consumers and restaurant staff.
Ready to Deliver Smarter?
Improving delivery times with these best practices becomes a reality with the right technology. The most effective systems provide complete control over your delivery operations through full visibility, intelligent dispatching, and detailed performance analytics, so you can improve on-time delivery rates and reduce customer complaints.
As Bryan Kerns, VP of Potomac Pizza, shared:
“Before Delivery IQ, we were flying blind. Now, we’re in control of the entire delivery process. Our customers are happier, and our staff is less stressed. It’s been a game changer.”
Ready to take control of your delivery process?