We now live in an era that relies on convenience and timeliness. And food delivery speaks to both of those needs.

Even before the spread of COVID-19, food delivery had been steadily growing. Between 2014 and 2018, the industry enjoyed an annual growth rate of over 10% — higher than the restaurant expansion rate at the same time, which was only 3-4% per year. Last year, the Thai food delivery business grew 14% year-on-year, and accounted for 8% of Thailand's total restaurant business value.*

As delivery has become the need of the hour, the rate of change and adoption curve is happening faster than it ever could have organically. With people turning to online ordering, as a restaurant owner, you might also be looking to jump onto the bandwagon.

Below are some tips we've put together to help restaurant owners get set up with online ordering and delivery service.

Invest in a custom-built website

Social media channels and chat applications may be the first platforms that come to mind when thinking about taking your restaurant and cafe online. These platforms are great for pushing communication and marketing; however, they aren't the ideal platforms for taking orders and managing deliveries. They'll only get you started and help you grow your online presence. They're one part of the whole picture.

Creating your website with an online ordering system and delivery management in place is a more sustainable way to grow your restaurant business. The site would complement your efforts on social media, and function hand-in-hand with chat applications.

With your custom-built website, you have the flexibility to customize the aesthetics to match your branding. On top of that, you have full access to customer data and insights, which are useful for marketing activities to grow your online presence and customer base further.

Tip: Having your own, all-in-one, website is an excellent investment as you do not have to pay commission to third-party aggregators. GP commission can be as high as 30%* That's a 150 THB cut for a 500 THB order.

Have an online ordering system in place

In the world of takeout and delivery, the last thing you want is messing up the queueing system or having to deal with miscommunicated orders. Unlike physical locations, the number of orders your kitchen team and staff handle at a given period is not restricted by the number of seating available at the restaurant. Online orders can flood in very quickly, sometimes only seconds apart.

Having the ability to consolidate orders from multiple sources in one place is key to efficiency for the staff and internal workflow. It's essential that they have got an overview of all orders and can quickly check the status of each of them. If your restaurant or cafe has multiple outlets, remember that it's necessary that orders are separated depending on location, and internal team members can easily manage website content without having to rely on an external party. You should also keep a log of sales data that restaurant owners and branch managers can use to track sales performance and analyze the business. As for customers, having the option for them to use their current location as the delivery address, paying online through credit/debit cards are efficient ways to quicken the ordering process. Introducing TrueMoney Wallet for easy payments through e-wallet is another.

Tip: Balancing the supply and demand sides of the service industry is not easy. Having historical sales data can help with short-term demand forecasting. Branch managers and restaurant owners can identify the seasonal pattern of demand and the effect of specific tactical decisions and prepare supplies accordingly.

Speedy and reliable delivery service

Simply put, food delivery service is here to serve cravings to hungry customers in a timely manner.

While employing a team of in-house delivery staff means complete control over the customer's dining experience as your trusted employees are the ones interfacing with customers, the option isn't practical or feasible for every restaurant, especially for smaller players. Owners today often resort to partnering with professional couriers. Tip: For greater efficiency, consider adding the delivery capability to your website. This way, you have a system that automatically searches for a driver once you receive an order — reducing unnecessary workload for your team as well as customer wait time.

Join hands with Delivery lab

Delivery lab provides an out-of-the-box solution for restaurants and cafes to get set up online quickly and easily. Deliver lab creates a custom-built website that comes complete with an online ordering system, payment acceptance capabilities powered by Omise, and delivery service powered by Lalamove. Working with Delivery lab, your website and online delivery system can be ready in just 2 weeks. Start growing your business online. Get in touch with the Delivery lab team today for a consultation.

Source:
- Bangkok Post
- Kasikorn Research
- Statista