What is Food Delivery Management Software?

In the era of food delivery, offering online ordering, delivery, and takeaway is an intelligent strategy to appeal to a vast audience of potential customers. Investing in the right food delivery software is crucial to keep things tidy and efficient when delivering meals.

But what exactly is food delivery management software, and how does it help your business? Here’s everything you need to know! 

What is food delivery management software?

In its simplest form, food delivery management software aggregates a restaurant’s third-party delivery platforms. More elaborate, all-in-one delivery management hubs also set up integrations with point-of-sale systems (POS), creating food delivery automation and streamlining your business.

How does it work?

An online ordering management solution like Deliverect Restaurants connects restaurants’ POS systems with third-party online ordering solutions, such as delivery services, online ordering systems, in-house dining apps, etc.

In other words, the software bridges the gap between the POS system on one side and the third-party ordering platform on the other side. Integrating these delivery channels into the POS system makes the online order flow streamlined and automated.

Which businesses can use it?

Online ordering management software can be used by independent and small restaurants, restaurant chains, coffee shops, quick-service restaurants, and fast-casual restaurants alike - in short, every kind of food business that offers delivery as a service.

Another type of company that can benefit from this delivery middleware is ghost kitchens - cloud kitchens, ghost kitchens, or virtual restaurants. These kitchens prepare food exclusively for delivery (and sometimes takeaway), with last-mile delivery provided by third parties like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Glovo, DoorDash, Foodora, SkipTheDishes, etc.

Additionally, online food delivery software can also be helpful to bigger enterprises that offer delivery services, such as supermarkets, FMCG companies, and groceries or other retail businesses.

Why do you need it?

The most important question is which benefits delivery businesses can enjoy using an integrated online solution.

Restaurants (and other food businesses) that use an integrated online delivery solution no longer have to manually enter delivery orders into their POS system because the gateway delivery software automatically pushes all online orders to the POS. This saves the restaurant time with each order while avoiding human error when copying tickets. Similarly, order tickets are automatically printed in the kitchen to smooth the order flow further.

A second issue that is solved by integrating delivery in your point of sale is the so-called “wall of tablets.” When working with multiple delivery service providers, restaurants must juggle several tablets. An online ordering management system allows these restaurants to use just one pill to get an overview of all delivery orders. While all tablets provided by third-party services still need to be on for your online restaurant to be open, you don’t have to pay any attention to them anymore.

A food delivery manager also enables restaurants to easily publish and edit menus on multiple delivery platforms and for various locations. Chain restaurants and dark kitchens with numerous sites and brands can manage their online menus in one place, saving a lot of time. An online ordering integration puts restaurants back in control, allowing them to push menus themselves instead of going through the third-party delivery platform.

Another significant advantage of using a food delivery hub is consolidated reporting. When your online food ordering channels are connected to your POS, the latter will provide you with online sales reports and in-house sales data. Restaurants no longer have to manually combine data from all the different platforms, making reporting faster and easier.

Inventory management also becomes more manageable: thanks to the delivery POS integration, your inventory is updated automatically in your POS system following online delivery orders. Therefore, items out of stock can be detected and made unavailable much quicker, preventing online customers from ordering out-of-stock dishes.

Lastly, delivery middleware helps hospitality businesses comply with tax and VAT regulations. The delivery integration registers all online transactions and orders at your point of sale, so you abide by the law without any effort. 

Do you want to start reaping the rewards of efficient food delivery management? Get in touch and chat with one of our delivery experts.