DELIVERY WORKING PROCESS

There are four key positions in delivery – Order taker, Packer, Dispatcher and Rider/Driver. Given below is a brief of working process and sequence that should be executed diligently every day :

Order taking

• Follow procedures and take the orders
• Repeat the order to avoid mistakes
• Be courteous and helpful to all non-order calls
• Continuously check with dispatch for delivery times
• Inform packers when an order is unattended (no call centre)
• Help with other duties at non-peak hours (no call centre)
• Always communicate with the team

Packing

• Pack the orders with accuracy and double check
• Measure pack times and communicate (shout!)
• Be prepared and anticipate peaks
• Call for help as soon as falling behind KPI’s
• Always check riders availabilities to avoid packing early
• Pre-pack condiments to save time and ensure accuracy

DELIVERY WORKING PROCESS

Dispatching

• Encourage communication for the whole team
• Communicate rack times, In-store-time, delivery times (shout!)
• Monitor riders whereabouts and estimated return time informing packers
• Double dispatch intelligently
• Provide delivery times or promise time to phone operators
• Pre- identify the destinations in the map for riders

Delivery

• Deliver safely
• Shout “Riders out” when leaving the store
• Shout “Riders in” upon return
• Always have leaflet and spare condiments with you
• Inform other riders of routes and traffic conditions
• Respect traffic rules and your safety

DELIVERY WORKING PROCESS

Click here to watch the video to understand the entire delivery process

SCHEDULING & DEPLOYMENT

Proper staffing is a major key to on-time, quality product deliveries. It is the responsibility of the RGM or manager on duty to determine how many Team Members and riders are needed on each shift

Staffing Forecast

• Use the staffing forecast worksheet later in this section to help you determine how many team members you need for each revenue period.
• Vary mix of team members and riders according to revenue period. Typically, we tend to overstaff production and understaff riders, this may lead to late deliveries.
• Schedule team members and riders by their availability.
• Consider the following issues to determine whether to increase staff:
  • Full-time to part-time mix
  • Flexibility of rider schedules
  • Seasonal trends
  • Turnover, rider tenure
• Plan ahead for staffing by creating a recruiting plan.
  • Remember that one of the best sources of new team members is referrals from your current team.

SCHEDULING & DEPLOYMENT

You may want to stagger starting and ending shift times, but ensure that staffing meets peak volume needs.

You may want to stagger starting and ending shift times, but ensure that staffing meets peak volume needs.

SCHEDULING & DEPLOYMENT

To summarize, please use the embedded calculator below to ascertain your requirement.

"Embed Calculator – Restaurant Capacity"

"Embed Calculator – Order Taking Capacity"

Click here to download the calculator (excel format) for your reference.

"Capacity Tool .xlsx - Restaurant Capacity"

"Capacity Tool .xlsx - Order Taking Capacity"

SCHEDULING & DEPLOYMENT

Keys to dynamic deployment

Because sales come in waves, it is critical that you continuously re-deploy team members as needed to support customer service and to meet production goals. We call this practice Dynamic Deployment. The three keys to successful dynamic deployment are: deployment, cross-training, and re-deployment.

Deployment

• Deploy the forecasted mix of Team Members and riders.
• Check schedules to be sure that you have scheduled Team Members according to their availability and your staffing needs

Cross-Training

• Make sure Team Members are properly trained in their primary and secondary duties.
• Make sure Team Members are cross-trained to be capable in more than one position (e.g., production and CSR). Cross training:
  • Permits tasks to be shared among Team Members which improves the team’s ability to help the customer and to meet production goals.
  • Encourages task rotation to help efficiency and improve skills.

SCHEDULING & DEPLOYMENT

Re-Deployment

• Assisting a customer should be every Team Member’s first priority. For example, if 2 CSRs are on duty and 4 lines are ringing, other Team Members should immediately answer phones until all calls are handled, and then return to their primary positions. This model will work only if your restaurant is correctly staffed and not behind during peak revenue.
• When not actively doing their primary job duties, Team Members should be re-deployed to help customers and other Team Members before they do their secondary duties.
• Team Members should not wait to be re-deployed. They should act according to these priorities:
  • Supporting a customer
  • Supporting another Team Member
  • Performing their secondary duties

SCHEDULING & DEPLOYMENT

Deployment Worksheet Sample:

Click here to download the deployment worksheet for your reference: "Deployment Worksheet.xls"

Increasing labour does not improve service! Match the right people with the right position at the right time

GETTING READY FOR REVENUE

What Is Ready for Revenue? - Being properly staffed, prepared and poised for action

After you’ve properly staffed and deployed Team Members, you need to systematically prepare for each revenue period.

Preparation is the key element in providing fast and reliable service. Use available tools and processes to significantly improve the service capabilities of your restaurant.

Before each peak revenue period :

• Complete the Ready for Revenue Checklist. Ready for Revenue Checklist
• Complete and post station guides in proper areas. Delivery - Rush Ready
• Complete the Job Allocation Worksheet. Job Allocation Sheet

Daily completion and follow up of the Ready for Revenue Checklist helps Team Members stay focused on key tasks that must be completed to deliver a consistent customer experience.

GETTING READY FOR REVENUE

Order taking station Use at least two stations during peak revenue. Have a trade area map and alfa listing on hand. Have a full menu and details of all the promotional activities on hand	Up Right Cabinet Place the pack station as close as possible to the upright cabinet. It is always best to send your freshest chicken for delivery, hence it is advisable to take products from the Upright cabinet	Pack Table/Station Ensure all packaging materials and condiments are available. Have a digital clock to monitor pack time.
Beverages station Locate as close to rider door as possible to allow riders to grab beverages and check map on their way out. Visi-Cooler to hold beverages for the shift Replace double-door cooler with single-door unit if space is constrained	Dispatch/Cash-out Station Place next to speed rack. Locate dispatch stations between the Speed Rack and beverage fridge, if it allows for better rider flow. Have a visible digital clock to monitor dispatch time/in store time Have a “CHECKED” stamp available. Have a rider rotation system in place Have a system to identify which order can be double dispatched. Have a telephone terminal available	Map Place perpendicular to Pack table if space is available. Otherwise orient rack in line with Pack table. Ensure that the Speed rack is big enough to handle peak business demands. Set up Speed Racks for effective dispatch Number your delivery shelving systems

GETTING READY FOR REVENUE

Speed Rack Place perpendicular to Pack table if space is available. Otherwise orient rack in line with Pack table. Ensure that the Speed rack is big enough to handle peak business demands. Set up Speed Racks for effective dispatch. Number your delivery shelving systems

Pack Table View The shelf numbers correspond to the last digit of the customer order number. Orders should be placed on the shelf according to the last digit of the order number. Rider View A full rack of orders could signal rider shortage/trip time issue. If you have more than a full rack of orders, it may be because of excessive multiple order dispatching (3 or 4 orders). Stop packing the orders until riders are able to deliver the orders to prevent delivery of poor quality products

GETTING READY FOR REVENUE

Station Guide

A Station Guide is a tool which shows the correct placement of items at each station when the station is ready for revenue.

At a minimum, provide Station Guides for the

• Pack Table/station
• Cooler
• Freezer
• Order taking station
• Dispatch Station

Prepare the station for production with each item in its correct place.

• Take photo of station.
• Ensure quality photos appear at each station, with name and number of items clearly labeled.
• Post station photos on the station matrix along with the station checklist.
• Update the photos and matrix as your business volumes or product mix changes.

Be properly staffed, prepared, and ready for action

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

Let’s first understand the components of delivery time:

Delivery time = In-Restaurant Time + Drive Time

There are four steps associated with this equation:

• The system determines number of “legs” in a dispatch trip.
  • From restaurant to first destination = 1.0 leg
  • Each leg between delivery destinations = 0.5 leg (if any)
  • From final destination to restaurant = 1.0 leg

  Number of orders	Number of dispatch “Legs”
  1	2.0
  2	2.5

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

• The system calculates the time for each leg by dividing the total drive time (cashout time minus dispatch time) by the number of legs.
• The system determines the delivery time for each order by adding the drive time for that order’s leg to its In-Restaurant time.
• The system determines if the delivery time is less than 30 minutes and calculates percent under 30.

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

Understanding Automated Dispatching - Intelligent Dispatching

When the dispatcher selects an order for dispatch, the dispatcher needs to determine whether another order should be paired with it. The dispatcher should evaluate two criteria before suggesting what orders to pair.

• Time between orders
• Within 5 minutes or less of each other.
• Location of orders:
  • Primary - two orders located in the same pod on the map.
  • Secondary - two orders located in adjoining pods on the map.
  • Tertiary - two orders located in non-adjoining pods on the map.
• The dispatcher then accepts or rejects the system’s suggestion.
• The system “learns” to make suggestions based on the actual suggestions accepted or rejected by the dispatcher. This “learning” leads to “intelligent dispatching.”
• If a dispatcher frequently suggests two pods be dispatched together, the system will begin to suggest paired dispatches for the two pods.
• Conversely, if a dispatcher rejects two pods to be dispatched with a 2:1 ratio, the system will no longer suggest paired dispatches from the two pods.

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

NOTE:

• System “learning” occurs at all dispatcher skill levels. Arbitrary pairings will eventually make the feature useless when no orders are paired at system’s suggestion.
• Intelligent dispatch feature depends on software being used in your market. Please reach out to you IT team/ Software vendor for further clarifications

Example

The following is an example of how the system uses dispatch criteria using orders X, Y, Z and Q.

• Order X is selected for dispatch and automated dispatching identifies all orders that were taken within 5 minutes of when order X was received.
• Order Y was entered 2 minutes before X, order Z was entered 4 minutes after X, and order Q was entered 6 minutes after X.
• Orders Y and Z are within 5 minutes and order Q was not entered within 5 minutes from when X was entered.

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

Location

Once automated dispatching has determined what orders meet the time criteria, it determines the pod coordinate for order X and searches for other orders near it. Automated dispatching matches nearby orders in 3 ways:

System will search for matches of orders that meet both the time and location criteria. The following example uses square-shaped pods as they are easier to follow visually.

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

Pod Coordinate Example

• Order X (G4) was the order selected for dispatch, all time and location criteria decisions for matching orders were made using Order X as a reference.
• Order Y (F5) was suggested for dispatch with Order X.
• Order Q was not suggested for dispatch with Order X because the order was entered more than 5 minutes after Order X.
• Order Z (I7) was eliminated from dispatching with Order X because the coordinates are outside the boundaries of the pairings rules (i.e., Order Z was not a primary, secondary, or tertiary match).
• Once Orders X and Y are dispatched (not just recommended), Order Z becomes the oldest order in the system and should be the next order selected for dispatch.
• Orders from pods surrounding Z then become secondary or tertiary.

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

Adjusting Delivery Times

Use the 7/13 Rule:

You set the delivery time so a customer receives it when they were told it would be there. Think of delivery time in this way:

It’s our PROMISE to the customer and keeping it is critical to customer satisfaction!

• If you’re dispatching within 10 minutes of due time or less, chances are the order won’t arrive at the customer’s location on time. INCREASE your delivery (promise) time 5 minutes.
• If you’re dispatching within 15 minutes of due time or more, the rider may be earlier than quoted. REDUCE your delivery (promise) time by 5 minutes.

Note : This accounts for an average drive time of 10 minutes

Split Cash/Dispatch Terminals - When to Use Two Terminals

During peak revenue periods, use a separate dispatch terminal from the cashout terminal to lower turnaround time.

Splitting these two functions:

• Increases efficiency by reducing congestion around one terminal.
• Minimises rider time in the restaurant.

Management should split the terminal functions in preparation for peak revenue.

• This may not be necessary for low volume peaks when only one cash handler is available, such as a low volume lunch period.

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

Instructions
Use the guide below to help you locate specific information on your dispatch reports. Reports may reflect at different locations depending on software being used. Please have a similar table prepared by your IT / software company for ease of use.

To find this	Look at this
All restaurants/features	Reports
Percept under 30 Average in-restaurant time (listed as prod time) Rider Productivity Late to promise %	Daily Dispatch Weekly Dispatch Period Dispatch
Individual Rider Performance details
Log-In / Log-out Order Grouping with Grid Coordinates POV Reimbursement In-Restaurant and drive time by order Shift summary by rider	Driver Report
Percentage of orders from each Pod by department Percentage of orders with no pod coordinates	Daily Grid Weekly Grid Period Grid
Detailed summery of Orders, Products, Average Check, Products per Customer Check	Daily Order status Weekly Order status Period Order Status

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

Dispatch Reports Setup

To analyze and improve your delivery speed with service the first step is to break your service time down into smaller bits.

Your total delivery time is the time from the moment that the customer places the order until the order is delivered to the customer. If your total time on average exceeds 30 minutes, this needs to be addressed. The challenge is, where do you start? Your opportunity for improving your speed may be in your deployment, your BOH preparation or in your trade area mapping.

Start by breaking down your delivery time down into in-store time and total drive time. This can show you whether your delay is in your restaurant or outside. Next, break your in-store time down into prep time and dispatch time.

Example

Delivery order 1 was received at 18h01, dispatched at 18h13 and the driver returned at 18h45.

The in-store time is 12 minutes (18h01 – 18h13) and the drive time is 21 minutes (18h13 – 18h45). From the POS system it shows that the order was prepared and completed at 18h04. Lastly the pod that the order was delivered to is known to be 8 minutes drive time from the restaurant.

INTELLIGENT DISPATCHING

The different elements that make up delivery time are calculated as follows.

• Prep time is time from order received to time order prepped.
• Dispatch time is the time from the order prepped to the time it is dispatched.
• Drive time is the time from the order dispatched to the time the driver returns to the restaurant minus the average drive time to the pod.
• Total Delivery time to Customer is the time from order received to time the driver returned minus the average drive time to the pod.

In this specific example:

Prep Time = 3 minutes (18h01 to 18h04)

Dispatch Time = 9 minutes (18h04 to 18h13)

Drive Time = 13 minutes total (18h13 to 18h45 less 8 minutes)

Total Delivery Time to Customer = 36 minutes (18h01 to 18h45 less 8 minutes)

From the example it is evident that the biggest opportunities are in dispatch time and drive time. It is vital to analyse your opportunities in order to optimise your delivery time.