Are you currently running a food franchise and are wondering what makes the perfect software for your platform? You are in the right place.

In this article, we are going to go over some of the key elements that make or break on-demand food delivery, and what features to look for when choosing the right software provider. 

The projected US revenue for food delivery in the US is $30 billion.

The statistics show that more and more franchise businesses turned towards recreating the pattern of third-party providers, such as Uber Eats, by implementing their own websites and applications and creating independent platforms.

One of the reasons for this trend is the increasingly high commission rates, ranging from 15-35%, which forces brands to increase their prices or simply lose money. 

Since the technological advancements and accessibility to software providers, such as Ordering, became more accessible, many franchises, like McDonald’s began profiting from their loyal customer base, and simply getting their long-term fans to download their own application. 

If you are a franchise, what features should you be looking for? 

Customization 

Since branding is everything, the number one feature to look for as a franchise is definitely the options of customization and implementing your own, unique design.

Many franchises already have predetermined guidelines on how their website and application should look like. In this case, it can be a little difficult to find software that matches this expectation, when it comes to visuals and functionality.

Providers like Ordering, take your needs into account and offer a fully customizable design, that you can easily alter with drag and drop, without being an expert in design.  In addition to that, they offer a possibility of additional custom work, in case you have additional, specific needs.

Advanced menu and delivery logistics 

As a franchise, you need your ordering application not only to look fantastic but also to be fully functional and have the simplest ordering process possible.

When deciding on the perfect software, you should take into account the possibility to implement menu and item options, and have an impeccable driver management system, that allows for a seamless operation and timely delivery.

One of the features that should be included in your delivery application is push notifications and real-time tracking, available for you and for the customer to view at all times on a map. This will allow your franchise to be competitive with huge third parties, such as Uber Eats and DoorDash. 

Administrative Panel 

The administrative panel and order management system should include activity reports, as well as a real-time full overview of the pending, complete, and canceled orders.

This is going to ensure the speed of delivery and minimize mistakes. In order to set yourself apart from other platforms, having a consistent overview of orders will facilitate minimizing delays and the error rate, which is quite frequent among the well-known third-party food ordering platforms. 

Accessibility 

The communication with the customer should be accessible, direct, and immediate. Having your own platform is the right solution if you want to come across as an approachable brand that invites its customers to ask questions, through various forms of contact.

Having an easily accessible point of contact on your platform is going to make the brand look more trustworthy and reliable.

For example, having push notifications, or social media chat integrations, like WhatsApp. It will make ordering not only fun and easy but also easily traceable, in case any issues arise during the process. 

Reliability and speed 

As a franchise, the reliability and speed of your ordering platforms should be a priority when looking for a software provider.

Platforms, like Ordering use Amazon Web Services, which are the perfect solution, as their servers, traffic, and data, are always under control, with the average monthly server uptime of 99.998%. 

Personalized service 

Franchises come with a lot of responsibility. With the high number of orders, the platforms that your customers will use, need to be fully functioning at all times.

For this reason, your software provided should be available to you at all times and quickly answer questions or fix unexpected errors that may arise.

When choosing the software provider, make sure that their approach is personal, and that you have an assigned specialist, who is going to be very familiar with your case and every need of your company.  

To summarize, there are a number of criteria to consider while selecting the right software provider for your platform.

From practicality to aesthetics, you should ensure that your franchise's demands and objectives are addressed, as well as that you receive the desired amount of customization.

Consider using a platform like Ordering, which can quickly build up your website and application.

Their experienced and knowledgeable team will ensure that all of your customization requests are met and that you may easily change it without any coding or design experience.