Managing food delivery can be challenging. In the current competitive environment, most restaurants need to offer an outstanding delivery experience or else they risk getting left behind in the market.

Whereas food delivery was once the sole province of pizza restaurants and food purveyors in dense urban areas, now customers in cities of all sizes have grown accustomed to the convenience of being able to get any kind of food delivered whenever they want, and they aren’t going back.

Here’s how you can use the power of your restaurant’s POS to create engaging delivery experiences for your guests every time they order.

Meet your guests wherever they are

The key takeaway for restaurant businesses in the mobile broadband era has been that you must be willing not only to meet your guest when, where, and how they want to order your food, but that you have to provide them with an experience akin to your dining-in service when you do.

Whether they are ordering something from their company desktop computer before leaving work or lying in bed looking at their phone, the onus is on your restaurant to make it simple to browse menus, make substitutions, and pay securely through a credit card processor.

Create simple opportunities for customization

Ideally, your restaurant’s online food ordering system should make it as easy for guests to make changes to standard menu items as it would be if they were speaking directly to a server at a table (or even simpler, since it removes the possibility of verbal misunderstandings).

With NorthStar, the possibility to customize the order is almost endless. NorthStar not only gives the server a clean and simple UI but, in Guest Facing mode, the customer has the ability to see the item being built in front of them for delivery. The desire for greater customization is another major trend among restaurant-goers, especially those who are millennials or younger. 

Improve your own inventory/order management capabilities

The more data you have about your guests’ preferences and ordering habits, the more effectively you will be able to run your restaurant. When you employ an integrated food delivery management system with your POS, you can easily compile and analyze all of your customer data on a single platform.

As you gather more information about what kinds of items are most popular with delivery customers at specific times — and how that compares to in-house guests — you will be able to manage your food ordering and storage strategies more effectively. This data can also help you optimize your staffing and labor productivity as well.

System integration is the key to successful food delivery management

Ultimately, it all comes down to integration. When your delivery management tool and your restaurant POS are in sync, your guests are able to view up-to-date menus on any device, your employees are empowered to provide outstanding service, and you have access to real-time data from the cloud that can improve numerous aspects of your restaurant operations.

With an integrated POS and food delivery management tool, you can treat your guests to a consistent experience across all platforms and show them your commitment to the service experience every time they order.

Want to lean more about how online ordering tools can help you make delivery a key part of your business? Find out how the Northstar POS platform can empower you and your team to exceed your guests’ expectations.