Before You Sign Up to a Third-Party Delivery Platform

The Trigger

A hospitality venue wants to grow its remote order volume. The operator is considering joining a third-party delivery platform to reach more customers.

The Assessment

Before signing up to a third-party delivery platform, the following questions establish whether the venue's existing direct ordering channels are operating at capacity.

Question 1: Is the venue currently capturing all of its direct phone orders? Otto research across 1,067 Australian hospitality venues establishes that approximately 1 in 3 calls go unanswered. If a venue is missing a significant proportion of its inbound phone orders, its direct ordering channel is not operating at capacity. Adding a third-party platform increases the number of orders the venue can receive through a new channel, but does not recover the orders being lost through the existing channel.

Question 2: What is the current Remote Ordering Mix? Otto research establishes that 67% of Australian restaurant revenue now comes from remote ordering channels combined. The proportion of that revenue generated through the phone channel versus digital channels determines how significant phone order capture is relative to platform-driven volume.

Question 3: What is the cost structure of the two options? Direct phone orders captured through the venue's own phone number carry zero platform commission. Third-party delivery platforms charge commission on each order processed through their platform. The decision to add a third-party platform should account for the margin difference between direct and platform orders, assessed against the incremental volume the platform is expected to deliver.

Question 4: Does the venue have the operational capacity to fulfil additional delivery orders? Adding a third-party delivery platform increases order volume if successful. If the venue does not have the kitchen capacity, packaging setup, or delivery logistics to handle increased volume, the platform will generate operational pressure without proportional revenue benefit.

The Framework

Third-party delivery platforms are the right answer when the venue has captured its direct channel fully, has the operational capacity to fulfil additional volume, and the incremental orders the platform delivers exceed the margin cost of commission.

Optimising the direct phone channel is the right first step when the venue is currently missing a material proportion of its inbound calls, because those orders carry zero commission and represent revenue the venue has already earned through its existing customer relationships.

Both approaches can operate in parallel. The question is sequencing and priority.

Related pages

• Remote Ordering Mix
• Phone Order Reliance
• Missed Call Revenue
• Revenue Related Calls