Remember clear back one to two years ago when we were hearing all about foodservice drone delivery? It was expected to be the next big thing. Well, all is quiet on that front now, but that doesn’t mean the industry has given up on autonomous delivery.
In the space of two days this month (April 2021), we learned that Domino’s has partnered with Nuro’s R2 robot to deliver food in Houston, while Chick-fil-A has partnered with Kiwibot in Santa Monica to test an autonomous four-wheeled rover for delivery.
I think these fall into the category of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” I know that technology has literally transformed the foodservice industry. After all, it’s phone apps that work in conjunction with restaurant ordering and work-flow platforms and third-party delivery companies that have made virtual restaurants and ghost kitchens a new “thing” in the past year in particular.
Robot/vending machines also have transformed foodservice, making fresh salads and bowl meals in a small, enclosed footprint in non-commercial locales like hospitals and universities, for example. This has leveled the foodservice playing field that will shortly give grocery and convenience stores, and even office buildings and apartments, equal opportunity to be “restaurants.”
All these tech opportunities arose in the midst of the perfect storm when delivery and food safety moved to the forefront. While these tech-forward autonomous delivery vehicles certainly fit within food safety (think contactless) and delivery moorings, they are not necessary. Food delivery does not need to be remade in that way.
I can think of only two reasons that the likes of Domino’s and Chick-fil-A would go down this autonomous delivery path. First is financial as a solution to the expensive “last mile” challenge. With that, I can only assume that these operators clearly see the ROI down the road once these “vehicles” scale up. But I will say, looking at it from the “final mile” perspective is only from the operators’ perspective. Other than the “wow” factor, consumers aren’t driving this technology application.
This brings me to the other reason operators may be looking at autonomous high-tech delivery vehicles. We are back to the “wow” factor—a branded marketing ploy. It makes for great free publicity. If that’s the case, perhaps a “delivery LTO” is sufficient. Once the novelty wears off, there needs to be a more permanent reason for the investment.
I guess that leads to a potential third factor behind autonomous delivery… hungry tech firms driven by investor capital. But again, this is not consumer driven.
There is a need for delivery, but this final mile is already well served. So bottom line, there’s not really a need for autonomous delivery. I think it creates more problems than it solves—a subject for another blog. I predict food delivery will continue to be well served by humanoids.
Someone tell me what I’m missing.
Jody
