Article

Mobile-ordering exec: 'Third-party delivery doesn't have to be so pricey'

EZ-Chow, a new player in the mobile ordering and delivery scene, said its fees are much lower than other third-party platforms.

Provided

March 4, 2020 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Imagine partnering with a third-party delivery platform and only giving them 2% to 3% of each order. That's a reality for Ryan Bridgeman, president and CEO of Manna Inc., which owns nearly 300 restaurant franchises in Louisville. He recently hooked up with EZ-Chow, a growing player in the mobile ordering and delivery space that takes only 2-3% per transaction. 

"The fee structure is not one-sided; it is beneficial to us and also to our customers," said Bridgeman, who pays $95 per month plus 30 cents per transaction or order. "With the other third-party providers, the fees are generally a pretty large percentage (15-25%) of the sale rather than a flat fee."

How it works
EZ-Chow Founder Mo Sloan said the reason his company can offer such a low fee is that its core services don't include marketing or delivery. 

"We are not a marketing (menu aggregator), like most third-party ordering companies, nor are we a delivery company," he said. "Our pricing is based on providing the merchant their own direct ordering and engagement channel."

EZ-Chow can connect with all major restaurant and hospitality POS systems, including legacy systems. The ordering process is streamlined by injecting the order directly from the restaurant's website into the POS, which then fires directly to the kitchen printer, said Sloan, who was a former Papa John's software architect before launching EZ-Chow in 2015.

"Having worked in the restaurant industry, I saw the power of technology when it came to increasing sales," he said. "I also saw where this industry is moving and how restaurants are the ones bearing the brunt of these third-party apps who facilitate delivery. Our goal is to help restaurants compete in this new digital age while still maintaining a relationship with their customers and making a profit."

Keeping the transaction on the restaurant's website, allows the restaurant to build a relationship directly with the customer and still own the data.

"On the customer-end, it saves them money as those high fees aren't passed on to their bill," said Sloan who recommends to his clients that they should advertise and market their own e-commerce capabilities that EZ-Chow provides for them. 

"They can take the money they are saving when orders originate through their own channel, and use those funds to invest in their own specific marketing and advertising efforts, benefiting their brand only, not other restaurants," he said.

Operators wanting to offer delivery may tap into the company's delivery as-a-service capabilities, which uses national couriers such as DoorDash, Postmates and local couriers but still allows clients to offer delivery through their own ordering channel. Sloan calls the strategy "much more cost-effective for both the merchant and the merchant's customers."

That being said, Sloan doesn't expect his service to completely replace the other delivery channels.  

"We agree that restaurants should not limit their exposure to a certain ordering platform or channel," he said. "However, we advise our merchant partners to get customers that order through other channels onto their direct ordering channel, similar to how hotels want you to book directly with the parent brand versus using a travel site"

Restaurants have more opportunity than they realize.  

"We compare it to a stream of water — if you want the water (customers) to flow a certain direction, you need to divert and provide a mechanism for that flow — hence direct ordering or a direct customer engagement platform such as EZ-Chow."

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, EZ-Chow works with restaurants in more than 20 states and is in the middle of a fundraising round. It's also exploring expanded insights for restaurants and applying the technology in other food-service businesses like food courts and stadiums.

"We believe in talking with our customers on a regular basis to see how we can best enhance the dashboard and system overall," said EZ-Chow COO Sallie Clark. "At the end of the day, if they're successful, we're successful."
 

About Cherryh Cansler

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Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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