Delivery

Jimmy John's rolls out DoorDash Self-Delivery

Provided

December 2, 2020

Atlanta-based Jimmy John's is the first chain to test DoorDash's latest product offering, Self-Delivery, which allows restaurants to list their stores on the DoorDash marketplace but use their own in-house drivers to fulfill deliveries, a news release said.

"As a brand, we are relentlessly focused on reaching our guests on their terms," Jimmy John's CMO Darin Dugan said in the release. "In DoorDash, we found a third-party partner that shares this commitment and offers us the ability to further reach our consumers where they increasingly are — digitally. We are so thrilled about this relationship and the visibility to consumers it provides for our brand, both now and in the future."

The service is allowing Jimmy John's, which has 2,600 locations in 43 states, to add more than 2,400 locations within DoorDash service areas to the platform and is the first time the chain has partnered with a third-party delivery platform.

Evolving the self-delivery offering

The partnership is a turnaround for Jimmy John's, which last year, said it would not partner with third-party companies to deliver its sandwiches.

"We are, faster, fresher, better value, and more consistent at delivery than the third-party services," CEO James North said in the 2019 interview.

This partnership is different, however, since Jimmy John's can keep its own drivers. The chain tested the concept for six months in 100 locations and is ready to roll it out nationwide after working with DoorDash to build a direct POS integration with Jimmy John's provider, Signature Systems. This allowed the brand to minimize changes to in-store operations and ensure that Jimmy John's existing menus and store hours stay synced with the DoorDash platform.

"With Self-Delivery, we set out to build a product that would enable Jimmy John's, and other restaurants, to reach DoorDash's customer base while complementing their own existing delivery operations," Sanjay Kotte, head of Strategic Partnerships at DoorDash, said in the release. "We're excited that Jimmy John's has selected us as the preferred marketplace to enhance its delivery growth and increase its scale through our leading consumer platform."

Pickup at Jimmy John's is also available through the DoorDash platform, and the Jimmy John's menu is available to subscribers of DashPass, DoorDash's subscription program, which offers members unlimited free delivery fees and reduced service fees on orders over $12.

How DoorDash Self-Delivery works

Restaurants choose a delivery radius and set a delivery fee to continue using their in-house fulfillment with DoorDash Delivery. About 120,000 restaurants offer in-house delivery, and this new offering allows them to continue using their own fleets while enjoying the visibility of the DoorDash platform, Tom Pickett, DoorDash chief revenue officer, said in the release.

"From the beginning, we've been focused on building a full suite of services to help merchants come online and thrive," he said. "During this unprecedented time, we've accelerated our efforts to innovate on behalf of our merchant partners, developing new ways to partner with restaurants to provide them with choice and control over how to grow their businesses, reach new customers, and adapt to rapidly evolving consumption habits."

Any restaurant on DoorDash can sign up for Self-Delivery in the U.S. and Canada.

The company, which just announced its IPO, serves customers in 4,000 cities in the United States, Canada and Australia.