Some people simply can't wrap their head around this: why would a foodservice franchise go through so much trouble to build its own tech platform when there is no shortage of ready-made solutions on the market?
Dozens of well-funded startups are tackling the food tech trend nowadays. So when a QSR chain needs to up its tech game, it can now simply buy and adapt a solution from a third-party.
Since the very beginning our company invested millions of dollars in Dodo IS, its proprietary cloud-based ERP system, which covers almost every part of our business (ordering to delivery, from supply and production to data-driven multiply-store management and sales analytics)
Only tech-driven chains will survive
“Software is eating the world,” proclaimed Marc Andreessen in 2011—just a few months after Dodo Pizza, our first brand, was established. “More and more major businesses and industries are being run on software and delivered as online services.” It turned out to be a prophetic observation.
Literally every industry is now being disrupted by the Internet and mobile technology—and no exception is the quick service restaurant business with its food ordering and delivery platforms, self-service kiosks, and even robots making pizzas.
It feels like every QSR chain that means to stay in business in the long run will have to turn itself into a software company eventually.
You can’t outsource the core of your business
When a company has control over its tech platform, it can define its own future. We at Dodo know our business and its needs. Since our developers go to “gemba” regularly, we understand how Dodo can be improved with the right tech.
With Dodo IS, we can run experiments, implement any feature we deem worthy, adapt our strategy on the go, and acquire knowledge and skills that are essential for survival in the digital world.
We reinvented the pizza business by making it digital
As far back as 2011, Dodo Brands founder Fyodor Ovchinnikov made a bold bet: inspired by projects like Gmail and Google Docs, he decided to build his software for managing the Dodo chain (back then, it was just Dodo Pizza) as a web service.
Dodo IS is a SaaS solution which means non-stop development of the platform with regular updates.
To ensure the entire work of the system only the Internet is required. There is no need for complex software and hardware management.
Order tracking service is at the core of Dodo IS
We get orders through our mobile app, website, contact center, or right at the pizzerias, coffee shops, or doner kebab outlets. All the orders immediately show up on iPads installed in our kitchens. The crew checks in the orders in the system to mark the beginning of every stage of the process: dough preparation, toppings, oven, packing, delivery.
This simple solution enables a whole bunch of pretty useful services. Here are a few of them:
- Our customers can track their order on our website. We have a webcam in every kitchen where local laws allow that, and the tracking makes it possible to know when the crew begins to make your order.
- We measure the preparation time of every single pizza and compare it against the desired number. The result is displayed on a separate screen in the kitchen. This helps us motivate the kitchen crew and adds some fun to the process.
- Shift managers can see in the system how much time pizzas spend on the shelf waiting for delivery. If it’s too long, they can take action and call in more drivers. Day/month stats provide management with accurate assessment of how effectively the delivery has been planned.
- Of course, we store all the data and make forecasts about the workload of the kitchen. The system warns the shift manager if she plans too many or too few people to work in the kitchen for a certain hour which helps the unit reach its optimal productivity.
- Our smart order controller flexibly changes the sequence of orders on the line, taking into account our target waiting limits for different channels of sales. Sometimes, a delivery order can wait a while because the customers are expecting it in half an hour. In this case, the algorithm changes the sequence and makes a new dine-in order a priority.
Some cool features of Dodo IS
Dodo IS powers all of our brands in the Dodo family: “Dodo Pizza”, “Drinkit”, and “Kebster!”. And it consists of so many parts: a mobile app, a website, a contact center solution, a cash desk, tracking and motivation screens, shift scheduling, day and month overview, inventory management, dynamic menu and promotions, loyalty program, sales reports… Basically, every aspect of our core business is covered, though the development is ongoing. It’s hard to elaborate on everything, but let’s highlight a few more cool features Dodo IS already has to offer.
- Since every order is processed by Dodo IS, we see our sales in real time and are able to broadcast them online through APIs—for any particular pizzeria or across the chain.
Dodo IS: continuous improvement
We have so many ideas that can help our partners manage their units even more efficiently, ensure a great product across the chain, and build a healthy culture in the company.
We continue to invest in Dodo IS and grow our current IT team of 250+ software engineers, analysts, and product managers.