Grubhub Will Survive and Thrive for Years to Come

 

Grubhub is setting the stage for long term success according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Regular readers of this blog know that that Grubhub was recently bought and is owned by one of the most successful online ordering platforms in the world, Eat Takeaway, based in the Netherlands.

Focusing on Gen Z and Millennials as primary customers there are three essential words explain their values. These words are: care, lead, and deliver, which explains their undeniable desire to ensure that their customers receive satisfaction. Each are hot button consumer touchpoint for the restaurant and the consumer. That will add value over time when executed.  

Recent research shows that Grubhub has the highest sales in America when it comes to online food ordering and delivery compared to other delivery services. According to research, consumers spend seven percent extra when using the app than when ordering in person. Therefore, Just Eat Takeaway is more expensive. However, using the app provides you with many venues to select from, which may be time-consuming if you decide to do it on your own.

Now Grubhub and Cartken, a technology startup that specializes in self-driving, AI-powered robotics and delivery operations, announced a partnership to bring robot delivery to college campuses. This delivery was piloted at Ohio State University this spring, and a full roll out is expected when students return to campus this fall as we pointed out here previously.

So, Grubhub partners with more than 250 college campuses across the United States to give students the ability to integrate meal plans directly into their Grubhub account and access restaurants both on- and off-campus for delivery and pickup. The partnership with Cartken for autonomous robot delivery builds on Grubhub's existing campus offering and is a seamless fit for campus environments, which are notoriously difficult for cars to navigate.

Eric Harper, senior director of campus environments at Grubhub", stated, Robot delivery is exciting for students and helps provide even better service and innovative solutions to our campus partners," ... "We've worked with Ohio State University for years on the campus dining front, and they are always an early adopter of solutions that create efficiencies for their operations and improve the student experience. We look forward to supporting our university partners and responding to their unique delivery environments as we roll out this technology at other campuses in the coming months."

Cartken's robots navigate pavements, crosswalks and pedestrian paths within the campus area without human guidance. The robots use Cartken's artificial intelligence (AI) and camera-based navigation and mapping technology, which the company developed for small autonomous vehicles to safely operate around pedestrians. Human override remains an option if necessary – for instance when a path is blocked – guaranteeing reliable operation and minimizing delivery delays. Cartken's robots operate at up to three miles per hour on campus and handle various weather conditions, including rain and snow.

Christian Bersch, CEO of Cartken, stated, "We're thrilled to be working with Grubhub to delight students and campus staff with robot delivery," … "This collaboration perfectly aligns with our mission to use robotics and AI technology to provide friction-free and environmentally sustainable delivery, and have robots serve the community. We are excited to scale alongside Grubhub and offer robot delivery to students on campuses across the country."

Zia Ahmed, senior director of Student Life Dining Services at Ohio State University, stated,  "Robot delivery has been very popular on campus this past school year, validating our prediction that students would appreciate autonomous mobile delivery," ... "We are excited about the return of robots to campus, and we have been testing the Cartken robots during the spring semester with the same vision to lower the cost of delivery, reduce the time it takes to deliver food and enhance sustainability."

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869