Zomato , on Monday, revealed its intention to enter the 10-minute food delivery service.- The company will start its 10-minute delivery operation in Gurugram from next month.
- Zomato will set up ‘finishing stations’ at various high-demand locations to fulfill these orders.
While one can still expect their groceries to be delivered in under 10-minutes, it is quite difficult to picture how a company can deliver full-prepared hot meals to doorsteps in such a short time span. What about meal preparation, packaging and all that goes into making the food delicious?
Zomato claims that it is the first company in the world to try out 10-minute food delivery and it has a fair share of tech intervention in it. From robotics to prediction algorithms, everything has been involved to make this plan into a success. The company will roll out its 10-minute delivery service in Gurugram next month and later look to expand to other cities.
How does it work?
Zomato will set up ‘finishing stations’ at various high-demand locations. These stations will house close to 20-30 bestseller dishes from various restaurants based on demand and predictability and hyperlocal preferences.
For instance, let us say, the demand for a margarita pizza from Dominos, vegetarian momos from WOW! Momos and some specific ice cream from Naturals ice cream is high during evenings in Sector 42 of Gurugram. Then, the finishing station will house these items.
“10-minute delivery will be for specific nearby locations, popular and standardised menu items only,” Zomato said.
A customer can simply place an order for 10-minute delivery, and a delivery partner will pick up the order and deliver it to your location.
How will the company ensure quality and safety of delivery partners?
Zomato has noted that it will ensure that the food is “sterile, fresh and hot at the time it is picked by the delivery partner” by using “sophisticated dish-level demand prediction algorithms and future-ready in-stations robotics". The development comes only a few days after Zomato acquired robotics startup Mukunda.
The company said it will be focusing on the ‘AAAQ’ of affordability, accessibility, assortment and quality while making the 10-minute delivery into a reliability.
The 10-minute delivery model has raised a lot of criticism among netizens as this$4, who have to resort to overspeeding and traffic rule violations to fulfill these orders on time as well as avoid being penalised by the platforms. Zomato has mentioned that it will not be showing the delivery time to delivery partners or penalising them for late delivery. The company has taken this step to ensure the safety of their partners and not put them under pressure.
The intention behind the 10-minute delivery service is Zomato’s fear that 30-minute delivery may become obsolete in the years to come. Deepinder Goyal, founder and chief executive officer of Zomato, noted that sorting restaurants by fastest delivery time is one of the most used features on the app.
He had a feeling that “30-minute average delivery time by Zomato is too slow, and will soon have to become obsolete… If we don't make it obsolete, someone else will.”
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