Traditional Food against Fast Food

From traditional purchasing methods to online food delivery systems, many alternative systems have been offering the consumer more convenience such as online shopping, phone-based ordering, home delivery, pick up and drive through in the food industry (Hossain and Adelaja, 2000). Today the food industry has been influenced by technology and the internet. According to Hirschberg, Rajko, Schumacher & Wrulich (2016) around 15years ago the traditional delivery category (aggregators) took place, simply to take orders from customers and route them to restaurants although only 26% of traditional delivery orders are made online today.

After that the concept of ‘New Delivery’ players which appears in 2013 builds their own logistics network, providing delivery for restaurants. New Delivery services are taking over the market because of the growing demand. Around the world, the food delivery services account for €83billion where 1% is for the food market and 4% includes restaurants and fast-food chains, found in different matured countries predict that the growth of the food delivery industry will increase by 3.5% in the next five years (Hirschberg, Rajko, Schumacher & Wrulich, 2016).

According to Kimes (2011), 50.8% of customers prefer food delivery services as people are lazy to cook and have meals delivered straight to their homes or office. Online food ordering systems is a self-service system that allows customers to self-order their meals (Ryue, Shiun-Yi &Lily, 2017). Online food ordering satisfies the busy customer’s needs living in the city who place their order online and receive delivery within a few minutes (Kedah, Ismail, Haque &Ahmed, 2015). Since then researchers from all over the world studied, the concept of food delivery from two different perspectives: the seller (supply) and the consumer (demand)(Ghajargar, Zenezini & Montanaro, 2016).

The increasing growth of technology (internet, mobile applications) provides opportunities for the customers to search the market more easily than 10 years ago. However, customers have a variety of choices to decide what types of food customers want to consume and from which restaurant with the help of smartphones (Zissis, Aktas & Bourlakis, 2016). According to Ryue, Shiun-Yi, and Lily (2017), electronic ordering is becoming popular among both customers and restaurants as it provides significant benefits while taking an order. Grub Hub, Uber Eat, Delivery Hero, and Food Panda are the most well-known online food delivery companies.

According to Hossain and Adelaja (2000), customers show their interest in alternative food delivery systems.

1. Home delivery of prepared meals.

Food is a basic need for all human beings (Zety, Fadzilah & Yusnidawati, 2016). Food items are mostly demanded and frequently delivered items in the market because the lifestyle of the people is working a long day and only spending little time at home (Lopez & Ferrandiz, 2016). The order is taken from the telephone or websites. Today most people are showing interest in the concept of food delivery because it is quick and easy to order from a mobile application rather than visiting and buying food from a restaurant (Zety, Fadzilah & Yusnidawati, 2016). Home meal delivery required vehicles to deliver the meals to customers (Braysy, Nakari, Dullaert & Neittaanmaki, 2009). Mainly home delivery service of prepared meals is useful for students studying in different cities and who keep traveling from city to city (Adithya R., Singh, Kanade & Pathan, 2017)

2. Home delivery of a grocery.

U.K is the second largest online grocery market in the world. The total grocery market size of the U.K was £174.5 billion in 2014 and £177.5 in 2015 whereas predict to increase to more than £200 billion in 2019 (Zissis, Aktas & Bourlakis, 2016). Today there is competition between the retail sectors of groceries around the world, not only in the prices but also in the service. The grocery market in the U.K has seen an increase yearly by around 17% while the total grocery market has had an annual growth of less than 5% in the last 10years. In terms of grocery delivery, the customers select a day and a time slot to deliver the order to the customer’s house. Grocery is perishable and high rotation goods, which require fast and flexible transport (Lopez & Ferrandiz, 2016).

3. Drive-through pick-up.

Online grocery is adopting a drive-through pick-up service where the customers can order online and collect groceries without getting off from their vehicles.

Many food industries have started to offer picdeliveringk-up services to customers (Gao &Su, 2016)

4. Truck delivery of vegetables and meat products

To deliver fresh food the demand for vehicles including refrigerating, cold boxes or cabinets have been increasing in urban areas where the temperature of food (perishable goods) needs to be constant during delivery even not changed in the temperature during door openings. Therefore the delivery companies required food storage, own vehicles, and temperature control equipment while delivery food to customers (Hsu & Chen, 2014).

E-Commerce

E-commerce provides an experience for customers to shop online not just for electronics, books, cosmetics products, or clothes but for food products as well (Zissis, Aktas & Bourlakis, 2016). Today the customers can purchase a product online which can be delivered within to our homes (Lopez & Ferrandiz, 2016). According to Alagoz and Hekimoglu (2012), online shopping is a new trend in the market where the customers can reach the products on the internet, and the vendors can reach customers on the internet. On the other hand, customers are enabled to compare a variety of products, compare prices, and shop at the same time. While e-commerce is growing rapidly around the world, there are more than 1.46 billion internet users and with the help of e-commerce, customers have a wider variety of products to choose from in the online environment where the food industry also started to adopt the online environment (Alagoz &Hekimoglu, 2012). Worldwide internet has covered a huge market area for the exchange of goods and services (Zety, Fadzilah & Yusnidawati, 2016). At least 55% of internet users make online orders in Poland (Moroz &Polkowski, 2016). In Turkey, Yemeksepti.com is a popular online food ordering website where 28 million portions of food were ordered online just in 2011 (Alagoz & Hekimoglu, 2012).

In the restaurant, there are several producers for taking orders where firstly the customers start by browsing the paper-based menu and then inform the waiter to take the order and wait for the food to serve. Due to the influence of the internet and technology, several opportunities are entering the market where many restaurants have taken advantage to provide quick and speedy delivery of orders despite the dining experience (Chavan, Jadhav, Korade &Teli, 2015). In recent times the online food ordering system tries to reduce the traditional queuing system and also improve the process of taking orders from customers by setting the food menu online along with prices and a wide range of restaurants where customers can easily place the order as per their wish and also able to track the orders (Adithya R., Singh, Kanade & Pathan, 2017). According to Chavan, Jadhav, Korade, and Teli (2015), everyone from anywhere can order goods through the internet and have them delivered to the selected location. With the help of mobile applications, all the food items ordered are displayed on the screen along with the corresponding options and delivery details on the restaurant website. The online food ordering system also provides a feedback system to the customers where the customers can rate the food items and also the facilities of payment through an online or pay-on-delivery system. Many delivery companies provide an ID and a password for each user to secure the order (Adithya R., Singh, Kanade & Pathan, 2017). Today many business sectors have adopted e-commerce for effective business (Zety, Fadzilah & Yusnidawati, 2016). Online food ordering is growing rapidly because of the increasing use of smartphones /android devices.

Challenges in Online Food Delivery Service

The food delivery business is a rapidly growing business that is influenced by the internet and technology. At first, we should understand the market size, competitors, customer behavior, and delivery platforms. The food delivery industry is operating through website platforms where a customer can select a restaurant from a list, view its menu, and price, and place an order on the platform.

1. On-time delivery

The increasing demand for food delivery and the growth in vehicles on the roads that cause traffic problems make companies think thoroughly about the future (Lopez & Ferrandiz, 2016). According to Braysy, Nakari, Dullaert, and Neittaanmaki (2009) companies may customers if the service operation is slow and late delivery due to the vehicle route problem. The concern can be managed through the development of a delivery route model or application of the shortest path and provide tracking of food delivery vehicle facilities to customers (Siregar, Gunawan, Andayani, Lubis & Fahmi (2016). During lunchtime, the delivery companies receive maximum orders which can be delivered at different locations at the same time (Lan, Ya’nan, Shuhua, 2016).

2. Technology

According to Willingham (2017) technology is a key element of an online food ordering system as it allows for communication to take place between consumers and employees through mobile application software which is easily accessible by both parties. Still some customers feel uncomfortable with technology because they are not familiar with technology and mobile application and also have technology anxiety (Kimes, 2011). Sometimes there will be a problem with the machine and it will lead to delivery failure because the order was not received by the restaurants (Ryue, Shiun-Yi & Lily, 2017).

3. Manpower

There is always been a difficulty with staffing due to the fluctuation in the demand for food delivery (Kanyan, Ngana & Voon, 2016). In food delivery service if the companies have enough vehicles to do deliveries, throughout the day, food can be delivered in time even during peak hours. On the other hand, if the number of vehicles is limited for the time of less demand there would be a loss in revenue during the demand peak hours (Hsu & Chen, 2014).

4. Quality of food

According to Lan, Ya’nan, and Shuhua (2016) customers are concerned about food quality and safety. While delivering the food sometimes the food has been cold, squeezed, not fresh, low quality, and rotten where cooked meals and beverages are not properly sealed and spills are frequently occurring. During lunchtime, the restaurants become busy so the food is packaged in hurry without much care. The delivery vehicles’ boxes have poor thermal insulation and cushioning which impacts the warmth or coolness of the food when it reaches the customer. Delivering foods with constant temperature control is an important aspect for logistics carriers who deliver food (Hsu & Chen, 2014).

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