Olo, a leading on-demand commerce platform powering the restaurant industry’s digital transformation, announced that Uber has integrated its Uber Direct technology into Olo’s delivery fulfillment solution, Dispatch, to help make efficient delivery technology available to restaurants with plans to expand their offerings with the additional support of alcohol delivery. The agreement follows Uber’s 2019 integration of Uber Eats into Olo’s Rails platform and its 2020 acquisition of Postmates, which has resulted in a significantly scaled combined courier base to serve the nation’s most successful restaurants. The new integration enables restaurants partnered with Olo to expand their direct delivery capabilities and prepare to tap into the growing alcohol delivery space, while optimizing price, timing, and service quality through Uber’s technology network.
Olo’s Dispatch network integrates with on-demand delivery platforms, such as Uber Direct, allowing restaurants to request delivery for orders generated through their own websites and apps. The solution seamlessly manages each restaurant’s delivery options and selects service providers, including a restaurant’s own couriers, based on optimal price, timing, availability, and other criteria.
“Through the expansion of our partnership with Uber, we are now able to offer our restaurant brands a great addition to our growing network of delivery service providers integrated with Dispatch,” said Shalin Sheth, VP & General Manager of Dispatch at Olo. “Having Uber Direct on the platform adds great value to our restaurants, who increasingly rely on Dispatch as a key solution to best manage operations and costs for delivery given the significant uptick in demand for off-premise in the last year.”
“We are excited to work more closely with Olo, as we expand our footprint and serve new use cases,” says Pooja Daftary, Head of Uber Direct. “Through the Uber Eats app, we’re already connected to more than 700,000 brands like Jack in the Box and Tender Greens. By expanding our Olo engagement on Dispatch, we can provide merchants with new solutions as the demand—and opportunity—for digital ordering and delivery continue to grow.”
“It’s our goal to make sure O’Charley’s guests always have an O’mazing dining experience, whether they’re in our restaurants or in their homes—which makes choosing delivery partners incredibly important,” says Craig Barber, CEO of O’Charley’s. “We’re excited about Uber and Olo teaming up to provide seamless solutions to our restaurants and easy access to a massive, reliable national network of delivery people to serve our guests away from our locations.”
“We regularly share feedback with Uber on ways to improve the delivery experience for our guests and team members, and are thrilled about this new integration with Olo,” says Riki Swindler, VP of Brand & Marketing, Mendocino Farms. “At Mendo, we want to ensure that our guests receive the same wow-factor and happy experience when they order delivery as when they dine-in, and the ability to access Uber’s network of couriers through its new product integration with Olo will help us do just that.”
This integration also unlocks Uber’s ability to test alcohol delivery supported through Dispatch, which will be made widely available in the coming year.
