Once you're taking orders directly, the next question is how to get the food to the customer. You've got three realistic options, and the right answer depends on your order volume, your area, and how much control you want. Let's walk through each.
Option 1: Collection only
The simplest place to start. Customers order online and come to pick up. There's no delivery cost, no driver to manage, and no radius to worry about.
Best for: restaurants with strong local footfall, busy lunch trade, or anyone testing online ordering for the first time. It's a zero-risk way to move customers off marketplaces and onto your own channel before you add delivery.
Option 2: Your own drivers
Hiring or assigning your own delivery drivers gives you the most control and the best economics at volume. You set the delivery radius, the fee, and the minimum order. The driver represents your brand at the door.
- Pros: lowest per-order cost once you have steady volume; full control of the customer experience; no per-order courier fee.
- Cons: you carry the fixed cost of wages and insurance whether it's busy or not; managing rotas and no-shows is real work.
Best for: established restaurants with consistent delivery demand in a defined area.
Option 3: On-demand couriers (Uber Direct)
On-demand courier networks let you offer delivery without employing anyone. When an order comes in, a courier is dispatched to collect and deliver it. You pay per delivery, so the cost scales exactly with your orders.
- Pros: no fixed wage cost; couriers available even on quiet days; you can offer delivery far wider than your own drivers could cover.
- Cons: higher cost per delivery than your own driver at volume; slightly less control over the handoff.
Best for: restaurants with variable or growing demand, or anyone who wants delivery without the overhead of a driver team.
The beauty of direct ordering is you don't have to choose just one — you can mix and match.
The hybrid approach most restaurants land on
In practice, the smartest setup is often a combination: offer collection always, use your own driver for nearby orders during peak hours, and fall back to an on-demand courier for everything outside your driver's range or when you're slammed. DinePlatform lets you configure all three from one place — set your delivery radius and charge, and connect Uber Direct for on-demand coverage.
Don't forget the maths
Whatever you choose, make sure the delivery fee and minimum order actually cover your cost. A common mistake is offering free delivery to compete with marketplaces, then quietly losing money on every order. Charge a fair delivery fee, set a sensible minimum, and your delivery channel will add profit instead of eroding it.
Start simple, then expand
If you're unsure, start with collection, add your own driver as volume builds, and switch on on-demand couriers when you want to widen your reach. You can change any of it at any time — which is exactly the kind of flexibility the marketplace model never gave you.