Contactless Food Locker Technology For Takeaway Collections
Burger King South Africa First in the Country to adopt the ORDERHQ* Contactless Food Locker Technology for Takeaway Collections
Leading fast-food franchises around the world have used food lockers as a way of facilitating contactless takeaway deliveries. Now, in a South African first, BURGER KING® South Africa will be rolling out the OrderHQ* Series, a smart locker solution brought to market through a partnership between Merco®, a Welbilt Brand, and Apex Order Pickup Solutions, starting with a new Cape Town store.
This pioneering move represents the next evolutionary step for food-to-go services and culinary technology to meet the increasing demand for faster, more efficient takeaway ordering, collection and delivery.
The OrderHQ* smart locker solution will be implemented in a new flagship store – in the 3 Arts Village, Cape Town – on Friday 15 October, upon which day the store will open its doors to the public.
BURGER KING® South Africa new Cape Town Store
As Craig Wyman, Operations Executive at BURGER KING® South Africa explains: “We’re excited to be the first in the country to launch this new technology and we predict that it will make a big difference to the way South Africans see fast food delivery. We’ve seen this technology rolled out successfully in countries like Japan and Russia, and we’re confident that it will soon become a part of the South African takeaway landscape.”
The 3rd-generation of smart lockers designed by Apex Order Pickup Solutions, the OrderHQ Series will be manufactured and distributed by Welbilt under its Merco® brand.
Spurred on by the onset of the pandemic when demand for contactless service increased exponentially, the use of food lockers is changing the way consumers and outlets view the food to-go experience.
Food lockers allow customers to place an order digitally and collect it from a secured food locker that stores the contents, with little to no human interaction required. Food lockers can also be used as temporary storage for food that is being collected and dropped off by food delivery services. This technology supports the emerging concept of ghost kitchens – commercial facilities that fulfil orders placed digitally through websites or apps.
OrderHQ* Series at Burger KING® South Africa – Cape Town Store
By installing this new system, BURGER KING® South Africa furthers its relationship with Welbilt, an affiliate of Merco, with whom it has been working for a number of years in implementing other highly successful technology such as Welbilt’s Frymaster fryers, which conserve oil and cook more food per gallon than their market counterparts.
The new OrderHQ* smart locker solution combine innovative software and hardware technologies to seamlessly integrate with a customer’s systems and kitchen processes, providing contactless delivery and pick-up and optimising asset utilisation. Advanced software enables shorter waiting times and fast compartment turnover, all optimised via order visibility and integrated data and analytics, that maintain food quality, optimise throughput and provide more efficient operations.
Welbilt Key Account and Regional Distribution Manager at Sub-Saharan Africa, John Woodcock mentions: “It is very exciting for South Africa to be the chosen as the first country in the world to test the OrderHQ* smart locker solution. We have full confidence that the technology will assist in achieving the benchmarks required for a successful test result and look forward to additional units being rolled out around the country”.
The system will automate the digital fulfilment of BURGER KING® orders. The benefits include seamless integration with back-and-front-of-house technologies, single compartments for both hot and cold items, simpler order delivery and collections, portfolio-wide data visibility for management, as well as advanced analytics.
“This technology integrates seamlessly with our POS system, multiple online ordering platforms, apps and kiosk companies through the use of lightweight APIs. And in the event of internet connection loss, these units can operate autonomously. We’ve made sure that all bases are covered, and we can’t wait to see our customers using this exciting, new technology,” said Craig Wyman.
*Apex Order Pickup Solutions and OrderHQ are trademarks owned by Apex Order Pickup Services LLC.
About Welbilt ®:
Welbilt, Inc. provides the world’s top chefs, premier chain operators, and dealers with industry-leading equipment and solutions. Our innovative products and solutions are powered by our profound knowledge, the experience of operators, and our culinary expertise. Our portfolio of award-winning brands includes Cleveland™, Convotherm®, Crem™, Delfield®, Frymaster®, Garland®, Kolpak®, Lincoln™, Manitowoc Ice®, Merco®, Merrychef® and Multiplex®.
These products are supported by two service brands: FitKitchen®, our fully integrated brand for kitchen systems, and KitchenCare®, our brand for spare parts and repair service. Headquartered in the Tampa Bay area, Florida, we operate 20 manufacturing facilities throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Sales are conducted through a global network of over 5,000 dealers and sales
representatives in more than 100 countries. We have approximately 5,100 employees and generated an annual sales volume of $1.6 billion in 2019.
For more information, visit www.welbiltemea.com
About Apex Order Pickup Solutions
Apex is a leading global provider of self-serve automated pickup solutions for use in foodservice, retail and b-to-b ecommerce. The Apex Heated Pickup Station was a recipient of the 2019 Kitchen Innovations Award from the National Restaurant Association. Apex contactless order pickup solutions are in use in over 5,000 locations globally. Apex is headquartered in Mason, Ohio, USA.
For more information, visit www.apexorderpickup.com.
For further information contact:
John Woodcock – Key Account and Regional Distribution Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa
Welbilt
M +27 83.793.1483
Email: [email protected]
www.welbiltemea.com
