Standardizing Catering Delivery Across a Franchise System
How WOWorks rolled out catering delivery management centrally across 350+ franchise locations, and what franchisors can learn from the approach.
When a franchisor rolls out delivery technology centrally, every franchisee starts from the same standard. WOWorks took that approach for business catering: Cartwheel now manages delivery for ezCater catering orders across more than 350 locations, including Saladworks, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and The Simple Greek.
Franchisees are already asking for better delivery tools
Demand for delivery technology often starts in the stores. Franchisees see late orders, guest calls and driver confusion first, and they look for tools to fix them.
“Our franchisees were already asking for solutions to streamline delivery operations.”
Kyle Mark, CIO, WOWorks
The wider market shows the same pattern. In ezCater’s survey of restaurant operators, 33% said they are actively improving delivery and 46% said they are investing in delivery management systems.
Central rollout versus store-by-store adoption
| Store-by-store adoption | Central rollout | |
|---|---|---|
| Tool selection | Each franchisee chooses | Franchisor selects once |
| Onboarding | Repeated per store, uneven | One standard process |
| Guest experience | Varies by location | Consistent across the system |
| Reporting | Fragmented data | System-wide view |
WOWorks manages its tech stack and onboarding centrally for all of its brands and franchisees. Franchisees get a working system without running their own vendor evaluation, and the brand gets the same catering experience at every location.
What business catering customers expect
The person who orders catering for an office is accountable for it arriving on time. Tracking removes the uncertainty. According to ezCater’s Catering Insights Report, 95% of catering orderers want delivery tracking updates on all of their catering orders, and 76% say they do not need to contact the restaurant when tracking is provided.
With Cartwheel managing delivery on their ezCater orders, WOWorks locations provide real-time tracking updates to business catering customers.
A rollout checklist for franchisors
- Select one delivery management platform for the whole system, not per store
- Connect it to the catering channels franchisees already use, such as ezCater
- Run one onboarding process, owned centrally, for every location
- Provide tracking updates on every catering order
- Review delivery performance across the system, not only store by store
Frequently asked questions
Which WOWorks brands use Cartwheel for catering delivery?
WOWorks brands including Saladworks, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and The Simple Greek use Cartwheel to manage delivery for business catering orders.
How many locations are covered?
More than 350 WOWorks locations nationwide.
Does Cartwheel work with ezCater?
Yes. Cartwheel’s delivery management platform integrates with ezCater, so restaurants can manage delivery and tracking on their ezCater catering orders.
To plan a central catering delivery rollout for a franchise system, book a demo with Cartwheel.