In this episode of the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast, the hosts welcome back Meredith Sandland, CEO of Empower Delivery. Meredith offers insights into the evolution of restaurant technology and the importance of efficient delivery systems. She discusses how her company, Empower Delivery, spun out from ClusterTruck, aims to streamline the delivery process for restaurants by offering an end-to-end order fulfillment system. The conversation delves into the challenges of third-party delivery services, the importance of first-party delivery to control guest experiences, and the concept of using gig workers as in-house delivery drivers. Meredith also shares her perspectives on the current state of delivery services and how restaurants can adapt to changing consumer behaviors and rising costs.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:26 Meeting Through the Book
01:30 Empower Delivery and ClusterTruck
04:52 First Party vs Third Party Delivery
06:47 Challenges and Solutions in Delivery
11:48 Current State of Delivery
18:34 Reflecting on Purposeful Actions
18:55 Three Types of Restaurants and Delivery Strategies
22:11 Challenges and Solutions in Delivery
25:05 The Role of Technology in Delivery Management
29:32 Consulting and Onboarding for Restaurants
33:57 Getting in Touch and Final Thoughts