Customers of Marco’s Pizza may have their next pizza delivery arrive via robot.
The 1,200-unit pizza chain is tapping Magna, a global mobility technology company, to test last-mile autonomous delivery in select locations throughout North America.
“With the challenges that we face on a daily basis in our delivery segments, we would be remiss if we didn’t look at other opportunities on how we can deliver effectively to our consumers in a high-tech area and have some fun with it,” said Rick Stanbridge, executive vice president and chief information officer for Marco’s Pizza.
Magna’s electrified two-wheeled, autonomous delivery bots use cameras, radar, light detection and ranging, and other hardware to travel shorter radiuses at low speeds up to 20 mph. In a video posted by Marco’s Pizza, staff can load the bot with pizzas, sides and drinks. Upon arrival, customers will receive a notification with instructions for retrieval.
Over the next several months Marco’s and Magna will discuss proof of concept followed by the kick-off of in-market pilot projects with participating franchisees. The exact locations and number of franchisees have not been disclosed.
Stanbridge said the initial projects will provide insight into last-mile delivery usage rates, acceptance and overall efficiency.
“This collaboration allows us to really collect analytical data on the future of delivery and the pizza segment, and how this is going to affect our customers in the coming years,” said Stanbridge.
Magna, one of the largest automotive suppliers and contract manufacturers for brands including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, ventured into developing autonomous delivery platforms in 2022. That same year it also received a $77 million investment from shared mobility platform Yulu out of India as well as a collaborated with San Francisco-based sidewalk robotics developer company Cartken.
“I think there’s a lot of data surrounding the growth in last-mile delivery, and that was there even before COVID happened, with a lot more people ordering products whether it be product from stores or food from restaurants or groceries,” said Matteo Del Sorbo, executive vice president at Magna and global lead for Magna New Mobility.
“Historically, we’ve had large internal combustion vehicles delivering small products, so if we can find a way to deliver those products more efficiently, in a safer manner and on a sustainable platform, I think we really have a solution that is better for the municipalities and for society in general,” Sorbo continued.
For Marcos Pizza, innovating its delivery segment continues to be top-of-mind, as its off-premises business makes up nearly 50 percent of all orders. In addition to the autonomous delivery bots, the pizza brand is also leveraging Magna to look at other last-mile electrified solutions.
“We believe that we’ve taken this on with a stellar partner that has the resources behind them to help us analyze and figure this out. We don’t want to just throw technology out just to be fancy. We want to [provide] technology that’s relevant to our franchisees and our customers,” said Stanbridge. “I think this project can handle both and solve a lot of issues now and in the future.”
Marco’s Pizza is just the latest pizza chain dipping its toes into autonomous delivery solutions. Domino’s debuted autonomous pizza delivery in Houston in 2021 with self-driving delivery company Nuro. The company has also tested self-driving cars with Chevrolet and Ford.
This story originally appeared in Food On Demand, a sibling publication to Franchise Times.