Yello wants to be the complete home delivery management platform for restaurants

As apps like Menulog make it easier than ever for consumers to order and have food delivered to their door, it’s never been more important for restaurants to have a full roster of drivers. However, many are still getting caught out when drivers call in sick or cancel shifts.

Steve Fanale and Johnny Timbs founded Yello, a food delivery management platform, after encountering the problem themselves.

Timbs, who owns a number of fast food franchises, was contemplating driving himself after being told a driver had cancelled on him when Fanale asked why he wasn’t just using an app to find another driver. When Timbs replied that none existed, the idea for Yello was born.

“The concept of Yello was developed further as we walked around the block with a few beers and we took it from initially being a driver booking platform to a whole new level, the complete home delivery management platform,” Fanale said.

The platform, currently in beta, allows businesses to post jobs to the site and book drivers. The website states that drivers will receive a minimum of $60 for each shift, with a shift being at least three hours long and minimum of four orders per hour. Drivers will receive $5 per delivery.

Fanale explained that the pricing model will be developed throughout the beta testing process. Yello will take a cut of each order, with pricing tiered and dependent on which types of services the businesses use.

“As Yello is not just a driver booking platform but a complete management platform, booking a driver is only part of the package. Yello will also be rolling out processes and procedures that will minimise any concerns businesses may have about employing a driver on our platform,” Fanale said.

According to the site, these features include a customer payment platform and driver training.

“We also have a rating system where each driver and store has the ability to give feedback on each other, letting the market raise the cream to the top. This a great opportunity for stores who don’t currently offer delivery to now offer this service to their customers and for wannabe drivers to get more work. All you need is a car or a bike, a good attitude, and you’re away,” Fanale said.

Fanale’s experience in the tech space – he founded The App Village – combined with Timbs’ first hand experience with the very problems the startup is trying to solve could see Yello take off quickly. Timbs’ connections in the industry also mean he was able to get businesses on board to test the platform and perfect it.

“The industry is quite diverse and some businesses are more technically advanced than others. We have considered this diversity when designing Yello and we have ensured that the implementation will be seamless for both major franchises and single store owners, and be usable by tech geeks and technophobes,” Fanale said.

The pre-launch job board is currently live, with a new version of the platform to launch in early May. 2015 looks set to be big, with Fanale and Timbs in the process of closing a funding round, and in talks with major retailers who want to be part of the launch.

“In our next phase we will be approaching the market again to fund more significant business activity that we believe will position Yello as the number one home delivery platform in Australia, with a presence in all states and some early stage presence in an overseas market.”