Delivery Is Not a Channel. It’s an Operating System.

Most restaurant and retail operators don’t lose money on delivery because demand isn’t there. They lose money because delivery is treated as an add-on instead of what it actually is — a complex operating system that touches pricing, packaging, labor, technology, and execution.

At U.S. Delivery Consultants, we help operators understand delivery for what it truly is: a margin-sensitive system that must be designed, governed, and managed intentionally.

Delivery is not:

• A marketing tactic
• A plug-in service
• A platform decision

Delivery is:

• A financial model
• An operational workflow
• A packaging performance problem
• A technology and reporting challenge

When any one of these elements is misaligned, margins erode quietly and persistently.

In our work with restaurants and retailers, margin loss most often comes from:

• Incorrect menu pricing for delivery realities
• Packaging that fails under delivery conditions or costs too much
• Labor models that don’t reflect delivery volume and timing
• POS and reporting gaps that obscure true profitability
• Platform rules that operators don’t fully understand
• Treating delivery growth as success without economic discipline

These losses rarely show up clearly on a P&L — but they compound over time.

Third-party platforms are neither the villain nor the solution. They are infrastructure.

Operators get into trouble when they:

• Accept default platform settings without analysis
• Fail to model fees and promotions accurately
• Don’t align menu, prep, and packaging with platform behavior
• Rely on platform dashboards instead of integrated reporting

Our role is not to “optimize platforms.”

Our role is to help you understand the system you’re operating inside.

Delivery decisions intersect directly with:

• Packaging performance (temperature, integrity, cost, brand protection)
• POS systems (menu mapping, modifiers, reporting accuracy)
• Operations (throughput, labor deployment, quality control)
• Brand experience (what actually arrives at the customer’s door)

Treating delivery in isolation guarantees downstream problems.

Our delivery advisory work may include:

• Delivery economics and margin modeling
• Platform participation analysis and governance
• Menu and pricing alignment for off-premise
• Packaging performance and cost strategy
• POS and reporting clarity for delivery data
• Operational workflow assessment
• Strategic guidance on scale, reduction, or exit decisions

We are independent, vendor-neutral, and advisory by design.
We do not resell platforms, manage accounts, or execute campaigns.

This work is best suited for:

• Restaurants doing meaningful delivery volume
• Retail food brands with off-premise exposure
• Multi-unit operators managing delivery at scale
• Operators experiencing margin pressure they can’t quite see

This is not for operators looking for:

• Social media management
• Platform sales support
• Promotional tactics without system changes

This work often intersects with Packaging & Off-Premise Systems and How We Engage.

Delivery can be profitable — but only when it’s treated as a system, not a shortcut.

If you’re questioning whether delivery is helping or hurting your business, the right place to start is a conversation.