​Domino's tracks driver 'safety' with Uberfied GPS technology

In partnership with Navman Wireless, Domino's Pizza has launched the GPS Driver Tracker, a platform designed to allow delivery drivers to be tracked via GPS when en route to making a delivery.

The pizza company has pitched the GPS Driver Tracker as not only an opportunity for customers to track their pizza delivery much like how Uber drivers can be tracked, but also to ensure the safety of its delivery drivers.

According to Domino's Group CEO and managing director Don Meij, the safety of drivers is always top of mind, and while incidents happen infrequently, the platform will provide a new level of transparency over its drivers.

"When we say 'incidents', it could be something like a wheel rubbing against the gutter, or a car door at the touch of a tree. These drivers are out and about, and that's what we refer to as incidents," he said.

"But anything from a significant safety perspective, it's very rare and infrequent. But it's still managing people and transport items, and for us it's important and something we thought we need to track to make sure we could bring those numbers down."

The GPS Driver Tracker was trialled in 50 Domino's stores across Australia.

"In some stores for up to 18 months before launch, we watched the number of driver incidents reduce by 50 percent," Meij said.

Meij added that while the idea behind the GPS tracker was about safety, a few kinks about how customers will be informed when its drivers are not able to make deliveries still have to be ironed out. For now, though, when a driver stops for a period of time, the company is alerted.

"We're able to see why they are sitting at that point. During the testing phase, we were able to get to a driver when they were broken down before they even called us, because they were trying to deal with that, and we weren't the first person they called when they broke down. There's still a lot to be built into like an alert button for the driver," he said.

For customers to have an overall view of their pizza order, the GPS Tracker platform will be linked to the company's existing Pizza Tracker platform. This means that after a customer finishes tracking their pizza through the cooking process, they will receive a notification informing them that the pizza is with the driver. Delivery vehicles will be installed with a GPS tracker, and customers will then be able to follow the driver on any smart screen device, except the Apple Watch for now.

Meij said it will fill the "black period" customers currently experience from knowing that their pizzas have been made to not knowing when they will arrive.

GPS Driver Tracker has initially been launched in the ACT, and will be rolled out nationally and to New Zealand by the end of July.

The GPS Driver Tracker is the latest technology-led invention to be announced by Domino's, following the launch of Pizza Mogul last year.

"We've definitely become a technology company, but pizza is still the heart of our business. The reason why we've become so passionate about technology is it's enabling a better pizza experience," Meij said.