McDonald got into the channel in the year 1977 where the firm has prospered from the year 2003 to date (Mieth, 2007). The company alludes to convincing customer ease as one of the expansion drivers at work. Delivering food by motorbike is one of those conveniences in countries like China, Egypt and South Korea. Another is adding dessert “kiosks,” or windows on the exterior of existing restaurants where pedestrians can order an ice-cream cone, bypassing the lunch line inside. The company is updating its restaurants, modernizing the furnishings and adding such facilities as free Wi-Fi and flat-screen televisions. It has also extended restaurant hours to attract customers who don’t eat during the traditional work day, and added double-lane drive-through, to get more customers through the line more quickly. Locally, McDonald’s is taking advantage of Americans’ tendency to browse by offering snack items such as chicken wraps and small desserts throughout most of the day. That allows the chain to attract customers during the otherwise slow periods between breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The company also has added a slew of new menu items that are priced relatively high, low and in- between to appeal to a broad swath of consumers. That enables the chain to appeal to everyone from the traditional fast-food junkie who loves burgers to salad-chomping moms to the employee on the go who wants to grab a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. The restaurant is using the slogan, ‘If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you,’ thus making it more convenient than going to the restaurant, especially in bad weather.
The restaurant can deliver the food within 15 minutes after one order, much more quickly than a lot of Chinese food restaurants can deliver.
Some of the competitive advantages that McDonald points up are to have an efficient distribution system, which lets you get more points of sales, also to have qualified personnel, allowing the company to provide brilliant customer service, determination to have a computer system that allows the company to take and process customer orders quickly, and thus provide prompt attention. According to Mieth, (2007), McDonald’s is rolling out new designs for its food packaging aimed at strengthening the brand and staying ahead of obesity concerns.
Also McDonald is trying to stay ahead of concerns over obesity as well as the healthfulness and safety of food supplies around the world. Full-color photographs of ingredients are intended to remind customers that.
McDonald has equipped its restaurants in Asia and the Middle East to handle delivery involves having an area to assemble orders, which are then placed in battery-powered induction heating boxes with vents to keep moisture out so that French fries remain hot without getting damp.
Cold items are placed in shielded containers with ice packs and both fit onto the back of yellow and red McDonald’s branded motorbikes or electric scooters. Drivers wear yellow and red McDonald’s uniforms and aim to deliver the food within 30 minutes. In countries like Singapore and turkey majority of delivery orders are still in phone, but the company has started offering web-based ordering. In some countries, such as China, customers pay a flat fee of seven Yuan, or just over $1, for delivery. In others, people pay a fee equal to 15% to 20% of their order price. KFC, whose drivers ride red motorbikes equipped with similar heated boxes, charges a flat fee for delivery.
References
Mieth, H. (2007). The History of McDonald’s. New York: GRIN Verlag.