ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Domino's
Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza
delivery, and Ford Motor Co. are launching an industry-first
collaboration to understand the role that self-driving vehicles can
play in pizza delivery.
As part of the testing, researchers from both companies will
investigate customer reactions to interacting with a self-driving
vehicle as a part of their delivery experience. This research is
important as both companies begin to examine and understand
customers' perspectives around the future of food delivery with
self-driving vehicles.
"As delivery experts, we've been watching the development of
self-driving vehicles with great interest as we believe
transportation is undergoing fundamental, dramatic change," said
Patrick Doyle, Domino's president
and CEO. "We pride ourselves on being technology leaders and are
excited to help lead research into how self-driving vehicles may
play a role in the future of pizza delivery. This is the first step
in an ongoing process of testing that we plan to undertake with
Ford."
As Ford builds out its business enabled by self-driving
vehicles, conducting research with companies, like Domino's, will
be crucial to ensuring that the technology is applied in ways that
enhance the customer experience. With a plan to begin production of
self-driving vehicles in 2021, Ford is taking steps to design a
business to meet the needs of both partner companies and their
customers.
"As we increase our understanding of the business opportunity
for self-driving vehicles to support the movement of people and
goods, we're pleased to have Domino's join us in this important
part of the development process," said Sherif Marakby, Ford vice
president, Autonomous and Electric Vehicles. "As a company focused
on the customer experience, Domino's shares our vision for a future
enabled by smart vehicles in a smart environment that enhance
people's lives."
Over the next several weeks, randomly-selected Domino's
customers in Ann Arbor will have
the opportunity to receive their delivery order from a Ford Fusion
Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle, which will be manually-driven
by a Ford safety engineer and staffed with researchers. Customers
who agree to participate will be able to track the delivery vehicle
through GPS using an upgraded version of Domino's
Tracker®. They will also receive text messages as the
self-driving vehicle approaches that will guide them on how to
retrieve their pizza using a unique code to unlock the Domino's
Heatwave Compartment™ inside the vehicle.
"We're interested to learn what people think about this type of
delivery," said Russell Weiner,
president of Domino's USA. "The
majority of our questions are about the last 50 feet of the
delivery experience. For instance, how will customers react to
coming outside to get their food? We need to make sure the
interface is clear and simple. We need to understand if a
customer's experience is different if the car is parked in the
driveway versus next to the curb. All of our testing research is
focused on our goal to someday make deliveries with self-driving
vehicles as seamless and customer-friendly as possible."
Local partner Roush Enterprises fabricated the prototype
vehicle's pizza container, the Domino's Heatwave Compartment, based
on its experience working with Domino's on the DXP®
delivery vehicle in 2015. Ford and Domino's completed preliminary
testing of the delivery process using the vehicle in self-driving
mode at Mcity, the simulated urban environment on the University of Michigan's campus. The city of
Ann Arbor also has been supportive
of the testing process.
"I'm delighted that Ann Arbor
continues to be at the forefront of autonomous-vehicle research,"
said Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor. "While it's pizza delivery
today, my hope is that collaborations such as this will enable even
more innovations tomorrow."
For additional images and b-roll of the vehicle, please go to
either media.dominos.com or media.ford.com.
About Domino's Pizza®
Founded in 1960,
Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery,
with a significant business in carryout pizza. It ranks among the
world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of
more than 14,200 stores in over 85 international markets. Domino's
had global retail sales of nearly $10.9
billion in 2016, with more than $5.3
billion in the U.S. and more than $5.5 billion internationally. In the second
quarter of 2017, Domino's had global retail sales of more than
$2.7 billion, with over $1.3 billion in the U.S. and nearly $1.4 billion internationally. Its system is
comprised of independent franchise owners who accounted for over
97% of Domino's stores as of the second quarter of 2017. Emphasis
on technology innovation helped Domino's reach an estimated
$5.6 billion in global digital sales
in 2016, and has produced several innovative ordering platforms,
including Google Home, Facebook Messenger, Apple Watch, Amazon
Echo, Twitter and text message using a pizza emoji. In late 2015,
Domino's announced the design and launch of the DXP®, a
purpose-built pizza delivery vehicle, as well as Piece of the Pie
Rewards™, its first digital customer loyalty program.
Order – dominos.com
AnyWare Ordering
– anyware.dominos.com
Company Info – biz.dominos.com
Twitter
– twitter.com/dominos
Facebook –
facebook.com/dominos
Instagram –
instagram.com/dominos
YouTube – youtube.com/dominos
Please visit our Investor Relations website
at biz.dominos.com to view a schedule of upcoming
earnings releases, significant announcements and conference
webcasts.
About Ford Motor Co.
Ford MoTor Company is a global
company based in Dearborn,
Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and
services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified
vehicles and Lincoln luxury
vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit
Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification,
autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs
approximately 203,000 people worldwide. For more information
regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please
visit www.corporate.ford.com.
Product Information – http://www.ford.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Ford
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ford
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ford/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/ford
Medium – https://medium.com/@ford/
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dominos-and-ford-begin-consumer-research-of-pizza-delivery-using-self-driving-vehicles-300510327.html
SOURCE Domino's Pizza