{"id":220656,"date":"2024-07-25T15:33:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T07:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/sg\/?post_type=editorial&p=220656"},"modified":"2025-11-27T13:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T05:38:58","slug":"taking-the-last-bit-of-friction-out-of-food-deliveries-with-smart-food-lockers","status":"publish","type":"editorial","link":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/sg\/inside-grab\/stories\/taking-the-last-bit-of-friction-out-of-food-deliveries-with-smart-food-lockers\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking the last bit of friction out of food deliveries with smart food lockers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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It\u2019s hard to beat the seamless convenience of food delivery services. However, hiccups can occur at the handover of the meal.<\/p>

What if you\u2019re in an important call, unable to head down to the office lobby to meet the delivery person right away? They end up waiting, because building security only allows tenants and registered visitors upstairs.<\/p>

In office towers, apartment blocks, and other major hubs, this point of friction is a common occurrence. It can lead to crowded lobbies and unattended food packages waiting to be picked up.<\/p>

There\u2019s a way to tame the chaos. At certain locations, we\u2019ve improved this last step of the GrabFood experience with smart food cabinets.<\/p>

Grab\u2019s IoT team made the GrabFood locker a reality, and we have been putting them through trials in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. Here\u2019s how they work.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A GrabFood locker being tested in Indonesia<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Convenience and hygiene<\/h5>

For GrabFood customers, using the locker is a seamless process, all managed through the Grab app, thanks to a smooth hardware-software integration.<\/p>

If a GrabFood customer prefers to use a locker instead of a face-to-face handover, they simply select the nearest food locker as the delivery destination. Then they head down with their smartphone when it’s time to collect the food. Thanks to clear labelling, customers can easily identify their locker.<\/p>

By scanning a QR code with the Grab app, customers gain access solely to their assigned locker. There\u2019s no need to worry about accidentally picking up someone else’s order.<\/p>

In terms of food safety, we’ve designed the lockers to have a fixed cleaning cycle and disinfection mechanism.<\/p>

The flexibility to collect food some time after the delivery removes the stress of having to synchronise with the delivery rider’s schedule.<\/p>

Time savings for delivery-partners<\/h5>

The time savings and flexibility factor is a huge plus for our delivery-partners.<\/p>

Every minute spent waiting at an office lobby, or getting lost at a sprawling residential complex is a potential earnings loss.<\/p>

GrabFood lockers allow delivery drivers to do more deliveries in a day and lowers the complexity of managing face-to-face handovers.<\/p>

Benefit for property owners<\/h5>

During our planning phase, we sought feedback from property owners about the prospect of installing smart food cabinets in their buildings.<\/p>

The response was overwhelmingly positive, particularly from hospitals and universities, who welcomed a solution to alleviate congestion in their often crowded lobbies and corridors.<\/p>

Commercial and residential building managers also told us food lockers could help free up frontline staffer\u2019s time.<\/p>

Rather than managing crowded lobbies during meal times and helping delivery drivers manage their handover, reception and security staff can focus on their primary roles.<\/p>

Some buildings attempt to address food delivery issues with open shelves or tables for food deposits. While this somewhat reduces lobby congestion, it leads to other issues such as misplaced orders and untidiness.<\/p>

GrabFood lockers circumvent these problems, as everything is neatly contained within the smart cabinets.<\/p>

Feedback so far and the future of GrabFood lockers<\/h5>

As we deploy GrabFood lockers in certain locations in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, we are collecting data from users, delivery riders, and property owners to further improve the concept.<\/p>

In telephone surveys conducted by our Indonesia team, for example, over two-thirds of respondents scored over 8 out of 10 in satisfaction using GrabFood lockers, with over 80 percent saying they will use it again. We have installed more than twenty GrabFood lockers in Indonesia during the trial phase.<\/p>

Positive feedback from property owners so far is also very encouraging.<\/p>

We continue to refine GrabFood lockers with regards to both its hardware and software. This will ensure the experience is even more enjoyable and seamless.<\/p>

In time, we hope to see them in more cities, with plans already underway for cities in Malaysia and the Philippines.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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