What is the difference between Rails and Dispatch?

One of the most frequent questions we get is about the difference between Rails and Dispatch, our two primary delivery products. This card will describe key differences between the two products.

Questions	Rails	Dispatch
What is this product?	Rails is a unified program that enables digital orders from third-party marketplaces and other external ordering sources to be transmitted directly to restaurants where Rails has been set up. Rails transmits orders from third-party marketplaces to the store POS or Expo tablet, and syndicates menu and location information from the store to the marketplace. Read more in our Rails Overview Help Center article. We call Rails delivery partners marketplaces because they are sites that allow customers to order from an array of restaurants. You can see which marketplaces we work with in this Help Center article	Dispatch allows brands to satisfy growing customer demand for food delivery without the complications of managing their own drivers or contracts with multiple delivery providers. By integrating third-party delivery couriers to their native online orders, Dispatch helps brands grow customer loyalty while opening new revenue channels through a direct digital experience. Read more in our Dispatch Overview Help Center article. We call Dispatch delivery partners DSPs (delivery service providers) because they provide delivery as a service to the restaurants for a per-order fee. You can see which DSPs we work with in this Help Center article.
How to request and process refunds?	Since orders originate on the marketplace, refunds have to be requested directly from the marketplace where the customer placed the order. Orders are submitted as 'prepaid' to Olo. Since there are no payments processing on our side, we are unable to manage refunds. If a customer calls to complain, the brand should follow the support protocol the marketplace has in place. This can often be found in the marketplace dashboard or tablet.	For Dispatch, we ask that our brands use the "Report a Dispatch Issue" to request reimbursement from the DSP. Requests for refunds should be submitted by the brand via a support ticket in the dashboard. If the brand has the Quick Ticket feature enabled, a support ticket may be created automatically; however, for this to occur, the DSP cancellation reason must be one of the following reasons: DSPOtherReason, DriverFailure, ServiceOverCommitted, IncompatibleDeliveryMode.
Who controls delivery?	For Rails orders, marketplaces generally control the delivery variables including fees and serviceable areas.	For Dispatch orders, the restaurant brand controls the delivery variables including fees and serviceable areas in partnership with the DSP. For fees, the DSP will submit a "bid" with a cost to deliver. The brand can then decide whether to accept the bid and how much of that fee to pass along to the customer. For serviceable areas, the brand primarily decides the areas they would like to service, but they must also work with a DSP willing to service that area as well.
Who owns customer support?	In most cases, customers will need to go through the marketplace to get support on the order they placed. As the merchant of record, the marketplace will be able to help the customer with adjustments, refunds, and driver or delivery issues. If a store needs support with adjustments, refunds, and driver or delivery issues, they should contact the marketplace as well. For support around errors or failures, the store can reach submit a ticket with Olo support.	For Dispatch orders, stores are able to handle all order support directly through the Dashboard. Store managers with Dashboard access can process refunds, make order adjustments, locate Dispatch Drivers, create new Dispatch requests, and create support tickets with DSPs. DSPs are involved in that troubleshooting process, but customers should contact the store first to get support. Most of our DSPs also have specialty masked numbers available to the end customer that they can call and contact should they need support.
How does the store get paid?	With Rails orders, marketplaces are responsible for the payment of orders placed on their platform. Olo does not have insight into commission rates, fees, or other charges involved in your agreement with any marketplace. For additional information on Rails, review Rails FAQ.	The payment flow for Dispatch involves multiple parties, as Olo holds agreements with DSPs directly, so there is never a need for a direct money transfer between restaurant brands and the DSPs.
How to track down drivers?	If your marketplace support sending courier status details to Olo, these details will be available on your Expo tablet or in an individual order's details within the Olo dashboard, Courier status for Rails orders.	Brands using Serve and Dispatch now automatically share a real-time map on the 'Thank You' page once checkout is completed allowing customers to track their delivery's progress. The map will appear by default providing details including the approximate time until arrival and the driver's information. Please see Dispatch Order Tracking for more information.
How to onboard new stores?	If you are completely new to Rails, reach out to your CSM and they will help get you connected with the Rails Delivery Solutions team to deploy your stores. If you have launched with a marketplace and are looking to expand, review the Rails Onboarding article for more information.	If you are completely new to Dispatch, reach out to your Deployment Manager or your CSM and they will help get you connected with the Dispatch Delivery Solutions team to deploy your stores.
How to advertise and market this?	With Rails, customer marketing or advertising is completed through the marketplace. Reach out to your marketplaces for more information on how to set up promotions, and discounts, or increase your visibility on their platform.	To better target the marketing efforts you need to first understand how customers are finding your delivery programs. While there are several important marketing channels, a brand's homepage should be the first priority. We see that social media, in-store, email, and search all play a role. When thinking about marketing collateral it’s important to use a holistic approach to make sure all aspects are covered. We’ll focus on 4 areas - homepage, email, social media, and in-store examples to help guide you as you grow your digital programs.
Who owns the customer data?	Since orders originate in the marketplace, they are the merchant of record and own customer data. In most cases, customer data shared with Olo is limited to the customer's first name and last initial.	For Dispatch orders, the brand owns the customer data because it is a direct order placed through their website. As a result, brands will have access to the customer's full name, phone number, and email address. Brands can also integrate with loyalty programs so guests can continue to earn points and rewards.
What is the cost associated with this?	There is no specific usage fee for current Olo customers to use Rails. If you are on a flat monthly fee structure, there is no charge to use Rails. If you pay a per-order transaction fee, Rails orders count toward orders processed in your agreement. Olo and marketplaces have a contractual agreement that stipulates a fee structure for the marketplace’s usage of Rails.	No commission is paid on each delivery - customers pay for their deliveries in the Dispatch model eliminating the 20-30% commission fees that the DSPs require. There is a 50-cent transactional fee per order.
How to manage delivery fees?	Delivery fees with Rails are managed on the marketplace. Refer to the marketplace on if a delivery fee can be changed or subsidized.	For Dispatch orders, DSPs charge the brand a per-order fee. The brand can use settings within Olo to set a fee ceiling and decide how much of the fee is passed along to the customer. As a result, these orders come with a lower fee to the brand. You can learn more about our fee strategies and how to set them up here.
How to tell the difference between the orders in the stores?	Olo includes Rails-specific fields on order receipts such as the name of the marketplace and the marketplace's order ID, allowing stores to determine where the order came from. Certain POSs can also be configured to use a different tender type from a traditional Olo order. You'll also be able to view marketplace details for Rails orders in Dashboard.	​From the restaurant's point of view, Dispatch orders are intended to be nearly seamless to their in-store operations - the only difference is who will be picking up the food at the counter.