Sauce’s mix of global contractors deliver a takeaway revolution

Post-pandemic, trends are shifting in the food delivery industry. Online orders have become a vital source of income for many restaurants, with third-party delivery companies stepping in to bring breakfast, lunch, and dinner right to our doorsteps.

However, many of these companies can take as much as 30% in commission from sales when the average restaurant is operating on a profit margin of around 6%.

On top of that, restaurants don’t have access to their customers’ data, while, when something goes wrong with the delivery, it’s the restaurant — not the delivery provider — that gets the bad review.

In other words, small restaurants and chains are getting the raw end of the deal.

This is something Sauce — a remote-first delivery startup — is changing. But to enact their food delivery revolution, and deliver a successful outcome for all stakeholders in the delivery chain, the company needs a flexible, global workforce.

Here’s why Sauce chose Remote to support them on this journey as they change the world — one delivery at a time.

Sauce at a glance

• Headquarters: Remote-first

• Founded: 2019

• Number of contractors with Remote: 50+ (across four continents)

• Industry: Technology

Sauce was originally founded to develop voice-ordering technology for large restaurant chains. But after a productive spell in the Coca-Cola Tech Incubator, it decided to focus on a wider industry problem: helping small restaurants sell directly to customers through social platforms, commission-free.

“Globally, 70% of restaurants are single-unit operations,” explains Li-ran Navon, Sauce’s CEO and founder. “Many of them don’t know marketing, and they don’t have in-house delivery. So they need the most help.”

Starting with a small pizza chain, Sauce developed a first-party delivery and pickup platform with direct web and social media ordering. It quickly became a hit — at every step of the delivery chain.

“Restaurants save on fees and boost their direct orders,” says Navon. “Delivery companies get more orders and reduce their acquisition and error costs. And, of course, customers pay less and get a better user experience.”

As Sauce quickly grew, though, so too did its hiring needs. And with a global customer base, it needed global talent.

Scaling remotely

From the start, Sauce knew that it wanted to scale with a contractor model.

“It wasn’t feasible to set up entities in every country we wanted to hire in,” says Navon. “And if we were to employ people, we’d either have to go with a small number of expensive hires, or cheaper hires that perhaps wouldn’t be the best fit.

“The contractor model allows us to remove static, scale flexibly, and engage the best people with the niche skills for our business.”

But to compliantly hire, onboard, and manage these contractors, it needed the support and legal expertise of a trusted partner and a comprehensive global HR platform.

One of Sauce’s investors recommended Remote, and the company hasn’t looked back since.

Working with contractors allows us to test a new market, or bring a new addition into the team quickly. We’re not stuck in a situation if we need to change focus. That agility is so important to our growth.

A win-win-win situation

According to Navon, the relationship has been a success from day one — for the company, its contractors, and its clients.

“For us, the platform saves so much time,” he says. “Without it, we wouldn’t be able to manage all the compliance paperwork internally, and remain as agile as we are today.

“That’s a huge asset for us, as non-compliance can bite hard further down the line. Remote keeps us on track and handles all our compliance obligations across the globe.”   

Remote has also helped to create and maintain a shared sense of harmony and company culture among the company’s 50+ contractors, despite the vast difference in time zones.

“We’ve experienced rapid growth and have contractors working across the US, South America, Europe, and Asia, but we all feel like one company,” adds Navon. “It’s the best combination for our needs.”

When we hire contractors via Remote, we find they’re more committed to the business than if they were hired via an agency. They value that direct relationship.

And finally, the collaboration has boosted Sauce’s product support, providing a better experience for customers.

“We can now offer local language services, which is a huge benefit over only offering support in English and Spanish,” Navon concludes. “If we didn't have the ability to bring in contractors through Remote, we’d need to hire for permanent positions at a huge expense to the business. Remote helps give us the efficiency we need.”

Productivity through simplicity

Another thing that keeps both Sauce and its contractors happy is the simplicity — and reliability — of the platform.

“It enables us to scale the business with maximum flexibility while staying compliant,” explains Navon. “We can onboard people from anywhere and start paying them instantly; we can see the numbers and do the reconciliations.

“Everything we need for running contractors remotely is in one place. It works like magic.”

This intuitive, easy-to-use approach is popular with contractors, too.

“If a contractor needs to find an invoice from three months ago, they can see it instantly in Remote,” Navon says. “They can make their own updates if their details change, rather than waiting for a member of our team to do it for them. It’s a professional platform that allows people to focus on their jobs.”

It also provides an important sense of stability. “Remote is a recognized brand that gives our contractors peace of mind,” Navon adds. “They see their colleagues using the platform and getting paid, and then they test the platform and instantly see that it’s going to make their lives much, much easier. That gives them confidence in us as a business, and reduces stress levels on all sides.”

It’s so easy to self-serve on the platform and find the answers you need at a few clicks of a button. But if we want to check something specific that’s a little more complex, we can reach out to Remote’s user happiness team, who are able to get the answers we need quickly.

Managing multiple currencies

For Navon, one of Remote’s most helpful features is the ability to pay contractors in their own currencies — without the exorbitant exchange fees.

“We have almost a dozen currencies, but we can spread payments across the world with the click of a button,” he explains.

“Each person gets their own tailor-made experience and payments in their own currency. And we only need to pay one amount in US dollars. Everyone is happy; it’s a win-win.”

What next for Sauce?

Having identified where the most help is needed, Sauce is well-positioned to continue its mission. In fact, the company is now the fastest growing restaurant order and delivery solution in the US.

“We have huge growth in our future,” says Navon. “We’re building a global team to drive our mission, and deliver results that mean so much to the restaurants we support. 

“It’s been said that overnight success takes 10 years, and we’re only halfway through. It’s amazing to see how much we’ve learned and how we’ve pivoted to serve our market with a high-value solution.”

The value and expertise of Sauce’s global contractors have played a big part in this, and will continue to do so — with Remote’s full support.

“It’s incredible to build such a global team of contractors and have everyone working together in tandem to support our mission,” Navon concludes. “Nobody else is doing what we’re doing, and we can do it by working with Remote.”

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