As part of a yearslong effort to overhaul and update its tech stack, Papa Johns partnered with Deliverect, planning to deploy the restaurant technology firm’s artificial-intelligence-powered Smart Dispatch & Delivery management platform across all U.S. locations before the conclusion of 2027.
Adding Deliverect to the pizza giant’s list of tech partners enables the brand to execute all orders, through in-house drivers or third-party partners, through one system that unifies all ordering channels. In a March 18 press release, Kevin Vasconi, chief digital and technology officer at Papa Johns, described the partnership as continuing the chain’s tech-focused mission.
“As we continue to prioritize our technology evolution to deliver a better experience for our customers and our in-store team members, one key area of improvement is to optimize and simplify our delivery process,” Visconi said in a press release. “Partnering with Deliverect allows us to do exactly that.”
Deliverect serves more than 75,000 total restaurant locations globally, processing more than 30 million application programming interface calls daily and powering north of 1 billion total orders to date.
Other Papa Johns’s tech efforts thus far in 2026 included deploying a Google Cloud AI ordering assistant, which enabled text and voice ordering across mobile apps, websites, phone orders, kiosks, and in-car systems. Additionally, the brand selected PAR Technology Company’s point of sale and restaurant operations management software to anchor its next-generation in-house tech stack across all (approximately 3,200) locations by the end of next year.
Regarding the Deliverect partnership, bringing delivery operations together into a centralized platform offers Papa Johns deeper insight into the order-to-delivery lifecycle, with the aim of securing more reliable fulfillment, operational efficiency and consistent consumer experiences at scale. The tech platform looks to guide the brand toward quicker, more accurate delivery times, as well as enhanced visibility into delivery status among the consumer, in-store staff and driver.
Deliverect’s platform looks to benefit Papa Johns’s delivery operations by routing orders from first-party channels to the ideal delivery fleet. Depending on factors such as restaurant setup and real-time conditions, orders dispatches may come automatically or manually to in-house drivers, 3PD fleets or a hybrid of the two.
“Deliverect is a global leader in delivery management, and we know how critical it is to protect the customer experience,” Noah Hayes, Deliverect’s vice president, said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to partner with Papa Johns, a brand that has built a remarkable legacy in the U.S. around quality, innovation, and delivering great experiences to customers.
Additionally, Deliverect’s platform will serve as a central hub for Papa John’s in-restaurant staff, with an interface to view delivery order statuses, assign or batch deliveries, and observe driver locations, among other capabilities.
The March 18 announcement comes at a middling time for Papa Johns. With more than 6,000 locations globally, Fiscal Year 2025 proved tricky for the brand, as 226 units closed — including 87 restaurants in North America — and 279 new locations opened their doors — 96 in North America.
