Delivery men and women registered on the iFood platform can choose two models to operate in delivery: cloud and OL (acronym for Logistics Operator). OL were the subject of a long debate between Diego Barreto, vice president of strategy and finance at iFood, and delivery man Ralf MT.
In a series of interviews held on his YouTube channel, Ralf MT dedicated two videos to answering questions about OLs with Diego. OL is a company with which iFood has an intermediary contract for order deliveries.
This company arranges with delivery drivers so that they work in specific locations (such as shopping malls) and at specific times (such as those with high demand). And it is responsible for defining the work dynamics and passing on the amounts received for delivery.
OL franchise
At the beginning of the conversation, Ralf MT asks Diego if he thinks OL are “a step backwards”. The executive responds no. “OL is a job generator. If iFood doesn't have many orders in the afternoon, for example, OL can supply this [distributing orders to delivery drivers] with another company.”
Next, the influencer asks if iFood supervises OLs. “iFood does not have a legal obligation to do this, but it does monitor it. And it creates tools to try to reduce problems”, responds Diego.
He explains that iFood has a channel to receive complaints from delivery drivers regarding work at OLs and that it monitors these companies when receiving these complaints. But consider that the obligation to monitor them lies with the government.
“We cannot exempt ourselves, in any way, from monitoring what they report. We have to work with the government to improve supervision and think of more alternatives, such as OL franchising”, says Diego.
He refers to EntreGÔ, created in 2022, to improve logistics management and standardize best practices with logistics operators to increase efficiency and the potential to gain scale in these businesses. “Franchising is nothing more than replicating a standard of operation”, he adds. “It’s a test we’re doing.”
Ralf MT then asks if the franchise is a way for iFood to avoid labor actions. “iFood is now protected because it follows the law”, responds Diego. When Ralf questions whether iFood shouldn't force OLs to hire all delivery people under the CLT model, he responds: “The contract that iFood has with OL says that it has to follow the law. The state has to monitor whether or not there is a CLT.”
OL migration to the cloud
Another point raised by Ralf MT was the time it takes for delivery drivers to migrate from the OL modality to the cloud (in which they work independently).
Diego explains that the minimum migration period, currently 35 days, was created so that the OLs would not be left unattended from one moment to the next when the delivery drivers decided to switch to the cloud.
“The guy makes the decision, presses the app and opens the 35-day period. Then begins a process of exporting the profile, notifying OL so it can organize itself and bring in a new person”, explains the executive.
He states that it is necessary to have a balance so that both OLs and delivery people are served. “Over time, the migration period was reduced to meet the demand of delivery drivers. We simplified the process and created the option to upload the profile to another modality. We are going to get better and better. As? Talking, testing and evolving.”
