As consumer expectations for speed and convenience continue to reshape the foodservice landscape, innovative solutions are stepping in to bridge the gap between digital ordering and real-world fulfilment. One such solution is smart food lockers – a technology transforming the order pickup experience for both operators and customers. To learn more, we spoke with Kent Savage, founder and executive chairman of Apex Order Pickup Solutions.

Can you tell us a bit about the origins of Apex and how the idea for smart food lockers came about?

Our story began over 25 years ago at Apex Supply Chain Technologies, where I patented the first industrial vending solution. A decade ago, we launched our first click-and-collect smart lockers and quickly saw the potential to revolutionise food order pickup.

That momentum led us to focus exclusively on this fast-growing market, ultimately launching a new company: Apex Order Pickup Solutions.

How do the lockers work, technically? What happens from the moment a customer places an order to the moment they retrieve it?

Most people focus on the physical item the 'locker' itself – but the real power lies in the technology behind it and elevated experience we create for each of our customers. Let’s use the Pittsburgh Zoo as an example.

• Customer places their order through an on-site kiosk.

• Food is prepped and packaged.

• Team member enters unique order ID at the back of the locker.

• Compartment lights up to show team member where to place order.

• Team member places order in compartment and presses complete.

• The customer receives a real-time notification via text that their order is ready for pickup.

• The customer enters their unique pick-up code, which opens their compartment door.

• They take their order and are on their way.

How secure are the lockers, and how do you ensure food safety – especially for temperature-sensitive items?

Our smart lockers are highly secure. Each compartment can only be opened using the unique code tied to a specific order. That means no mix-ups, no unauthorised access and no confusion at pick up.

When it comes to food safety, Apex solutions are designed for speed and visibility. Operators can customise dwell time alerts to ensure orders don’t sit too long.

Our ApexIQ technology platform provides actionable data on create-to-load times, helping teams move faster and maintain food quality. Most orders spend less than six minutes in the locker, so food stays fresh and guests get a better experience.

Are there any particular sectors or regions where you’re seeing the most demand right now?

We are seeing growth across all sectors of foodservice, as consumers today are all about speed and convenience. Students on university campuses want to mobile order and pick up quickly from a secure compartment in between classes.

Restaurants are incorporating our solution into their overall off-premises strategy. And places like airports, cinemas and zoos are utilising our solution to aid in the guest experience.

How do smart food lockers change the in-store dynamic or staffing needs for restaurants?

Smart locker solutions really change the dynamic in terms of how a restaurant operates, especially during busy times. Instead of having staff constantly running to the front to hand off orders to guests or delivery drivers, the solution handles that part.

That means teams can stay focused on what they do best, making great food and taking care of in-store/dine-in customers. You’re not pulling someone off the line every five minutes to deal with pickups.

It also makes scheduling or redistribution of resources easier. You don’t need an extra person just to manage takeout orders or chase down drivers. And the technology gives you visibility into pickup behaviour, so you can adjust staffing based on actual trends, not guesswork.

So overall, it cuts down on chaos, helps you do more with fewer people, and gives everyone – from staff to customers – a smoother experience

What’s been the biggest challenge so far in bringing this tech to market?

As with any new technology or process change, foodservice operators wanted evidence that adopting our order pickup solutions would improve customer service as well as provide measurable business benefits such as increases in revenues and operating efficiency. We needed to build a base of users to prove the ROI.

Today we’ve deployed across over 5,000 operating locations including restaurants, campuses, hospitals, airports and more, so we have both data and customer references showing how our smart locker technology is enabling faster food pickup, reducing customer lines and order mix-ups, and helping optimise staffing and overall operations. These proof points, along with the ongoing growth in takeout, are helping fuel demand for our solutions.

Are there sustainability benefits as well, like reduced packaging waste or energy efficiency?

Definitely! They reduce waste on multiple fronts. By streamlining the handoff process, our solutions help cut down on abandoned or remade orders, reducing unnecessary food waste and extra packaging.

They’re also energy-efficient, requiring no constant heating or cooling. It’s a smarter, greener way to manage high-volume order pickup. For operators looking to boost both efficiency and sustainability, they're a clear win-win.

How do you see the future of food pickup evolving?

Trends towards off-premises food order consumption and digital ordering will continue to accelerate. To better serve customers and third-party delivery drivers, streamlined order pickup will be widely implemented across all sectors. In five years, it will become the norm. It will be ubiquitous.

What's next for Apex? Are there any new features or innovations Apex is currently working on?

At the National Restaurant Show in Chicago (17-20 May), we will be launching a new modular, scalable line called the OrderHQ Array Series that enables operators to achieve the efficiencies of automated food pickup without expensive remodeling.

Compartments can be arranged horizontally or stacked vertically and can sit on a countertop, mount on a wall or be installed in a free-standing grid, accommodating the restaurant’s existing floor plan. Operators can start with a few compartments and add more at any time to meet growing mobile order demand, and affordable subscription plans eliminate the need for capital investment.

With all of these design and financial benefits, we expect the Array Series to significantly accelerate demand for our smart locker solutions.