Implement Order Ready Signal

Let DoorDash know your order is ready

Overview

What is Order Ready Signal?

• Order Ready Signal (ORS) is a timestamp integration partners can share with DoorDash that captures when an order is complete and ready for pickup by the Dasher (delivery orders) or the Customer (pickup orders).
• Order Ready Signal can typically be mapped to existing signals in your integration (Order Ready button from a hardware device, or a bump from a KDS screen), we can also partner with you to develop an easy way to pass this signal.

Why Implement Order Ready Signal?

• Order Ready Signal is an easy-to-implement way to prevent late Dasher arrivals, a core Merchant pain point.
• With just a few lines of code, integration partners can leverage existing endpoints to improve the Merchant experience and increase revenue.
• If an order is ready faster than expected, Order Ready Signal acts as a trigger that immediately assigns the closest Dasher available, leading to a more efficient delivery.

Benefits

For Merchants:

• Fewer order-remakes & customer refunds: Dashers arrive on time, saving the restaurant time and money.
• Increased Sales: Partners that implemented this feature have seen an increase in order volume up to 0.2%.

For Customers:

• Faster deliveries: Dashers pickup and deliver orders more quickly.
• Better food quality: Increased customer satisfaction as food arrives fresh.

Real World Example:

A case study conducted with a top DoorDash integration partner who implemented Order Ready Signal to improve their pickup time precision resulted in:

• 6% reduction in late Dasher Arrivals
• 22 second reduction in total delivery time
• 2.3% reduction in Customer-reported food quality issues

Who Should Implement?

This feature is recommended for all restaurant partners integrated with DoorDash’s Menu and Orders APIs, including POS providers, order aggregators, and directly integrated Merchants focused on delivering a high quality online ordering and delivery experience.

Feature Requirements

Technical Requirements

• You will need to generate a JWT Auth token.
• Endpoint: PATCH https://openapi.doordash.com/marketplace/api/v1/orders/{id}/events/{event_type}
• Required components:
  • id: this value is passed from DoorDash on the order object. This is the same id field that is required to confirm the order.
  • merchant_supplied_id: this value is passed from the provider to DoorDash when the provider confirms the order. This is usually the internal POS order ID.
  • event_type: order_ready_for_pickup is the value included in the URL parameters.

Implementation Checklist

Step 1: Receive an order

Refer to the order confirmation documentation on how to receive and confirm an order.

Step 2: Notify DoorDash the order is ready

The below request should be sent to the endpoint whenever in-store operators are finished preparing the order and it is ready for pickup by the Dasher or Customer.

PATCH https://openapi.doordash.com/marketplace/api/v1/orders/{id}/events/order_ready_for_pickup

Example Payload:

{
"merchant_supplied_id": "1dfa934a-190c-43a9-b2e0-449e5b8cccde"
}

Response Status Codes

Status Code	Details
202	OK
400	Order has expired
401	Request is unauthenticated
403	Access is denied
404	Order with provided ID does not exist
429	Request is rate limited
500	Internal Server Error

Testing and Validation

1. Place a pickup test order via the developer portal

2. Confirm the test order.

3. Using the id(order) received in Step 1 and the merchant_supplied_id sent in Step 2, send an order_ready_for_pickup request to DoorDash.

4. If a 202 status response is received, the request was successfully processed by DoorDash.

5. Check that the status of the test order has updated to ‘Ready for Pickup’ in the order tracking page:

   • Before the order ready signal is received, the status should say "Preparing your order":

   • After the order ready signal is received, the status will update to “Ready for pickup”:

User Flow Recommendations

Intended Users:

• All restaurant staff that interact with an order should have permissions to mark an order ready for pickup, including:
  • Non-managerial store operators
  • Expediters
  • Cashiers
  • Line cooks
  • Managers
• Scenarios where the feature will be most valuable.
  • ORS is most valuable at the end of the cooking and bagging process to indicate the time when an order is ready to hand off to a Dasher
  • Example: Dashers arriving late → Merchant can send Order Ready Signal that will prompt DoorDash to immediately start dispatching the nearest Dasher for the order.

Optimal User Experience:

• KDS

  • Button to mark “order ready for pickup”
  • Swipe “order complete”

• Leverage existing order ready signal available in your UI

  • If the restaurant already captures this signal in the POS or KDS, use this to send the signal to DoorDash.
  • Example below:

Example Store Operator workflows

• The operator would hit “order ready” when it is packed and ready to hand off
• The operator can swipe the order off the screen once it is complete and ready to hand off
• The operator can click "yes" to close an "order complete?" pop up

Feature Rollout and Announcement

Best Practices for Announcing the Feature

• Recommend timing announcements 1 week prior to go-live date
• What to include in an announcement
  • Overview: Brief description of Order Ready Signal, include screenshots and links as available (Example: Order Ready Signal is an easy-to-implement solution that allows restaurants to mark an order as ready for pickup in real-time, increasing order efficiency.)
  • Why use Order Ready Signal: Details on the benefit of using Order Ready Signal
  • Get started with Order Ready Signal: Details on how Merchants can access the feature from their POS system
  • Additional Resources / Guidance: Include FAQs and details on how Merchants can contact support to troubleshoot

Documentation and Resources for Restaurants

• Publish a help article on your website, informing Merchants about how to use this functionality.

FAQ

• Who can I reach out to for support with implementation?
  • Reach out to DoorDash Developer Portal support.
• Are there any best practices for optimizing performance during integration?
  • If a feature already exists to mark an order as ready, it should be extended to pass that signal to DoorDash, rather than creating a net-new feature specifically for DoorDash orders.
  • If you do not have this functionality already, DoorDash can help provide guidance on best practices, if requested.
• Why is Order Ready Signal important to implement?
  • Order Ready Signal is a low lift signal that can get dashers to your customers faster. Faster delivery times lead to happier customers and customers who will return to order again. This is a low lift feature that can help boost sales and improve the customer experience.
• Do I need to reach out to DoorDash to enable this feature?
  • No, this feature should be fully self-serve. Please follow the steps in this guide.

Appendix

• How to create a JWT - More details here
• How to place a test order - More details here
• Sample order ready signal payload - More details here