A Sydney-based IT company has come forward with copycat claims over Domino’s Pizza’s newest driver tracking technology.
Precision Tracking alleges Domino’s Pizza modelled its new GPS tracking system on the version it originally provided the takeaway food giant on a trial basis.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises launched its GPS Driver Tracker app in May after going into partnership with Navman Wireless, saying the new technology enables customers to track pizza deliveries directly from the store to their door and improved the safety of delivery drivers.
Director and R&D manager at Precision Tracking, Vladimir Lasky, alerted SmartCompany to his concerns about the Domino’s GPS Driver Tracker technology, saying it was a “dramatic” addition to a growing list of small businesses concerned they were being ripped off by bigger businesses.
Read more: How to protect your business from copycats and what to do if you get ripped off
“Domino’s Pizza Enterprises ripped off our technology to produce their new GPS Driver Tracker, now available across Australia,” Lasky says.
“This lets customers track the journey of the delivery driver delivering their pizza in real-time, and also improves driver safety and achieves other efficiency gains.”
Lasky also provided a link to a website they created, which outlines Precision Tracking’s main complaints with the pizza franchise and includes photo comparisons showing “the clear similarity between our GPS tracking solution and Domino’s”.
The website leads readers in with the words “Have you heard about the Domino’s GPS Driver Tracker? Well, we’re the guys who invented it” before going on to allege Precision Tracking spent three years working with Domino’s on the driver tracker in 50 of its stores.
The website also includes a screenshot claiming to be from Domino’s chief executive Don Meij’s Facebook account, which Lasky states “appears to implicitly admit to cloning Precision Tracking’s existing solution”.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises provided a statement to SmartCompany that says the partnership with Navman Wireless was chosen after trialling a number of GPS suppliers for the Domino’s business.
“Throughout the initial planning stages Domino’s conducted trials and workings with a number of GPS suppliers to establish the optimal GPS tracking solution suitable to their business,” the statement reads.
“During this process Domino’s found the Navman Wireless solution to be significantly superior in all areas to any other potential supplier, including Precision Tracking.”
“The appointment of Navman Wireless as the preferred supplier was based on a number of factors, including technical capabilities, usability and price.”
While Domino’s confirmed Precision Tracking was one of the suppliers trialled and did see a trial in selected Domino’s stores, it claims Navman’s GPS solution is different to Precision Tracking’s.
“Navman’s GPS solution developed for Domino’s is in no way based on or uses the Precision Tracking solution or technology,” the statement reads.
“Navman Wireless is one of the leading providers of GPS solutions and technology in the world and they have developed their own GPS solutions and technology.
“Domino’s is proud to be at the forefront of innovation and the GPS Driver Tracker plays an important role in Domino’s vision for 2015 and beyond.”
Speaking to SmartCompany this morning, however, Lasky says he refutes Domino’s claims that Navman’s solution is different to Precision Tracking’s and says the company gave “confidential information” to Navman.
“Both Domino’s and Navman worked together to build their knockoff of our system,” he says.
He says Precision Tracking, with a staff of less than 10 people, felt “betrayed” by the fast food giant.
“Domino’s is such a big company and they could have easily afforded to buy or license our technology,” he says.
Renee Thompson is a former journalist at SmartCompany. Previously, she worked at Fairfax Media for the Bendigo Advertiser and at another regional Victorian media outlet.
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