Welbilt, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a worldwide licensing partnership with Apex Supply Chain Technologies to manufacture and distribute the Flow-Thru 10,000 line of food-order pickup lockers under the company’s Merco brand.

The move brings together two leaders in the foodservice industry and broadens the solutions Merco can offer restaurant operators around the world in a rapidly changing market. The food-order pickup solution can be integrated into a restaurant’s existing digital ecosystem, providing deeper data and analytics to improve planning and efficiency.

Apex self-serve order pickup solutions have helped make food pickup easy, contactless and convenient for restaurants and their customers. The Apex Cloud platform handles millions of transactions daily while offering valuable data insights to help restaurants operate more efficiently across multiple locations.

“For more than 50 years, Merco has given leaders in the foodservice industry innovative ways to deliver quality food to its customers,” said Bill Johnson, Welbilt’s president and CEO. “Partnering with Apex gives us new ways to respond to changing demands brought on by the long-term trends towards takeout and delivery, which have accelerated during the pandemic.”

“This partnership combines our expertise in self-serve automation with Merco’s deep understanding of the industry,” said Apex CEO Mike Wills. “We will be able to offer innovative products to a broader global market by leveraging Merco’s industry-leading, global distribution network. Our companies’ dedication to providing the best solutions to the industry comes at a time when restaurant operators require innovative ways to safely deliver product without sacrificing quality.”