Introduction
Technological advancements have led to increased opportunities and the need for courier services. Organizations such as eBay and Alibaba are dependent on third parties for the delivery of their products to their clients. Although eBay positions itself as a reliable e-commerce company that meets its client’s needs, it lacks a delivery service. Therefore, many eBay clients face problems with the delivery of their ordered products. Deliveroo, having an outstanding reputation, can take advantage of the available business opportunity by selling its delivery services to eBay users.
Brand Overview
Deliveroo is one of the earliest food delivery companies that operate in European and Arab countries. The organization was founded in 2013 by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski (Zuev, Psarikidou, and Popan, 2021). Currently, Deliveroo operates in the UK, France, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait (Poelman, Thornton, and Zenk, 2020). The firm called off its operations in Germany, Taiwan, Spain, the Netherlands, and Australia due to stiff competition and internal mismanagement.
Deliveroo’s business model is platform-to-consumer since it provides delivery services to various restaurants in its countries of operation. The firm has partnered with about 160, 000 local restaurants in more than 100 cities, offering delivery services (Stallkamp and Schotter, 2019). Deliveroo has avoided the risks that come with the restaurant business, making it flexible in offering delivery services for other products (Veen, Barratt, and Goods, 2019). Its cordial relationship with the partner restaurants has led to the acquisition of more restaurants increasing the number of cities of operations as shown in figure 1.0.
Organizations can adopt either a horizontal or vertical business structure to meet their objectives. The vertical organizational structure involves a pyramid-like management structure lwith each level having a clearly defined role (Krajewski, DellaPosta, and Felmlee, 2022). Meanwhile, in the horizontal organizational structure, there is no clear definition of the roles played by different stakeholders. Deliveroo has a vertical organizational structure, and key decisions are made by the top management (Mellist, 2021). The vertical organizational structure is beneficial to Deliveroo since there is clear communication and maximum employee output.
Current Trends in Delivery Industry
Technological advancements have revolutionized the food delivery industry, making it more competitive. The integration of smart technologies has automated customer requests and payment methods (Shang and Chiu, 2022). For instance, the integration of automatic payment methods has made it easy for the delivery companies such as Deliveroo effectively charge their customers (Timko and van Melik, 2021). Furthermore, increasing environmental concerns in the transport industry have made some food delivery companies adopt green energy and transport services (Meneghetti, Dal Magro, and Romagnoli, 2021). While environmental and technological trends seem to make the industry better, the companies will have to increase their investment capital.
Market Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Deliveroo can help determine its brand positioning. Delveroo’s strengths include a broad consumer base and the integration of technology into its activities (Woodcock and Cant, 2022). The company has more than 160,000 restaurants making it sustainable in the current tech-driven generation (Pang, Shang, and Song, 2022). Additionally, Deliveroo has a dependable management structure which is key in decision-making and mitigating business risks (Rogers-Cooper, 2021). The firm’s weaknesses include stiff competition from companies such as Dominos, Just Eat, and Uber Eats. Competitors such as Uber Eats have a wider consumer base, thus, more profits than Deliveroo.
The greatest opportunity that the company can exploit is the absence of effective delivery services for e-commerce platforms supporting consumer-to-consumer transactions. Moreover, the organization’s possibility of breaking even makes it attractive to the partnership with eBay users (Rogers-Cooper, 2021). Furthermore, increasing the use of eBay for buying and selling services can be exploited (El-Ebiary and Al 2021). The major threats facing Deliveroo are the new entrants, stiff competition, and the decision by major restaurants and e-commerce service providers to establish their delivery systems (Alvarez-Palau et al., 2021). Deliveroo should maximizing on its strengths and available opportunities to remain sustainable.
Competitors’ Evaluation
Deliveroo competes with various cowponies that offer delivery services in the food industry. However, its main competitors are Uber Eats, Just Eat, and Dominos (Chen McCain et al., 2021). The competitors have various advantages compared to Deliveroo. For instance, Uber Eats has partnered with mega restaurants such as KFC to deliver service (Nellist, 2021). Additionally, the company offers other transport services besides food delivery. Furthermore, the competitors have broader consumer base since they operate in more countries than Deliveroo (Chen McCain et al., 2021). Deliveroo’s competitors seem to be more sustainable than the company due to increased sources of income.
Although the competitors have a competitive edge, Deliveroo differentiates itself from the competitors by offering services to specifically Western and Arab countries. The firm’s countries of operations have rapid technological developments. The countries are also first-world, making the business more sustainable and profitable. Moreover, Deliveroo, in its service offering, positions itself as a unique brand whose primary focus is on the end customer. Deliveroo makes its decision based on its clients’ preferences (Rogers-Cooper, 2021). Therefore, its consumer base is more loyal than that of its competitors. Consequently, the company has progressively dominated the food delivery market share as shown in figure 2.0.
Opportunity Identified
Service Proposition
Although Deliveroo is profitable, the introduction of a new service will make the business more sustainable and competitive in the market. The company’s competitors have diversified their service category, making them more profitable than Deliveroo. The introduction of a courier service will make Deliveroo more dependable by its consumer. The courier service will target consumers who purchase their products through eBay e-commerce eBay. Since eBay has a consumer-to-consumer model, the riders will take items from the sellers and deliver them to the buyers. Additionally, for international transactions, Deliveroo will play the role of taking an item from the seller and delivering it to the buyers through various modes of transportation. Deliveroo will help eBay customers avoid the tussle of constant communication with the sellers, for the delivery update. Additionally, the buyers will be helped avoid the challenges associated with customs clearance.
Current Sales Force Structure
Deliveroo has an efficient, adaptive, and effective sales force structure. Currently, the organization has an established consumer base that is loyal to the brand (Henderikx and Stoffers, 2022). Additionally, the consumer base utilizes e-commerce platforms to make online purchases such as electronics and other home items (Muszyński, Pulignano, and Marà, 2022). Deliveroo operates in developed countries in Europe, making it easy to adopt new services line (Henderikx and Stoffers, 2022). The new business venture will involve different levels of logistics structure. The targeted customers order items from other consumers within and without Europe.
A geography-based sales force structure will be significant for the new venture. The approach will allow marketing and sales activities to be carried out based on the buyers’ geographical locations (Bals and Turkulainen, 2021). The organization will recruit logistics officers in different countries, specializing to handle various products. Deliveroo’s sales force structure will include personnel such as global logistics officers, country-based logistics officers, and city-based ones. Meanwhile, the products will be categorized into three types: bulk, fragile, and non-fragile, each attracting particular delivery costs. For the customers, Deliveroo can categorize them as either impulse or loyal customer. While impulse clients are those who rarely make delivery requests, the loyal are the ones who will use the new service frequently. The sales personnel will work to convert impulse customers into loyal ones.
Key Opportunities for the Courier Service
Deliveroo has various opportunities for the establishment of the courier service. However, the three key opportunities are the availability of a broad consumer base, excellent brand reputation, and advanced technology. Deliveroo operates in many countries and has partnered with about 160, 000 restaurants (Bivona, 2022). The organization can easily influence the clients into using its new courier services. Deliveroo is a UK-based company with a brand reputation of excellence. The firm, since its foundation, has recorded increasing profits, therefore, it will be easy to attract buyers and partner companies (Cini, Maccarrone, and Tassinari, 2021).
Deliveroo has prioritized technological integration into its activities, making it ready for changing societal needs. The company’s advanced technology offers an opportunity to expand the market and its service line without hurdles (Allam et al., 2022). Deliveroo should exploit the available opportunities in the adoption of courier services.
Potential Buyer Organization: eBay
Profile and Decision-Making
eBay is one of the most successful multinational e-commerce companies. The corporation has American origin and attracts millions of customers from different parts of the world (Dang et al., 2022). eBay has an e-commerce platform that connects sellers with potential buyers. Through eBay, individuals can sell brand-new and second-hand items (Quinn et al., 2022). The platform has no restrictions on specific products to be sold. Consequently, one can purchase items ranging from machines, and electronics, to home furniture over the platform. eBay integrates B2B, business-to-consumer, and consumer-to-consumer business models.
The new business venture will target eBay users who have problems with delivering products ordered through eBay.The target buyer of the new Deliveroo courier services will be a person working at eBay, who has challenges in delivering the products to their customers. The buyer will need to have worked with eBay for more than five years. Additionally, the buyer will need to have established a good business rapport with other eBay users. Furthermore, the buyer of the new product will require to have a broad-consumer base within the UK, and with constant delivery orders.
Sales Team Recommendations
Roles
The Deliveroo sales team will play a significant role in the marketing of the new service. The team is headed by a sales manager who reports to the company’s manager (Deliveroo, 2022). Additionally, the team has sales trainers who routinely educate the existing sales’ department (TalentLMS, n.d.). The existing sales team takes up the role of advertising the new service to its potential buyers (Woodcock and Cant, 2022). The roles of the sales team will include advertising the new service to potential buyers who use eBay. Additionally, the sales team will be responsible for promoting Deliveroo’s brand reputation to various eBay users. The promotional activities will include providing brochures and posters that explain how one can order delivery services using the new Deliveroo app for eBay.
Recruitment
Although the Deliveroo sales team can take up the promotional role, the company will have to recruit additional members to explore the new business opportunity in the new countries. Recruiting productive salespersons will greatly enhance the profitability of the new business venture (Kaufmann and Kock, 2022). The company will need to recruit individuals who understand Deliveroo’s internal operations and are competent in delivery services. The Boomerang method will help the organization hire past employees who are productive and understand Deliveroo operations (Keller et al., 2020). Meanwhile, the direct advertising method will be crucial for the recruitment of new talents in new areas of operations. The Boomerang and direct advertising are recruitment methods crucial for the new venture.
Training Needed and Remuneration
The recruited salespersons will be subjected to training to gain digital marketing skills. The team will be trained on emotional intelligence skills that will help them effectively interact with the clients over the company’s platform. Moreover, the team will be subjected to marketing ethics to protect the reputation of Deliveroo. Marketing ethics are crucial for client retention and attraction of more potential ones (Bhagia, 2022). The employee performance appraisal approach will be adopted to measure the recruited individual’s productivity.
Each of the employees will have set objectives that they have to achieve after every three months. Their performance will be compared with the set objectives, and determine their retention suitability (Kusumah et al., 2021). Underperforming employees will be subjected to administrative warnings. Meanwhile, those who will excellently perform will receive incentives. Each employee will receive a monthly basic salary topped with incentives and commissions if qualified.
Conclusion
Deliveroo is one of the most successful food delivery companies operating in European and Arab countries. The company is competitive in the marketing with a record of increased profitability over the past years. Although Deliveroo is profitable, introduce courier services will make it more sustainable in the global market. The service can be sold to eBay users since the platform does not offer delivery service. The courier services will benefit eBay users and Deliveroo since they will attract more customers and meet their unique needs.
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