Introduction
The company under consideration, StuffUNeed, is one of the businesses, which managed to survive during the COVID-19 crisis. They successfully reorganized their principal operations by starting to provide online shop and delivery services, while their current efficiency remains dubious. Therefore, it is vital to analyze its internal situation alongside the position on the market and its conditions to demonstrate the outcomes of the performed change.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths. The strengths of StuffUNeed are primarily related to their impact on partners and their offers. They provide a wide range of products as per the demand during the pandemic delivered within two days and supports restaurant owners while offering employment to event drivers and hospitality staff (“About us, “n.d.). In other words, they successfully address the same needs as the big companies in the sector of food and drinks and thereby improve their reputation among entrepreneurs.
Weaknesses. Meanwhile, there are particular weaknesses hindering the development of the business. They are mostly connected to the lack of mobile apps and the limited delivery zone defined by the small scope of operations at the current stage (“About us,” n.d.). Hence, they cannot compare with technologically advanced companies as Flipdish delivery (Cleary, 2020; see Appendix A). As a result, further promotion of the services is complicated by the impossibility of competing with more convenient options.
Opportunities. The opportunities for the business are presented by the possibility to ensure gradual expansion in the future. Thus, the ongoing process of finding new partners, diversifying their offers, and covering more delivery zones alongside continuously hiring new personnel can boost profitability (“About us,” n.d.; McGowran, 2020). The successful outcomes of these processes allow assuming the future growth of the company regarding the delivery of products from local manufacturers.
Threats. At last, the threats for StuffUNeed are related to the market conditions implying severe competition. At present, the website’s offers are not more attractive than the ones of FoodCloud or Deliveroo, and these enterprises’ image among restaurants is better (Finn, 2020; Cleary, 2020). In addition, the changing market conditions might lead to the lack of demand for their services after the pandemic, and it is unclear if the company is capable of timely readjusting operations.
SWOT Analysis Summary
Inbound Logistics
The inbound logistics of StuffUNeed are connected to the drivers delivering the foods and other products in different areas of Dublin. They pick up the orders from restaurants after the confirmation from customers via the website and transport them to their places of residence (“About us,” n.d.). The value of the offers is created through a partnership with the most popular catering establishments in the city, which are available during the pandemic.
Operations
The principal operations of StuffUNeed are limited by a specific number of locations for which the delivery is available. They imply the participation in the Dublin market of foods and drinks while providing goods from different suppliers and producers only in the south of the city (“About us,” n.d.). Therefore, geographic restrictions define the scope of the business and its opportunities for further growth in the context of increasing competition.
Outbound Logistics
In the case of the company under consideration, the only intermediaries in the process of rendering services are restaurants, cafes, and supermarket chains. Since StuffUNeed does not produce any goods, their business is solely related to the realization of already existing products (“About us,” n.d.). This circumstance limits their capability to the performance of the specified task and the assistance to facilities in distributing their foods and other offers.
Marketing and Sales
The company’s participation in the marketing activity is limited to the promotion of existing products and their realization for receiving greater profits. Its activity is oriented on finding partners among restaurant owners and other entrepreneurs and assisting them in selling goods via the website (Finn, 2020). This type of assistance is especially beneficial at the time of the pandemic and, consequently, explains the increasing popularity of StuffUNeed in Dublin.
Service
StuffUNeed aims at providing safe delivery of essential items, thereby attracting specific categories of citizens, mostly elderly customers. The company encourages people to stay at home while promising to ensure the required degree of convenience in terms of delivery time, the range of offered goods, and compliance with safety measures (“About us,” n.d.). As a result, buyers’ loyalty is achieved by adhering to the regulations established by authorities for everyone’s well-being.
Support Activities
The support activities of StuffUNeed reflect the needs of the time. The company hires new personnel, thereby helping people who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis and assists various manufacturers in ensuring the compliance of their distribution chains with existing rules (McGowran, 2020). Even though these operations are restricted due to the specificity of the business, which is focused solely on delivery, they contribute to the prosperity of present-day society.
Target Market
The target market of StuffUNeed is the sector of foods and drinks characterized by extreme competition. Thus, one of the main rivals of the company, Deliveroo, reports to have 64% of its sales in Dublin and is expanding its activity by cooperating with supermarket chain Aldi (Healy, 2020). Hence, the marketplace conditions imply the necessity for the business to work together with other suppliers and limits in terms of capacity for development.
Buyer Personas
The buyer personas for StuffUNeed are determined by the company’s strategic positioning regarding the prospective customers. As follows from their website, they primarily target the most vulnerable population groups in terms of the possibility of getting infected with COVID-19 and have further complications (“About us,” n.d.). Therefore, they will be mostly elderly clients and their families, while the situation can drastically change after the end of the pandemic.
Buyers Buying Cycle
The buying cycle implies visiting the website for selecting the required items, which they cannot buy offline due to the crisis, and ordering them via the platform. Once the customer paid for the order, it is being prepared by the restaurant and delivered by the company’s drivers within two days from the purchase (Jones, 2020). Afterward, the process is repeated depending on the needs of people in specific foods or other goods.
Sales Funnel
As follows from the buying cycle, the sales funnel starts with awareness of various options available online and interest in purchasing specific goods. They are evaluated through comparison of foods or other products of multiple manufacturers on the website and consequently ordered. The reevaluation comes after the delivery, and further decisions regarding the use of services of StuffUNeed are made on the basis of the products’ quality and the employees’ compliance with safety measures.
Conclusion
To summarize, the activity of StuffUNeed is defined by a number of external circumstances and internal factors. The former is presented by high competition in the market segment and its rapid growth. Meanwhile, the latter is determined by the company’s success in satisfying varying needs of customers regarding the range of options and safety. The conducted analysis demonstrated its limited capability in development, while stable and slow growth is ensured. The situation can change after the pandemic, but the consequences are impossible to predict at the current stage.
References
About us. (n.d.). StuffUNeed. Web.
Cleary, C. (2020). Where your takeaway comes from: Food delivery in the Covid-19 age. The Irish Times. Web.
Finn, B. (2020). Innovation in a time of crisis: How businesses are responding to Covid-19. RTE. Web.
Healy, J. (2020). Food delivery services see Covid-related surge. Irish Examiner. Web.
Jones, C. (2020). These Dublin entrepreneurs have the StuffUNeed – and they’ll get it to you quickly.DublinLive. Web.
McGowran, L. (2020). Coronavirus Ireland: New website StuffUNeed delivering essential items and grocery goods to Dubliners during COVID-19 lockdown. DublinLive. Web.