Submitted to: Dr. Anita T. Lal
Submitted by: Puneet Gupta FMG 23-B 231107
Acknowledgement: I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my teacher Dr. Anita T. Lal for giving me an opportunity to make this report and for her exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this report. It had been a wonderful experience making this report and it deeply added to my learning.
Puneet Gupta Date of Submission: 18-11-2014
1. Introduction: 1.1 Overview: Uber is a ridesharing service based in San Francisco. The company uses a smartphone application to connect passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire. Customers use the app to request rides and track their reserved vehicle's location. As of August 29, 2014, the service was available in 45 countries and more than 200 cities worldwide, and was valued at US$18.2 billion. Upon its inception, Uber only offered full-size luxury cars for hire, and the "UberBlack" title was adopted for the company's main service (named after the "black cars" private transportation services in New York City). In 2012 the company launched its "UberX" program, which made available to consumers smaller vehicles. Due to the lower fees that accompanied the program, the service became extremely competitive with traditional taxi services, expanding Uber's appeal to a broader cross-section of the market. 1.2 Purpose: The purpose of this report is to prepare a comparative study of UBER and its major competitors. This comprehensive study will show analysis of the differences in business strategies, their growth and approach of these companies in the industry.
The SWOT Analysis of UBER Strengths
User Experience It offers services/featuers like reliable pickup, clear pricing, cashless and convenient payment and splitting of fares, which in turn leads to an enhanced user experience.
First to the market Has a significant headstart in the areas of branding, infrastructure, and consumer trust.
Mobile platform Cabs, perhaps more than any other service, are uniquely fitted to the mobile platform because, well, they are mobile.
Mobile app design is thoughtful and user-friendly Glitches are minimal and responsiveness from servers and system itself is exceptional (crucial, given cab riders need to get somewhere fast)
Weaknesses
Standard insurance and liability questions that plague most start-ups offering services or community connections.
Lawsuits charging illegal cab practices from multiple cities including New York. Established deals between cities and taxi companies, as well as union laws associated with these, have led Uber to be drawn into court repeatedly in just its 3 year history.
Inconsistent Prices Uber has a system in place which is called surge pricing, under which uber rates increases during the busiest times.
No Cash Transactions Only payment options available are credit and debit card.
No Scheduling There is no option of pre-booking a cab.
Monetizing the idea; while there is always a proven demand for cabs, the overhead and potential legal costs required offer significant limitations to potential market cap
Opportunities
Expanding to new cities With seemingly boundless overseas markets for this service (seriously, name me a city where you can’t grab some sort of cab) helps alleviate some of the legal and overhead limitations on market potential.
Introducing Novelty services Introducing services like Uber Ice cream in other cities. Uber introduced Uber Ice Cream in London, which allows you the ability to summon one of the company’s ice cream trucks to your location. A novelty for sure, but that’s the kind of innovative thinking that draws media and social attention to your brand and also generates revenue.
Further improving customer experience by adding services like pre-booking a cab and payment through cash (in atleast developing countries like India were the banking habits are really low).
Threats
Lawsuits If a city wins one of the sweeping lawsuits against Uber for illegal cab practices, the court precedent could be damning to Uber’s entire model. Liability costs and potential risks would severely limit further growth and expansion opportunities
Increasing Competition As with any other newly created mobile-based market, competition is emerging. There are many new apps (such as Ola, taxi4sure, Meru cabs) that attempting to carve into Uber’s domain.
The SWOT Analysis of OLA Cabs Strengths
User Experience It offers services/featuers like reliable pickup, safety and clear pricing which in turn leads to an enhanced user experience.
Mobile platform Cabs, perhaps more than any other service, are uniquely fitted to the mobile platform because, well, they are mobile.
Mobile app design is thoughtful and user-friendly Glitches are minimal and responsiveness from servers and system itself is exceptional (crucial, given cab riders need to get somewhere fast)
Wide Presence It is currently present in 25 cities in India.
Payment Options Wide range of payment options such as cash, debit and credit card, mobile wallet, etc.
Scheduling There is an option of pre-booking a cab.
Weaknesses
Lack of global presence
Monetizing the idea; while there is always a proven demand for cabs, the overhead and potential legal costs required offer significant limitations to potential market cap
Opportunities
Expanding to new cities With seemingly boundless overseas markets for this service (seriously, name me a city where you can’t grab some sort of cab) helps alleviate some of the legal and overhead limitations on market potential.
Takeaways With the company’s growth and expansion continuing at an exponential rate, and with the ever-increasing possibilities for the company’s network as well as the massive international market for the idea, the future looks bright for Uber. Uber should not let potential risks and legal issues from stopping its expansion. Instead, working to establish brand recognition and trust can help build customer and public support that can shield its brand, product, or service from legal ramifications. However, getting over the goal line won’t be easy. With the amount and variety of pending litigation, as well as the continual monkey-on-the-back of overhead costs required to start a feasible cab service in each new city.
