MSVI

TERM PROJECT ON

Presented to Ma’am Ambreen Bashir

Presented By
Muneeza Qadri
Khushbu Sher Ali
Muhammad Humas Jaffer
Abdul Rasheed
Mushkbar Shabbir

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 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
April 25th, 2020
The Course Advisor,
MSVI - Marketing Strategies and Value Innovation,
Institute of Business Management Korangi Creek, Karachi.

SUBJECT: MSVI Final Term Report

Respected Ma’am,

We feel immense pleasure in presenting to your good self, the report as part of our course requirement. We
found this report to be truly challenging in many aspects, indeed very interesting in relation to the learning
and various engrossing exercises. Writing this report was truly a comprehensive learning experience. We
have tried our level best to complete the report with respect to the desired requirements. However, if any,
explanation is required, we would be honored to oblige. Kindly accept this humble effort of bringing
forward our research and findings on the subject matter.

Yours Sincerely,
Khushbu Sher Ali
Muneeza Qadri
Muhammad Humas Jaffer
Abdul Rasheed
Mushkbar Shabbir

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, we would thank the Almighty who has guided us the way for a bright future without whose
consent, we would not have been able to accomplish this task.

Our Faculty/Supervisor Ma’am Ambreen Bashir helped us a lot in the preparation of this report. She has
always been full of energy and willing to teach us the concepts about strategies and innovation with her
theoretical knowledge and practical experiences and examples.

We would also like to appreciate the co-operation we got from our classmates at IoBM (Institute of
Business Management), which boosted our moral and encouraged us to strive for better results. We are
also thankful to those who have directly and indirectly cooperated with us throughout the project.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Industry Scenario .................................................................................................................................. 5
Idea behind Launch of SWVL .............................................................................................................. 6
About SWVL ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Competitors of SWVL ........................................................................................................................... 8
Strategic Approach.............................................................................................................................. 10
Visual Awakening ................................................................................................................................ 11
As-Is Strategy .................................................................................................................................... 11
Visual Exploration ............................................................................................................................... 12
Analysis of Responses ....................................................................................................................... 12
Buyer Utility Map.............................................................................................................................. 13
Price Corridor of Masses.................................................................................................................... 18
Six Path Framework .......................................................................................................................... 20
ERRC Grid ........................................................................................................................................ 22
Three Propositions ............................................................................................................................. 23
Three Tiers of Non Customers ........................................................................................................... 24
Visual Strategy Fair ............................................................................................................................ 26
To-Be Strategy .................................................................................................................................. 26
Visual Communication ........................................................................................................................ 27
BOS Sequence ................................................................................................................................... 27
Three Factors of Strategy ................................................................................................................... 28
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 29
Annexure ............................................................................................................................................. 30

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S
WVL is a newly launched ride hailing service in Pakistan. This study shows that how SWVL it
pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new market space in the Pakistan among the other
competitors and how it created a demand for the consumers. It started with an observation turning
into a realization, too many cars on the streets, wasting our limited resources: time, space and money. We
had to question why we depend so much on our cars. And what are the consequent pains of moving around
the city? Rush hours, traffic, terrible driving habits and unavailability of parking spots came rushing through
our minds in addition to the pain of high cost of on-demand services. And this way SWVL launched with
a motto i.e. every day time, comfort and money matters.

INDUSTRY SCENARIO
Commuters in Pakistan were most likely to suffer from the rundown state of transportation. There was no
effective mass transit system to accommodate the continuously rising number of commuters. The majority
of the existing transport infrastructure seems to be falling apart. Karachi, for instance, still runs buses that
are decades old and in a wretched condition; other smaller buses are drastically reduced in numbers.
Commuters are slowly running out of options for decent intra- and inter-city travel. The safety issue was
there for all the females as it was threatening.
Every single day there would be strikes by the transporters and transportation would stop, due to this people
had to suffer for their day to day activities. One of the seats allotted for ladies in the buses is situated too
close to the driver’s seat, which most women often hesitate to occupy. Efficiency of one’s also deteriorates
due to a daily exhaustive commute to their long routes. The waiting could be long and tiring for the
consumers at the Bus Stops as there was no schedule for the arrival of the buses. People were hesitant to
travel in Rickshaw and chingchis due to the law and order situation. There was a dire need to work on
public transport; taking it to a level where every person, regardless of the class he or she belongs to, could
and would want to travel in public transport.
The problems faced by the consumers commuting through public transport earlier are mentioned hereunder:
 Experienced long wait a transfer stop.
 Ran to stop but the bus pulled away.
 Frequent Accidents due to over speeding or competition among the drivers.
 Public Transport Inadequacy.
 Flexibility and Convenience Issues

Careem also launched with an idea to resolve several reasons; the first is the fact that Pakistan is severely
underserviced when it comes to public transport and establishing Careem in Pakistan, their technology is
‘Made in Pakistan’, so it is only fair that their people should benefit from it. However, it is important to
remember that Careem is a platform, not a service provider; ride hailers and providers connect with each
other using our technology, but that does not make us a transport company. But Careem works in other
platforms such as delivery etc.

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 IDEA BEHIND THE LAUNCH OF SWVL
The recent increases in the petroleum prices, however, have meant a huge spike in the prices of services
like Uber and Careem, and in the sheer cost of owning a car. This alongside the fact that public
transportation in Pakistan is not the most user-friendly thing in the world- has come to mean that Pakistan
truly have safe limited options when it comes to transportation.
This also means that cheap and user-friendly forms of transportation are definitely a service in demand.
Seeing this, SWVL‘s decided to start a new application transforming Pakistan’s transportation landscape;
by providing a much cheaper alternative to private transportation, and a much cleaner and user-friendly
alternative to public transportation.

ABOUT SWVL
 Introduction to SWVL
SWVL is an Egyptian bus transportation network company based in Cairo, with operations in more than
five countries. It operates buses along fixed routes and allows customers to reserve and pay for them using
an app. In July 2019, it expanded its operations to Pakistan, starting with Lahore. In September, it expanded
its operations to Karachi, and Islamabad. The company announced that it has plans to invest $25 million in
Pakistan. Swvl is not just a mean to facilitate commuting, but a hunger to strive for solutions, encourage
the contribution of youth in innovation and inspire change.
It was founded in April 2017 by Mostafa Kandil.

 Company’s Mission
Swvl was founded in 2017 with a mission to reinvent and build the mass transit system of the developing
world. Swvl, present in Pakistan, aims to revolutionize the mass transportation scene by providing a
technology-based alternative to public transportation, and helping people to commute with ease and
comfort. The company operates on fixed routes with customers boarding the buses from specific pick-up
spots to be dropped off at their preferred stations. Swvl has undertaken the responsibility to deliver a
reliable, comfortable, and safe service to customers and is looking forward to serving the people of Pakistan
for the years to come!

 Target Audience
SWVL target market consists of young individuals who value comfort and reliability while being
financially prudent, young boys and girls are always on the go and want a new-age, efficient mode of travel.
1. Students
2. Employees
3. Carpoolers

The service is not just targeting previous ride-hailing users but creating options for a large chunk of the
Pakistani population who could previously not afford to use ride-hailing services. They offer a transport
service at a price cheaper than rickshaws, cars, taxis or other ride-hailing services.

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  SWVL’s Strategy
1. Quality of service: Swvl aims to continue to provide high quality transport solutions to the people of
Pakistan, which consists of comfortable air-conditioned vehicles, on time departure and arrival and in
ride insurance coverage for our passengers.
2. Long term focus: A key reason for mass transit services not flourishing in Pakistan has been the
sustainability of the initiatives. Swvl is here to change the way Pakistan moves for the long term and to
achieve this, it is important for fares to be in line with costs incurred. It is important to note that our
transport partners provide assets that need to make a minimum return on investment for it to be a viable
business for them.

SWVL’s business strategy stems from a social cause. The founder recognized day to day issues faced by
commuters. Which included; finding convenient, reliable and affordable transport modes? Also, many
commuters weren’t satisfied with the public transport provided. The founders also knew that as an
emerging or developing economy there is always a trade-off. The dilemma faced is whether to opt for
reliability which is expensive. Or choose public transport which is inexpensive but highly inconvenient.
Thus, the development of the SWVL application bridged the gap

 SWVL Empowering Women

The bus-hauling company also aims to empower women. By providing them a safe conveyance option for
travel to and fro. Thus, this venture will prove extremely beneficial as a whole. At Swvl, they make
transport work for women — and help close the gender gap. To prioritize women’s safety and stamp out
sexual harassment, they perform background checks on all their captains (drivers) and educate them on
appropriate customer behavior. As research has shown that women tend to not report harassment over
fears that they’ll be publicly shamed, we’re integrating an emergency hotline into our mobile app to make
it easier for women passengers to safely report sexual harassment. The Swvl app also features a share-my-
ride option so that women can share their movements with family members. By implementing these
safeguards, they aim to reduce the worry that women commuters can face when using public transit.

 Pricing Strategy
Compared to ride-hailing, dominated by Uber and Careem, cost savings in bus-hailing are significant. An
average Uber/Careem ride costs up to 700 rupees. But SWVL fares are as low as 100 rupees, making it
70% cheaper than ride-hailing. Bus-hailing can deliver cost savings due to its relatively high passenger
volume. A 40-seater bus can accommodate 10 times the number of people as compared to a standard 4-seat
vehicle. SWVL buses run on fixed routes, which help attract more commuters, drive booking volumes, and
lower prices. Cost savings are core to our vision as we build an alternative mass transit system that is
cheaper, more reliable, and more convenient for our users.
SWVL is working on the below parameters:
1. Convenience
2. Punctuality
3. Cleanliness
4. Safety and Insurance
5. Accessibility
6. Low Cost Fare
7. Payment Method

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 8. Efficiency

 SWVL Insurance:
Safe Safari SWVL ke Saath! They provide life and accidental insurance for its passengers and captains.
For SWVL, this initiative is an integral part of a ‘think forward’ strategy and another major milestone in
its long journey towards enabling all Pakistanis to be protected under health insurance & life insurance
coverage.

COMPETITORS OF SWVL
1. Careem is the internet platform for the greater Middle East region. A pioneer
of the region's ride-hailing economy, Careem is expanding services across its
platform to include mass transportation, delivery and payments to become the
region's everyday SuperApp. Careem's mission is to simplify and improve the
lives of people and build a lasting organization that inspires. Careem was
established in July 2012, and was acquired by Uber in 2020. Careem operates
in over 100 cities across 14 countries and has created more than one million employment opportunities
in the region.
https://www.careem.com/en-ae/our-story/

2. Uber Technologies, Inc. commonly known as Uber, is an American multinational ride-hailing company
offering services that include peer-to-peer ridesharing, ride service hailing, food delivery (Uber Eats),
and a micro mobility system with electric bikes and scooters. The company is based in San Francisco
and has operations in over 785 metropolitan areas worldwide. Its platforms can be accessed via its
websites and mobile apps. In California, Uber is a public utility, and operates under the jurisdiction of
the California Public Utilities Commission. California Public Utilities Commission regulates public
utilities within its jurisdiction, including by setting rates for transportation services provided by Uber’s
“partner drivers.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uber

3. Taxis: Another very common form of transport, seen mainly at hotels and airports, are yellow taxis.
Drivers charge according to a meter located on the dashboard of the car, but fares can be negotiated if
there is no meter. The cab drivers are reliable and will take passengers to any destination required.
There are also numerous privately run services that use cars and minibuses of various types throughout
Pakistan, providing a reliable and quick means of transport. Recently, the Radio Cab was introduced in
Pakistan, which allows riders to call a toll-free number to get in touch with the closest taxi stand.

4. Auto Rickshaws: Due to increasing environmental no issues with older rickshaws, the government has
heavily invested in greener, more fuel-efficient rickshaws
Auto rickshaws are a popular method of travelling in cities and are found in almost every city and town
in Pakistan. The fare is usually negotiable before commencing a journey; however, due to the level of
pollution contributed by auto-rickshaws, the government has recently begun banning older ones and
replacing them with CNG auto rickshaws, which tend to be less noisy, form less pollutants and are
much bigger and more comfortable.

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5. Buses: Within cities, buses provide a significant role in commuting a large number of travelers from
one city to another. Recently, large CNG buses have been put onto the streets of various cities,
primarily Karachi and Lahore, and recently Islamabad, as the minivans which were originally used
were beginning to cause large traffic problems. Private yellow and white minivans have services
throughout cities in Pakistan and get commuters from one point of the city to the other at a low cost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Pakistan#Auto_rickshaws

 List of some other ride hailing players in Pakistan

Despite of these major competitors in the market, there is a list of other ride service providers in Pakistan.
Sprouting at the moment, the companies are still not even known to many. Here is the list of the companies
that are offering riding services in Pakistan:
1. Paxis: An exclusive ride hailing service drive by female, make us believe that females are not behind
the men anymore. This amazing taxi cab services is successfully operational in Pakistan featuring the
young, energetic and self sufficient women of Pakistan.

2. Gaari Pakistan: The company is working with a focus to facilitate the young generation of Pakistan,
specifically the students, young professionals and that of the blue collar employees operational in any
part of Pakistan. The mobile application for this service is easily available on Android and IOS and you
can download the application, and book your ride with any pickup point as per your ease and comfort.
You can also use a free Wi-Fi while your journey that is available in all the cars owned working for the
company.

3. Ataxi: You will not be able to find it with the name A-Taxi rather you will need to search with the name
Taxi 7×24. This app offers services just same as that of Uber or Careem however there is one issue with
the mobile application, it is a bit confusing for the beginners. Thus the customers suggest upgrading
the application so that it can be more users friendly.

4. Mlift: Came up with an aim to give a tough competition to Uber and Careem, this service is a bit
different than the two. You do not need an internet connection to hire a ride. Rather you will need to
dial 7555 and according to your location the nearby driver will reach you at your given pickup point.

5. Shahi Sawari: For those who are looking for an economical ride in Pakistan the Shahi Sawari is the best
option. It is basically a rickshaw hailing app that can be used by any person with its easy to use interface.
The services keep offering promotional packages and other perks to its loyal customers. The only reason
we don’t know much about them is that the company is not investing much into the marketing and
promotional activities.
https://smartchoice.pk/blog/2018/04/careem-vs-uber-ride-hailing-players-pakistan/

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 STRATEGIC APPROACH
There are two approaches of strategy:
1. Structuralist Approach: The structuralist view of strategy has its roots
in industries. Market structure, given by supply and demand
conditions, shapes sellers’ and buyers’ conduct, which, in turn,
determines end performance. The structuralist view (or environmental
determinism) often leads to competition-based strategic thinking.
2. Reconstructionist Approach: The reconstructionist view of strategy, on
the other hand, is built on the theory of endogenous growth and
innovation can happen endogenously.
SWVL has Reconstructionist Approach because in this strategic challenge looks different. In this
approach, managers tend to focus on value innovation rather than focus on competing value. With this
new focus in mind, firms can hope to accomplish the journey of discovery by looking systematically
across established boundaries of competition and reordering existing elements in different markets to
reconstruct them into a new market space where a new level of demand is generated

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 VISUAL AWAKENING
 As-Is Strategy Canvas
The strategy canvas allows your organization to see in one simple picture all the factors an industry
competes on and invests in, what buyers receive, and what the strategic profiles of the major players are.
It exposes just how similar the players’ strategies look to buyers and reveals how they drive the industry
toward the red ocean. Importantly, it creates a commonly owned baseline for change.
The horizontal axis on the strategy canvas captures the range of factors that an industry competes on and
invests in, while the vertical axis captures the offering level that buyers receive across all of these key
competing factors. A value curve or strategic profile is the graphic depiction of a company’s relative
performance across its industry’s factors of competition.
The below figure shows the situation of the market before SWVL. Through this we got to know that
before SWVL local transport had many problems, it was not providing proper seating arrangements with
poor service quality and if people need better quality services they had to opt for Online Cab booking
services which were quite expensive and were not affordable for many consumers for daily commute.
Local transport lacked in availability and punctuality, customers had to wait for their transport service to
arrive and even sometimes that bus/cab never arrives. Though online car booking service was catering all
these problems but again it was not suitable for everyone. To cater all these problems SWVL came up in
the market which was affordable with better quality and even providing insurance.

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 VISUAL EXPLORATION
 Analysis of Customer Response
Figure 1.1 shows the total respondents were 80, in which 70% were of age from 18-25 and 26.2% were
from 26-30 the rest were of 31-40. The respondents are millennials and mostly were the students and
employed.
Figure 1.2 shows us that how often our consumers use the public transport in which we get to know that
the respondents equally answered for daily and rarely i.e. 60% in total of these both, the rest includes weekly
usage which shows 12.5%, monthly shows 8.7% and occasionally shows 18.8% from the strata.
Figure 1.3 shows that most important factors are Time Flexibility as the respondents would like to use the
service anytime of the day, the other most important factor is cleanliness, clear fare structure as they would
not like to pay higher than the estimated fare, safety and security is utmost concern for the respondents
whether they are users or non users of the service because of the situation in the cities, easy payment method
so they don’t have to face any hassle regarding this, ride confirmation is also most important factor as many
people do face ride cancellation at the end moment. Price, discounts, availability is the most important
factor for most of the respondents. The other factors like Stops, Seating Arrangements, condition of vehicles
are important but not as much as the above parameters discussed.
Figure 1.4 shows the Customers who are users and non users. And reasons of not using SWVL.45% are the
users and 55% are the non users of SWVL. The reason for not using SWVL is that 52.3% have their own
vehicle, 25% says that the stops are not in their vicinity or close by and the rest mentioned that they either
ride with their family or friends.
Figure 1.5 shows that before SWVL, 34.1% of the respondents said they were using Careem, 29.5% were
using own vehicle, 18.2% were using Uber, and 9.1% said Bykea. The rest said airlift and Cab.
And when asked about their experience with SWVL, majority said somewhat satisfied in the percentage of
41.7%, 36.1% said that they were very satisfied and 13.9% were neutral. Few said they were not satisfied
with the service.
Figure 1.6 shows that the 83.3% of the users says that SWVL service is available in the areas where they
live but rest says that the service is not available in their areas which include the places like Soldier Bazaar,
Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Sakhi Hassan Chowrangi. Which means in majority of the areas the areas service is
available but the SWVL needs to increase their stopovers in these areas so that the users can be increased.
Figure 1.7 shows ease to find the SWVL stop that 52.8% Agree, 16.7% strongly agree, 16.7% are neutral.
The rest lies in the disagreement and the reason could be of the service unavailability or the stops are not
near to their vicinity as discussed in the aforementioned lines.
All three graphs in Figure 1.8 are inter-related, as the majority of the respondents said that the ride always
arrive on time and the timetable of rides are error free which means the timing slots mentioned for the rides
are accurate and if there is any change in the schedule or the ride is a bit late or the price will vary or change,
this is informed to them before hand. But minor chunk from the respondents said that they disagree to the
fact and they have faced the situation vice versa to the agreed ones.
Consumers are first priority for any Company, and their experience counts the most to retain them. In the
figure 1.9, it indicates that majority says that comfortable rides, customer service would have made their

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experience better. But the rest responded with user friendly app, punctuality, safety and Insurance of
riders. Also majority of them says that they feel safe whenever they ride with SWVL.
The figure 2.0 shows the importance of knowing why the consumer would use the service of a newly
launched startup and having strong competitors in the market. Here is the answer that 52.8% of the users
will use the service for convenience and 19.4% because of the pricing factor as SWVL pricing strategy is
cheaper than its other competitors. The other reasons include safety, accessibility and punctuality.

 Buyer Utility Map

Buyer utility map is a tool from the Blue Ocean Strategy that allows you to visually map out the entire
buyer’s journey against certain criteria.
It’s composed of two axis: along the horizontal axis is the buyer experience cycle, and the along the
vertical axis are the utility levers.
The biggest benefit of using this tool is after completing the buyer utility map for your product/service,
you will easily see areas where the industry is focusing on — and ignoring, which you can capitalize on.
There are two dimensions in the buyer utility map: buyer experience cycle and the utility levers.

Buyer Experience Cycle

The Buyer Experience Cycle is “a buyer’s experience can usually be broken into a cycle of six stages,
running more or less sequentially from purchase to disposal.”
These six stages are as follows:
1. Purchase
 What are the requirements to purchase a solution?

2. Delivery
 How difficult or easy is it to get the product delivered or installed?

3. Use
 Is the service easy to store when not in use?

4. Supplements
 Do you need other products and services to make this service work?

5. Maintenance
 How difficult or easy is it to maintain the service?

6. Disposal

How difficult or easy is it to stop using the product or dispose of aspects of it?

Utility Levers
The Utility Levers are “the ways in which companies unlock utility for their customers.”
These levers are as follows:

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 1. Customer Productivity
 What are the biggest current blocks to productivity of the users of the service? Anything to do
with efficiency, less time or effort and/or money spent.

2. Simplicity
 Are there ways to simplify the use of the service? Eliminating complexity or hassle.

3. Convenience
 Are their obstacles to the convenience of the application?

4. Risk
 Are their ways to reduce the risk of the purchase or to enhance the image of the user? Risks
include financial, physical, emotional.

5. Fun and Image

 Are their ways to increase the fun in the product or service or to enhance the image?

6. Environmental Friendliness
 This is about green matters. Are their ways to protect environment while using the service?
Most often, products/services are full of “fluff” that consumers don’t care about. This is backed by the
fact that most companies fail because they don’t have a product-market fit. Meaning, what they created
was technologically innovative but doesn’t add real value to consumers.
Remember, value innovation is not the same as technology innovation. To get around this trap, is to create
the strategic profile that passes the initial test of effective strategy i.e being focused, being divergent and
having a compelling tagline that speaks to buyers. As we discussed above, SWVL has done this now
SWVL is ready to assess where and how their service will change the perspective of users, based on the
way a service is developed becomes less function of its technical possibilities and more a function of its
utility to buyers.
For understanding and outlining all the levers SWVL can pull to deliver exceptional utility as well as
various buyer experiences. This map (figure ) will allow SWVL to identify the blanked or unfocused
range of utility spaces that can be filled. Let’s look at the Buyer Utility map pointing Industry Standard.

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 BUYER UTILITY MAP OF INDUSTRY
(Local Transport)
The Six Stages of the Buyer Experience Cycle

Purchase Delivery Use Supplements Maintenance Disposal

Customer
Productivity c
Simplicity c
c
Convenience

Risk

Fun and Image

Environmental
Friendliness

BUYER UTILITY MAP OF INDUSTRY

(Online Cab Booking)

The Six Stages of the Buyer Experience Cycle

Purchase Delivery Use Supplements Maintenance Disposal

Customer
Productivity c
Simplicity
c c
Convenience c
c
Risk c

Fun and Image

c c
Environmental c c
Friendliness

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From the map above, you can see the areas along the Buyer Experience where the industry is focusing on.
And if you look at other cells in the map, you’d see there were a lot of areas improvements to be made
and a lot more where the industry is choosing to ignore.
So as taking in view our two competitors first is Local Transport and second is Online Cab Booking. Lets
make a Buyer Utility Map of SWVL vs Local Transport first:

BUYER UTILITY MAP OF SWVL

(SWVL VS LOCAL TRASNPORT)
The Six Stages of the Buyer Experience Cycle

Purchase Delivery Use Supplements Maintenance Disposal

Customer
Productivity
Simplicity

Convenience

Risk

Fun and Image

Environmental
Friendliness

As per first buyer experience “Purchase”, SWVL has simplified the process of availing the service and it
is most convenient to find a ride in SWVL because of its flexible ride timings.
As per second buyer experience “Delivery”, SWVL reduced risk of users waiting for their ride. They have
real time tracking service on their app, so that user doesn’t have to wait long at their stop. SWVL also
unblocked customer productivity, user gets a boarding pass which confirms their seat on bus.
As per third buyer experience “Use”, SWVL has unblocked Fun & Image. Users ride with comfort and
safely with facilities such as AC, ambience etc. Also travelling with others is much more friendly
environmentally then travelling alone in Rickshaw or Taxi
As per fourth buyer experience “Supplement”, SWVL has unblocked Customer productivity with their
user friendly app. It is more convenient to book a ride on mobile app instead of waiting for public
transport to come.
As per fifth buyer experience “Maintenance”, SWVL has unblocked Fun and Image, it is easy to maintain
the service relationship with the company through their app. SWVL also tries to deliver one-month free
ride offer to maintain their image in the eyes of their users.

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As per sixth buyer experience, SWVL has unblocked convenience to dispose of their service. If user
wants to end their experience with SWVL, they just need to unsubscribe or uninstall the app. There is no
difficult procedures to get rid of it.

BUYER UTILITY MAP OF SWVL

(SWVL VS ONLINE BOOKING CAB)
The Six Stages of the Buyer Experience Cycle

Purchase Delivery Use Supplements Maintenance Disposal

Customer
Productivity
Simplicity

Convenience

Risk
Reduction
Fun and Image

Environmental
Friendliness

As per first buyer experience “Purchase”, SWVL has given more flexible timings of rides to choose in
low price.
As per second buyer experience “Delivery”, SWVL reduced risk of users waiting for their ride. The users
can reach their 2 minutes before and no waiting charges will be applied. SWVL also unblocked
convenient, user knows the ride schedule, doesn’t have to wait for driver to complete their ride. Also if
SWVL sends another ride if because of any reason, previous driver couldn’t reach on time.
As per third buyer experience “Use”, SWVL has unblocked Risk. It is more comfortable to ride with
many others then alone. Also travelling with others is much more friendly environmentally then travelling
alone in a cab.
As per fourth buyer experience “Supplement”, SWVL has unblocked Customer productivity with their
mass transit app.
As per fifth buyer experience “Maintenance”, SWVL has unblocked Customer Productivity, it is easy to
maintain the service relationship with the company because SWVL delivers one-month free ride offer to
maintain their image in the eyes of their users.

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  Price Corridor of Masses

DIFFERENT FORM AND

DIFFERENT FORM
SAME FORM FUNCTION BUT SAME
SAME FUNCTION
OBJECTIVE

In Rs.
1000

Domestic Buses
600

Own Vehicle
400 Careem & Uber
Rickshaw & Taxi

200 Private Vans

100

50 SWVL
Bicycle
20
Local Buses Metro Buses

There are two steps in Price Corridor:

Step 1: Identify the Price Corridor of the Mass

Step 2: Specify a price level within the price corridor

First step, before setting a price, we do comparisons with the products and services our competitors are
offering with-in a same industry, but it is not enough to attract new customers. So the main challenge is to
determine a strategic price to understand the price sensitivities to attract the customers, and non-customers
as well, against the products and services offered outside the group of traditional competitors.

In the first column, same form, we do comparisons with the same nature of the products or services which
our competitors are offerings to its customers. In case of SWVL, the competitors of SWVL w.r.t same

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nature of services are Local Buses, Metro Bus, Private Vans, and Domestic Buses. The local and Metro
Bus fares are very low and fixed based on the destination, starting from Rs. 20 to Rs. 40. In second Column,
Different form, same function, we do comparisons with different form but with same function. For SWVL,
the competitors with different form and same function are Careem, Uber, Paxi, Rickshaw, and Taxi. All
these competitors have different fare slabs, it depends upon the distance, and fares are usually in between
Rs. 300 to Rs. 700 on average. And in third column, Different form and function but same objective, we do
comparison with those competitors whose products or services are available but have very different in
nature with our products or services which we are offering, but the objective is same. Like; Bicycle and
own vehicle. All these types of transport are different from SWVL so this can make a difference, and also
the cost and consumers varies.

This approach provides a straightforward way to identify where the mass of target buyers is and
what prices these buyers are prepared to pay for the products and services they currently use. The
price bandwidth that captures the largest groups of target buyers is the price corridor of the mass.

Second step, we have to specify the price level of our product or service which we are offering, after having
price corridor of the competitors. Talking about SWVL, the service is not new in the market, so SWVL has
set their fares in low-level pricing, with starting fare of Rs. 20 to Rs. 150, and these rates are fixed, regardless
the distance travelled by a person, same fare for all. To grab the market share, SWVL has started its
campaign by giving free rides to its customers for a month and then started charging fares from Rs. 20, and
then later increase the fares slowly with the passage of time. But still it gives discounted rides to its
customers just to retain them. And also SWVL has collaborated with a company names Muhafiz, which
provides insurance to all the customers at the time they ride in SWVL. This factor is the USP for SWVL as
most of the people prefer safety and security for themselves and also for their belongings.

So SWVL has entered in a very competent way to fill the gap in the market by giving free rides to customers
and then later started charging but with very less than any other transport providing companies, and also
provide insurance to its customers (while they ride with SWVL) which no one is offering.

The price corridor of the mass not only signals the strategic pricing zone central to pulling in an
ocean of new demand but also signals how you might need to adjust your initial price estimates to
achieve this. When your offering passes the test of strategic pricing, you’re ready to move to the next
step.

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  Six Path Framework
To break from competition, an organization has to
reconstruct the market boundary which is the first and
foremost principle in creating blue ocean strategy. There
are six basic approaches to reconstruct market boundaries,
also known as Six Paths Framework. These paths
challenge the conventional approach of the organization in
strategy formulation to work within its boundaries, but
instead break out of the known boundaries. This helps
them to move out of red oceans and create blue oceans.

The six paths framework in formulating blue ocean strategy are:

Path 1: Look across Alternative Industries

In the broadest sense, a company competes not only with the other companies in its own industry but also
with companies that produce alternative products or services in other industries. In order to understand
this path, we need to identify the substitute and alternates of SWVL.
Substitutes are services that have different forms but offer the same functionality or core utility. For
example, Careem and Uber.
Alternatives are services that have different functions and forms but the same objective. For example,
Own Vehicles.
For some reasons, service provider rarely think consciously about how their customers can trade off
across alternatives. Shift in price or change in business model can elicit a response from rivals within an
industry but same strategies usually go unnoticed in alternate industries. The space between the
alternative industries provide opportunities for value innovation.
Thus by focusing on the key factors that lead users to trade across the alternative industries and by
eliminating or creating key competing factors like insurance, corporate dealers etc. SWVL created a blue
ocean of new market space.
Path 2: Look across Strategic Groups Within Industries
Strategic groups within Industries are group of organizations within an industry that pursue a similar
strategy. It is ranked on two dimensions; price and performance. Most companies focus on improving
their competition within a strategic group. No one pays much attention to what the other strategic group is
doing because they do not seem to be competing.
To create blue ocean strategy, SWVL has to understand which factors determine users’ decision to trade
up or down from one group to another. SWVL chose not to compete with only local transports or online
cab booking. Instead it provided the safety and comfort of Own Vehicles. SWVL looked for the factors
which users will trade down the travelling in own vehicle and trade up the SWVL’s service.

20
Path 3: Look across Buyer Groups
In most industries, competitors converge around a common definition of target buyer. However there are
chain of buyers who are directly or indirectly involved in buying decisions, such as:
Purchasers who pay for the service.
Actual users who use the service
Influencers who have a role to play in decision making
They may overlap but they have different definitions of value. A purchaser may be more concerned about
price than the user who is likely to be concerned about utility. SWVL has targeted their direct users who
were students, carpoolers but they also targeted employees or office going people indirectly. SWVL has
signed MoU with different organizations, like IoBM, KU. Under this agreement, SWVL will provide pick
and drop service to the institute’s employees and students. Corporate Customers are the influencers who
are playing their part in decision making of their people

Path 4: Look across Complementary Products and Service Offerings

An organization has to think about what happens before, during and after the use of service. Most of the
time, companies try to converge within the boundary of their industry. This will make them forgo the
untapped value which is hidden in complementary products and services.
Most of the users are most afraid of their safety and security in Local transport or Cab. SWVL has offered
real time track routing and also providing their customers with Insurance in collaboration with Muhafiz. If
any mishap occurs during the travel, SWVL will take care of their users. SWVL is also providing
doorstep services to the customers who are using SWVL through corporate agreement.
Path 5: Look across Functional or Emotional Appeals to Buyers
Competition in an industry tends to converge not only product and services provided but also on two
bases of appeal.
Functional Appeal refers to functional utility users receive from product or services or it is based on basic
calculation of utility and price.
Emotional Appeal refers to emotional utility users receive from product and services. The industry
competes on feelings.
In some cases, functionally oriented industries can often infuse commodity products and services with
new life by adding a dose of emotions and, in so doing, can stimulate new demand.
SWVL uses both functional and emotional appeal to trade up its service in industry. SWVL has all
functional features of its competitors and also giving a dose of emotional appeal by providing safe
environment, good ambience. SWVL is also playing part in women empowering. It is making travel safe
for them by providing an option of share my ride so that they can share their movements with their report
any complaint.

Path 6: Look across Time:

All industries subject to change due to trends that affect their businesses. To create a Blue Ocean
Strategy, managers tend to focus on projecting the trend himself. By looking across time, managers are
not predicting the future but they should talk about the insights in trends which are observable today.

21
Three principles are critical to assessing the trends across time,
1: Must be decisive to your business
2: Must be irreversible
3: Must have a clear trajectory
SWVL has realized the value of safety and security which users were finding in every service. They were
looking for security but not asking for it. SWVL provided them the solution in their mobile app. Their
mass transit app is not only a ride booking app but can also use for lodging a complaint against
harassment faced by their users while travelling.

 ERRC Grid
ELIMINATE RAISE

 Multiple payment methods.  Safety.

 Ownership of vehicles.  Availability.
 Extra seats.  Punctuality.
 Condition of vehicles.
 Flexible ride timings.
 Fixed fare structure.
 Real-time on route tracking.
 Customer Service.

REDUCE CREATE

 Price.  Mass transit app.

 Time cost.  Insurance.
 Hassle of travelling.  Boarding pass number.
 Corporate partnerships.

Since its inception, SWVL has bring some drastic changes in the industry. The ERRC grid highlighted the
cluster of business activities that SWVL has eliminate, reduce, raise and create to enter in the blue ocean.
a. Eliminate:
To segregate the service from the rest of market, the think tank at SWVL has eliminated
more than one factors including multiple payment methods such as online payments or
top-ups. With only cash payments they got the advantage of catering those customers
who aren’t tech savvy. Eliminating the ownership of vehicles brings down the
operational cost with great effect. Another point of distinction is customers will book a
seat not the entire vehicle like Careem and Uber.

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 b. Reduce:
The crucial component of success in SWVL’s case is that they target the pain point of the
masses i.e. daily commuting. Before SWVL majority of the population in Pakistan used
Domestic buses, Metro buses, and Autos for their daily travelling. These means of
transportation were few in ratio to commuters, they have to wait a lot at the bus stops.
SWVL give them the tracking option so that they can check in real time when they have
to go the stops. This function reduces the hassle of travelling and saves the valuable time of the users.
And the fare is quite reasonable as well.

c. Raise:
SWVL had found the gap in in the market and filled it perfectly. They make sure that the
physical condition of the vehicles must match the international standards. Moreover,
they offer better customer services through feedback and complaint option in the app.

d. Create:
Throughout the study it was evident that SWVL always remain one step ahead of the
competition. The app is just not the normal ride booking app but it is a mass transit app.
Users can book their seat anytime at their preferred timings, and the app issue a boarding
pass number, it also features a cancelation option without any charges. SWVL introduces
the transit insurance to cover the damages in case of any mishap such as snatching incident
or accident.
They’ve started collaborating with corporate firms, universities to provide the transportation services to
their employees and students.

 Three Propositions
1: Value
SWVL makes commute safer and more convenient by running buses on fixed
routes that users can book their seats in with the aid of an app. The bus hailing
service aims to enable women to reclaim public spaces, mobilize people and do
its part to help Pakistan move forward. It is the first start up in the mass transit
ecosystem to launch in all three metropolitan cities: Lahore, Karachi and
Islamabad.
With an aim to revolutionize public transportation in the country, SWVL also believes in supporting
startups and revolutionizing Pakistani startup ecosystem. With the influx of job creation and aid in
citizen's mobility, SWVL, albeit being a foreign startup, feels pretty much closer to home.

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2: Profit
The company generates revenue mainly through web-traffic SWVL is
ranked 273,772 among websites globally based on its 185,155 monthly web
visitors. SWVL has raised $42 million in fresh funds (Series B-2), the startup
announced in a statement from 15 major investors. SWVL uses 3 technology
products and services including Bootstrap, nginx, and Firebase. It is actively
using 11 technologies for its website. These include SPF, Google Apps for
Business, and Amazon.

3: People
Other than the administrative staff, drivers are the face of the company. SWVL
does not hire drivers on their own payroll, they have a 3 rd party contract. But
take every possible step to train them, they have a well manage screening
system of drivers. Overall it seems like SWVL is getting successful in keeping
their employees motivated through remuneration, benefits and trainings.

 Three Tiers of Non Customers

Just like any other industry, transportation
business also offers big blue ocean opportunities.
To convert this huge latent demand into real
demand in the form of thriving new customers,
SWVL had to deepen their understanding of the
pool of non-customers. . Once SWVL has gain
keen insight into who noncustomers are and how
to unlock them, they took following steps:
SWVL was able to enjoy Blue Ocean by capturing
customers from all three tiers of non-customers.
First Tier:
The first-tier non-customers are people who use public transport, metro buses and van services but are not
happy with the experience. They seek a better alternative to the conventional bus experience.
Second Tier:
The second-tier non-customers are those who don’t prefer traveling in buses and vans because they are
concern over safety and privacy or they have other reasons for rejecting buses; perhaps they perceive
online ride hailing services as suitable alternatives.
SWVL was able to capture non-customers in the first and second tiers by offering lower prices, friendly
drivers, the ability to give feedback easily, and an economical ride that is more convenient than public
transportation.

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Third Tier:
The third tier consists of every other non-customer, a rising demographic consist of people who used to
choose to go out in private vehicle in the first place. Until it was offered, they did not know that they
wanted a safe and friendly online bus experience with an easy cash transaction instead of searching a
parking space or paying valet charges.
The price point and convenience of on-demand and easy-payment are the overlapping commonalities that
has enabled SWVL to maximize customer acquisition across all tiers.

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 VISUAL STRATEGY FAIR
 To-Be Strategy
To-Be Strategy Canvas, also called Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas is a tool to see the factors which we are
offering by plotting it in a graphical form by giving numbers to each factor, and then compare it with our
competitors to check what factors we are providing to our customers which are not providing by our
competitors. This strategy canvas helps to build a competitive strategy.

In the graph above, we have compared SWVL with Local Transport and Online Cab Service (as our
competitors). As the service is not new in the market, so SWVL need to face a lot of challenges to grab
the market share. Refer to the graph, the price factor is in between from our other two competitors
because the online cab is costly for people but providing first class service, and local transport is just let it
be as it is, so lower and middle class people who commute a lot suffer in local transport because they
have no other choice, as commuting on daily routine in online cab can be costly for them, so SWVL fill
the gap and gives comfortable, luxury, and secure rides to its customers in a very justified price.
Graph of SWVL shows diverging in most of the factors, means it is a Blue Ocean Strategy Canvas for
SWVL, with comparison to its competitors. Differentiated by eliminated Multiple Payment Methods,
Ownership of Vehicles, and Extra Seats factors. And reduced Price, Time Cost, and hassle of travelling.
And raised Safety, Punctuality, Availability, Condition of Vehicle, Flexible Ride Timing, Fixed Fare
Structure, Real Time on Route Tracking, and Customer Service. And created Mass Transit App,
Corporate Partnership with companies, giving boarding pass number to make in easy for the customers
and drivers as well, and Insurance.

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 VISUAL COMMUNICATION
 BOS Sequence:
An important part of Blue Ocean Strategy for SWVL was to get the “strategic sequence right”. They has
reduced their business model risk through the sequence of buyer utility, price, cost, and adoption.

Buyer Utility

SWVL has provided exceptional utility by providing comfort,

luxury, safe and secure rides as well as insurance to their riders and
Yes their belongings. No-Rethink

Price

The fare of SWVL is quite justified in the emerging market,

starting from Rs. 20 and gradually increases up to Rs. 150 by
Yes looking the mass target market buyers. No-Rethink

Cost

SWVL is a long term project, it covers its cost by making 3rd party
agreements to transporters by cutting operational cost from their
Yes side. No-Rethink

Adoption
The main adoption hurdle for SWVL is to mark its name in
customer’s mind keeping existing competitors in mind. It was a
big challenge for SWVL to cater the market. Giving quality rides
and providing insurance makes them grabbing huge market share
Yes and a good reputation as well. No-Rethink

A Commercially Viable
Blue Ocean Idea.

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  Three Factors of Strategy

1. Focus
Every great strategy has focus and company’s strategic profile or value curve
clearly show it. SWVL emphasizes factors, like quality of service, safety and
comfortable rides. It doesn’t make extra investment in ownership of vehicles but
gives an effort in providing user friendly app and safety measures.

2. Divergence
When a company’s strategy is formed reactively as it tries to keep up with the
competition, it loses its uniqueness. The value curve of SWVL was diverging with
other competitors’. By applying the four actions of eliminating, reducing, raising,
and creating, they differentiate their profiles from the industry’s average profile.
SWVL pioneered stop to stop services with other travelers; previously industry
operated through door to door and private booking system

3. Compelling Tagline
A good strategy has a clear-cut and compelling tagline. “Don’t worry
about the trip” That’s the tagline of SWVL. A good tagline must not only
deliver a clear message but also advertise the offering truthfully. This
tagline focuses on the pain point of users. Users now don’t have to worry
about their trip, it’s all in the app.

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 CONCLUSION
Initially Commuters in Pakistan were most likely to suffer from the rundown state of transportation.
There was no effective mass transit system to accommodate the continuously rising number of
commuters. SWVL is an Egyptian bus transport network company came up with
the solution, with operations in more than five countries. It operates buses along
fixed routes and allows customers to reserve and pay for them using an app.
SWVL mainly targets employees, students, car poolers and main competitors were
local buses and online booking cabs. SWVL has Reconstructionist approach. It
unlocked all 3 tiers of non-customers efficiently, six path framework was dealt with strategic clarity.
Prices were set after accessing market scenario. Swvl generates profit mainly through web traffic.
It create insurance option, corporate partnerships and mass transit app to stay ahead of the competition.

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 ANNEXURE
 Figure 1.1

AGE PROFESSION

 Figure 1.2

30
  Figure 1.3
How important would each of the following characteristics be in your decision to use a transportation service?

Time Flexibility

Price/Charges

Availability

31
 Online Booking Services

Condition of Vehicle

Cleanliness

32
 Ride Packages/ Discounts

Safety and Security

Very Few Stops

33
 Seating Arrangement

Ride Confirmation

Clear Fare Structure

Payment Method

34
  Figure 1.4

 Figure 1.5

35
  Figure 1.6

 Figure 1.7

36
  Figure 1.8

The ride always arrives at the destination on time/ the timetable of the rides is error free

SWVL always inform people of change of timings of ride and price in advance.

 Figure 1.9

37
  Figure 2.0

38
  Interview Guide

1: What are your views on Pakistan’s mass transit system?

2: Before SWVL, what was industry scenario?

3: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

4: How did you get started in this industry?

5: What market research have you done before entering industry?

6: Who are your competitors?

7: How do you deal with competition? What service you’re providing to your customers which makes
you different from your competitors?

8: What benefits and perks you’re providing to your customers and employees to make them feel
motivated?

9: Why do your customers select you over your competitors?

10: What value you are providing to customers?

11: How do SWVL manage their cost because maintenance of vehicles and fuel price can cost the
company a lot?

12: Despite of charging low prices, how company is generating profit?

13: As a company, what do you think that what are key competing factors of industry?

14: How do you advertise your service?

15: Do you plan to expand your services in the global market place? If yes, how? If no, why not?

16: Where is your company standing in industry?

39
  Questionnaire

1. Your age:
 18 – 25
 26 – 30
 31 – 40
 41 – 45
 Above 45

2. Profession:
 Student
 Job
 Business personnel
 Other, please specify:_______________________________________

3. How often do you use public transport on an average?

 Daily
 Weekly
 Monthly
 Occasionally
 Rarely

4. How important would each of the following characteristics be in your decision to use a
transportation service? (1-Not Important, 2- Somewhat Important, 3- Important, 4- Very
Important)

Factors 1 2 3 4 5
Time Flexibility
Price/Charges
Availability
Online Booking Services
Condition of Vehicle
Cleanliness
Ride Packages/ Discounts
Safety and Security
Very Few Stops
Seating Arrangement
Ride Confirmation
Clear Fare Structure
Payment Method

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 5. Do you use SWVL?
 Yes
 No

6. If you do not use SWVL, why not?

 I drive my own Vehicle
 I’m not sure how to read ride schedule
 I feel that I might get lost
 There is no SWVL stop close to where I live or work
 It is too expensive
 It does not run on time
 Drivers are rude
 I ride with family and/or friends
 I fear of my safety and security
 I do not own Smart phone
 I use another transportation service, please mention: __________________

7. Before SWVL which mode of transport you used?

 Bykea
 Careem
 Uber
 Rikshaw
 Bus
 Airlift
 Cab
 Own Vehicle
 Taxi
 I use another transportation service, please mention: __________________

8. How was your experience with SWVL?

 Very Satisfied
 Somewhat Satisfied
 Neutral
 Somewhat Dissatisfied
 Very Dissatisfied

9. Is this service available in your area?

 Yes
 No
 If no, please mention your area: _______________________________

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 10. How likely are you to repeat riding with SWVL?
 Everyday
 Twice in a week
 Within 15 days
 In a month
 Never

11. What would have made your experience with SWVL better?
 Comfortable Rides
 Customer Service
 Insurance of Riders
 Punctuality
 Driver’s Behaviour
 User Friendly App
 Safety
 Cleanliness
 If other, please mention: ______________________________________

12. The ride always arrives at the destination on time.

 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree

13. The timetable of the rides is error free.

 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree

14. SWVL always inform people of change of timings of ride and price in advance.
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree

15. Customers feel safe while riding with SWVL.

 Strongly agree

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  Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree

16. It is easy to find SWVL’s stops.

 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree

17. Are you aware of insurance provided to you while you travel in SWVL ride?
 Yes
 No

18. Please rate the staff of SWVL with respect of the following aspects:

Aspects 1 2 3 4 5
Attitude towards General Public
Promptness
Knowledge of Schedules and Routes
Communication Skills
Presentation/ Body Language
Hospitality
19. Do you recommend others to use SWVL?
 Yes
 No

20. Why would you choose SWVL?

 Punctuality
 Convenience
 Pricing
 Accessibility
 Safety
 If other, please mention: ______________________________________

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 21. What improvements would you recommend?
 App preference
 Online Payment Method
 Customer Service
 Scheduled Rides (for everyday users)
 Monthly Packages
 Other (please specify):_______________________________________

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  Interview Transcribe

We interviewed Ms. Nimra Waheed who is working as marketing specialist at SWVL

What are your views on Pakistan’s mass transit system?

Ans: To this she first told us about mass transit system in other countries like they have trains and
different bus lines intracity but in Pakistan we don’t have much options to cater different segments. Local
busses are available about it has no proper seating arrangements. Later Uber and Careem came into the
market but they were quite expensive for daily route. Even government never focused on transport system
in
Before SWVL, what was industry scenario?

Ans: Mass transit is very chaotic in under developing countries such as Pakistan. Transport industry is not
much profitable either it’s ride hailing or bus hailing because in this industry here people do compromise
their comforts to pay less amount which means even people don’t want to invest much neither our
government. Private funding can not sustain for longer period of time if they continue to provide lower
prices. Even government likewise has invested in metro in few cities of Pakistan it will take many years
for them to get returns and is considered dead investment. Same as Careem Uber has not attain much
profits due to these reasons.
Background
In Pakistan we have different categories of transport

 Mini buss/local busses which are on the bottom line and many people such as daily wage workers
travel through it.
 Metro busses in Lahore and few other cities of Punjab, Pakistan.
 Private entities such as a driver who is his own boss and give rides to people on daily basis and
charge them monthly.
 Careem and Uber
 Vehicle owners.

But in the mix we don’t have any solution available due to uncertainty as we have no fixed bus timings,
etc.
How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

Ans: Looking at the above mentioned scenarios they came up with the idea of Bus hailing for mass transit
which is profitable and why not try it and see if its profitable though it’s a vast dream which is not even
attainable in other countries such as USA. They had to spend in it in which even government is not
willing invest.
Secondly due to high uncertainty of local transport they came up with SWVL and it was the big
motivation for SWVL which offers fixed routes and timings booked through their apps.

Why do your customers select you over your competitors and what are your strategies? In
which you can differentiate yourself from your competitor such as Airlift.

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Ans: Customer is the heart of SWVL and their customer service department is their key department and
they work in best possible way to enhance customer experience and solving their problems quickly. Other
way is that Airlift does not have cash option, in Pakistan people are still using cash so fully cashless
economy cannot be in Pakistan this is what has given direct advantage to SWVL. As people does not
want to tie up their money and in this industry people does not opt for credit much.
The other thing is that they have fix lines which is much appreciated by people as well. SWVL is
providing solutions to those who has fixed routines like going to office or university but if you are going
for leisure then SWVL is not for you. But SWVL is branching out in other categories which will make
SWVL accessible for leisure which means like you have to travel on weekends to visit your
friends/family or have to go to beach so SWVL has many routes within the city for that as well which will
be benefitcial in future as well.
Airlift was providing promotional free rides and after that they were charging us per KM but
when SWVL came it has first 2 3 mins ride free of cost but after that they were charging Rs. 20
regardless of KM and gradually increased your price. So, despite of charging low prices, how
company is generating profit?

Ans: SWVL did not go for distanced based although they had option of it but they had round based
pricing for eg one has to go from Gulshan to Clifton he has to pay only Rs. 20 even if he changes his
mind that want ta drop off at Shahra-e-Faisal still the price will remain same. Initially every Company
which comes up offer lowest fares to attract customers like Careem did initially. Here she gave her
example that in her university days when Careem came up they were offering free rides and huge
discounts which makes them used to of Careem and when prices are increased you end up paying that
much because you are used to it and you justify that price. Same as what SWVL did they offered
subsidized price initially and gradually increased it because in the end they also have to earn profit and
they are not public transport, but they are a bit on premium category. The price they’re offering is what a
middlemen can afford because in Pakistan middle class people has high percentage. Same as initially
SWVL offered 50 free rides and with time it reduced because they have to earn profit and in this industry
its hard to be profitable like Careem and Uber are still struggling because they have created mental barrier
by giving so many discount /promos initially and now people are reluctant to pay new prices. Therefore,
SWVL had to break in consumers mind very quickly before they create mental barrier.
Thus, SWVL fare is based on average costing including distance, overheads and fuel consumption which
helps them to earn profit. They raised their prices to average distance based and prices were shown to
customers such as Rs.150,100 or 200 and on that they used to give discounts so that people should know
that these are the actual prices and are prepared to pay these prices as well. But again they have retain
their customers. Whenever company comes up with the promo they look at customer’s stickiness same is
this what SWVL did to look how many people are still their customers after increasing the price and then
give promo to look how many customers are returned to them. This is kind of push and pull strategy but
they will keep their actual prices at certain point. This is how they phase out.
How do SWVL manage their cost because maintenance of vehicles and fuel price can cost the
company a lot?

Ans: They make sure of cost perceived means cost of one person travelling in their vehicle and in that
they include all the cost such as fuel, vendor payments, etc and then find out ways to cut that cost much
further. Earlier it was getting supply on board now it’s about optimizing that supply. For suppose they cut

46
cost by giving routes to the drivers from where they are currently residing so that they can cut fuel cost
and save dead fuel.
Therefore, one is optimization model which they try to run. Secondly, they do not compromise on
performance and they even pay captains on their good performance. One thing which really helps startups
is basically funding but you have to use it in most optimum way because initially they are many fixed
costs and you have to spend on campaigns as well later on you try to get return on every single thing you
have done therefore everything has to be super optimized and avoid fuel burning, set proper routes and in
this way you determine that how much will be your cost perceived and how much will be your profit at
the end of the day. The more you lower your cost more profitable is it like from single vendors taking
many cars.
What benefits and perks you’re providing to your customers and employees to make them feel
Motivated and how you are paying to your Bus drivers is it fixed percentage share they get or
what?

Ans: Here she replied that it somewhat is the same as compared to other competitors. They have a middle
men who has many busses and drivers because it’s a huge investment and involves risk so basically their
busses are outsourced through these vendors and SWVL have direct contact with them. Therefore, SWVL
does not directly pays to captain, they pay to vendors and then vendors pay captains (drivers). But they
take entire ownership of captains and provide them training and everything; vendors only provide
authorization of them. Bonuses also goes through SWVL
What value you are providing to customers?

Ans: Providing solution and customer service level. Their model is fixed from stops to stops known as
stations. They take constant feedback from customers and the big problem for customers was to walk
from home to the stations therefore, they increased their stops and their goal is that t provide everyone
with stop which is only 5 mins walk away. Therefore their target is to provide convenience to its
customers. Secondly, bus environment really matters and bus reaching on time, if time is 9.am the bus
will leave stop at 9 a.m after informing customers who has missed the bus.
Few people had problem that bus never arrives on time or it never stops at the given stations so
how did SWVL cater these problems?

Ans: They made certain SOPs that Bus will wait maximum for 3 mins and then leave because it will
effect the other customers timings. In case if bus is very late, the have the data of every customer who was
supposed to travel on it then they send their backup cars which are placed in different areas of city to cater
such situations so that customer experience is not compromised.
What Value you are providing to your employees?

Ans: Providing them motivation as it’s a new company everyone here feels like co-founders. Here is short
hierarchy and growth chances which motivates employees. Environment really matters here everyone
motivates each other to go for work. Also they key driver is here employees are with same intellectual
mindset and it’s a good team.
Most of your customers are the office goers and students and they have to book the rides of
each day separately so are you planning to come up with such feature in which such customers
can book rides for the whole week/month at once?

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Ans: they were figuring out on this but they are working on pricing strategies that’s why they have not
finalized this as of yet. What if customer books the ride for entire month at price of Rs.150 per ride and
they pay full amount according to the number of rides and days and in then between SWVL comes up
with promo so that would be unfair for them who has booked for a month at full price. Also they do not
want their customers to pay much that’s why they have limited to maximum 3 days.
But they are working with different companies in corporate sector which only caters to them e.g buses are
allotted to HBL which will only cater to HBL employees and SWVL thinks it’s the better model to work
with. Even IoBM is also availing this facility of SWVL.
As a company, what do you think that what are key competing factors of industry?

Ans: Except price the other factor is “comfort” which transport industry in Pakistan does not provide
much so we are always trying to improve it like AC in cars and cleanliness and if they find out any car is
not providing up to the mark comfort or cleanliness then they gave warning to their captains. They are
much focused on maintenance and all these things should not be compromised. Here in SWVL you have
your own fixed seats, and no one is allowed to sit on it unlike other local transport services even some
private one as well.
The other thing they don’t compromised is safety they have partnered with “Muhafiz” through which
customers can contact them either through a call or app in case of an emergency such as robbery, etc.
SWVL also gave their in ride customers insurance in case something happens to them while they are on
their bus so in such situations SWVL will take care of that.
Do you think you have eliminated something which you feel that others are providing and
emphasizing much on it as they think that is important for customers?

Ans: No. I don’t think so that are any such factors because we are competing globally, but they eliminated
few things which their in-direct competitors were providing is door to door service. SWVL has eliminated
that and never thinks of providing it even unless it’s and corporate account.
What dose SWVL stand for? What is its meaning?

S W V L is not a word essentially, it’s a word to connect different people, its an access point and we have
to reach that point.
Do you plan to expand your services in the market place? Like at first Careem was ride hailing
app but now is providing delivery service out question is related to this sense.

Ans: Right now, we think we are too new for these types of services and we are only focused on our
current market place only. When company will be mature a little bit then we will think about it. As far as
delivery thing is considered delivery has different vehicle so we can not use our cars for this purpose
because it’s not such type of vehicle and even if we modify our vehicles for delivery this will reduce the
market value of vehicle and other factors ass well so it has completely different model in which we are
currently not focusing on.
How do you advertise your service?

Ans: Initial people never thought that this kind of service can be very easy to use and it’s not even
something new. Our first campaign was introductory city campaign in which they show their busses to

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people so that people can recognize it and can see actual product. After that shadi season was coming so
they did mini Shaadi Campaign in which provide busses for events.
Other campaigns were also lined up but due to Corona Virus all of them are on hold till the situation gets
better. But the main platform for advertising is digital platform for them.
They first have to make their people aware of this service, attract them to download their app and use it.
So on social media they have uploaded small clip on their brand which has basic introduction to spread
awareness. Secondly to download the app they have advertised on different websites/app such as
Instagram, YouTube etc. Once the app is downloaded user will automatically receives
prompts/notifications about the discount on their first ride, etc.
As you said that SWVL also cater to people who wants to book ride for their events but SWVL
follows fixed routes and fixed timing only. Secondly, event are 3 4 hours long so how your
driver manages also this because this might increase your other costs such as fuel? so how do
you include all this in price?

Ans: Here the pricing are different and supplies too is different than which we regularly use. So we do its
separate calculation, there is separate feature of Events in our apps which can be used or if someone has
special requests we also cater that through our Help feature in app and then we assess it closely and look
if it can be cater on that day with the same bus or have to get another one. Like Monday is very busy day,
if one wants such service on Mondays it will be costly as compared to other days.
How will you deal with competition in future like Careem is also planning to come up with
Careem bus? So how will you gain market share?

Ans: Market is divided into two types of customers one is who are just focused on price and other are
stick to the routes. For suppose if Careem launches their app and initially will charge Rs. 1 only then
many customers will move to Careem but it will not cater all the same routes which we are offering. So
business model of all three will be different.
But they are loyal to the brand and dose not wants to change because they are fully satisfied, and their
preference will not change if any other competitor comes up. So you target every type of customer
through separate strategies. Like giving free rides, retention promos, etc. therefore, we will retain those
who has higher value who takes on more rides with SWVL so this is who it will work.

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