The Meal Messengers

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Design a 4-slide solution in PPT/PDF with the format <TEAMNAME>

E-SUMMIT’24.
The solution should be qualitative and quantitative.
The slides must have sections including the team introduction, and
conclusion and provide short answers to the problem statement
given.
The Participants are required to submit their solution to the problem
statement associated with the case study by 7:00 PM, 19th March
2024.
The decision of the judging committee shall be final and binding in all
cases.

INTRODUCTION
DabbaExpress, a new startup, recently established its operations in
Mumbai, a metropolitan city, in the year 2015. The company currently
specializes in delivering meals from homes and a few restaurants directly
to employees, with a distinct focus on addressing the food challenges
encountered by newcomers to urban settings while prioritizing hygiene.
To enhance customer experience, they have developed an application
that allows them to interact with their customers instantly, enhancing
their online presence. As of the current year, the company employs a
total of 3000+ individuals and holds a net worth of 11.60Cr.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
The startup was inaugurated in the year 2015. It used to pick up products
(clothes, medicines, food items, and essentials) from a certain point and
deliver them to a destination, initially with their vehicles. By mid-2015,
they noticed there was no specific system for delivering home-prepared
food to offices. While companies like Zomato, and Swiggy pre-existed, they
found that Home food is far better and healthier when compared to fast
food ordered by different online platforms and saw this as a profitable
opportunity, especially with concerns about cleanliness and access to
food for those with families far away. With careful planning and
management, they gained the trust of the locals and expanded their
market presence.
By the end of 2016, the company had a strong team with around 4000+
delivery men citywide. They again experimented by collaborating with a
particular Dhaba where a significant portion of the population was relishing the
food offerings. Recognizing this as an opportunity to broaden their market
reach, they started delivering food prepared in the dhaba to the customers. The
company provided nominal rates to the Dhaba for selling food items. The
rationale behind this partnership was not only to cater to the needs of the
individuals but also to satisfy their extra food cravings. Additionally,
DabbaExpress aimed to enhance the packaging of Dhaba's cuisine for improved
presentation and convenience.

After teaming up, the startup made a profit of about 40% in a year thus growing
to 24.98Cr this year. With this success in mind, they endeavored to introduce
several essential packaged food items into their offerings, aiming to diversify
their product range and cater to a broader audience. But by the middle of 2017,
they experienced a stagnancy in profit, so they decided to try something new to
boost their business. They wanted to go digital by creating a system where
customers and DabbaExpress could stay updated about food deliveries. For
instance, customers could let them know if a meeting was running late, so they
could deliver the food at the right time. This application entered the market in
early 2018.
The integration of the interface concept proved problematic as the company
faced a multitude of specific user demands, making it challenging to address
everyone's needs concurrently. Despite an increase in user participation, the
company experienced initial financial setbacks due to efforts to accommodate
diverse delivery schedules for the same destination. Consequently,
DabbaExpess, unfortunately, resorted to reducing wages for Dhaba workers and
erroneously attributed the company's financial difficulties to the new
application. The stats shown for the situation are given below

By mid-2019, the Dhaba workers found out that only their pay had been cut,
while the DabbaExpress workers' wages stayed the same. Realizing this, the
Dhaba workers decided to cancel the agreement and take over food delivery
themselves. The DabbaExpress attempted partnerships with other restaurants
or hotels due to their prior reputation and confidence. They succeeded for a few
months, but eventually, customers began to notice loopholes in their food
quality. By the end of 2019, the company encountered significant hurdles in
restoring confidence and trust.
By March 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a nationwide
lockdown, severely restricting transportation and prompting people to work
from home. As a result, the company saw a drastic 60% reduction in its food
deliveries, with many temporary resident workers leaving Mumbai. This left the
company with only 1000 employees. During the lockdown period, the
company's sole source of business remained the packaged items it provided to
customers. However, the remaining customer base primarily depended on
occasional festivals rather than daily orders.

A NEW RIVALRY AROSE

KhanaKhazana, a well-known company from Delhi, has been delivering food for
over 50 years. They're famous for their delicious meals and dedication to
preserving cultural recipes. With a team of 3,000 to 5,000 employees and a Six
Sigma certification, they've served 100,000 Delhites. However, during the
lockdown, they struggled with outdated technology. Despite trying to update,
they fell behind competitors. But they didn't give up and adapted during the
two-year lockdown.
When markets reopened, it saw an opportunity to expand to Mumbai, aiming to
ease pressure on its Delhi operations as many workers had moved there for
work. As a result, DabbaExpress’ market experienced a significant impact when
a well-known brand entered the scene.

With the help of Mumbai locals running on time and spanning almost all of
Mumbai, Khanakhazana spread fast and acquired 30.20% of the market share,
which was now on major competing grounds with DabbaExpress at 34.56% of
the market share, the rest was shared between Zomato, UberEats, etc.

COMPETITORS OF THE DABBAEXPRESS (These Stats will be of Delhi)

Besides the competitor mentioned, there were various other online platforms
for food delivery in operation within the market. Some of the rival company's
user statistics are briefly outlined in the table provided to enhance
competitiveness and strategic planning.
DELHI
Delhi was considered to be one of the hotspots in India when it comes to fast
food delivery, a recent study revealed the true market condition of food
delivery apps and outdoor dining. The survey counted over 6.3 million of
Delhi’s’ population.

A majority of respondents (62%) prefer to order food online rather than

dine out.
A NEW DAWN
DabbaExpress had hit rock bottom but with what it had it attempted one final
time, on 24th March, 2021, the only news that was visible was DabbaExpress
bought UberEats India. This has been in progress since 2019 and it finally
reached its destination of 16.30 Cr. The deal was an all-stock- transaction. This
means that DabbaExpress did not pay the monetary prize for the deal but gave
an equal share in the company. UberEats now holds 9.99% of the share in
DabbaExpress. People trying to operate UberEats were redirected to
DabbaExpress’s page.

UberEats was third in the race for food delivery apps in India. Zomato was and
still is a huge market competitor. While Zomato receives daily orders of 1.4
million every day; DabbaExpress receives 1.2 million; whereas on the other
side, UberEats receives only 4 lakh orders per day. Successful completion of
this deal will lead to an increase in the market share of DabbaExpress up to 50-
55%. It is assumed by the experts that this deal will result in 60% of UberEats
customers switching to DabbaExpress but, there is a higher chance of
switching to Zomato

With this major partnership-cum-aquisition, DabbaExpress’s network quickly

rose to 34.70 Cr with over 27% profit in 2022.
 PROBLEM STATEMENT

As the CEO of DabbaExpress, you've faced numerous challenges,

including the departure of a key collaboration, the significant impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic on your transactions, and intense competition
from rivals. Faced with mounting losses, what strategies would you, as
the CEO, implement to safeguard your company's earnings and mitigate
further losses in the face of strong competition? What changes can they
make to their business model to generate profit and compensate for their
losses? Along with that give a brief overview of the queries mentioned
below:

How will you optimize the logistics and distribution networks to

ensure efficient and timely delivery of products in new markets
through the online interface? What strategies can we implement to
minimize costs while maximizing efficiency?

Draft a new scheme for wages if you wish to collaborate with the
Dhaba again, ensuring transparency, legitimacy, and trust with your
business partners, also comment on the current business model of
DhabbaExpress.

Develop a subscription plan to mitigate challenges encountered

amidst the lockdown

You as the owner of the company see a new giant, Khana Khazana
stepping in, deciding whether you would collaborate with it or tackle
the competitor to rule the market. In either case, how would you go
about it?