Quiqup Extends a One-Hour Delivery Service to Dubai, Essay Example

Abstract

In a brief time, logistics companies hope to grow their company operations to a global scale. This means capturing the maximum market share possible to ensure a company’s long-term operations. Before deciding on a specific strategy, a company should assess its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) before deciding on which business model to pursue whether you’re establishing a business or heading an established one, a SWOT analysis, a simple but efficient tool for creating your corporate strategy. In the same vein, the purpose of this document is to conduct a SWOT analysis of the Qiuqup Courier Company to determine how it may improve its strategies in its desire to go worldwide.

Introduction

It is critical for a company to undertake a situation analysis study before incepting a long-term marketing goal to determine the company’s survival instincts. This assessment can assist you in evaluating your organization’s weaknesses and strengths, as well as any threats or opportunities (SWOT) which might impact its viability (Lake, 2020). The findings can be insightful in respect of what’s really happening in the business, and they can help you figure out your market approach. It determines a company’s competence, prospects, potential clients, and business culture, as well as its influence on a firm (Shewan, 2021).

Objective of the Analysis

This article will focus on Quiqup, a delivery firm based in Dubai, UAE that runs a “shop on your behalf” phone app now only operated in the United Arab Emirates, but it has aspirations to expand its operations throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Paracha, 2020). Quiqup is a retailer and restaurant delivery service that offers on-demand, same-day, and scheduled delivery options. Quiqup is revolutionizing urban consumer delivery for better business, better cities, and better life (Farrell, 2018). By developing the next generation of delivery solutions to meet shoppers’ ever-increasing demands, the company empowers any business to provide the finest delivery experience (Paracha, 2020).

The purpose of this report is to conduct a situational analysis of the Quiqup logistics company to determine its opportunities, resources, challenges, and barriers in the logistics market, as well as to make recommendations that, if implemented, will assist it in maneuvering in the competitive logistics market.

Assessment of Organizational Resources, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Mission and objectives

Quiqup’s mission is to give shops (both offline and online) and cafes of any size throughout the UAE with on-time delivery and planned (customer-controlled) deliveries options (Paracha, 2020). Quiqup’s mission is to combine a highly efficient – and thus cost-effective and sustainable – approach to last-mile logistics with an incredible doorstep experience (Supply Chain Movement, 2019). Restaurants can engage with a carrier to distribute food staff to clients of theirs using Quiqup’s mobile app or API interfaces (that notifies a carrier of new orders) (2017, O’Hear) In fifteen minutes, your order is collected, and a delivery is made in 50 minutes. They also collaborate with large companies to construct unique logistics solutions, leveraging the company’s modular technology and processes to create services tailored to their specific needs.

Portfolio analysis

Quiqup was established to allow consumers to purchase anything via its app for localized same-hour deliveries, focusing on food at first. Its service has now expanded to become vertically autonomous and provide door-to-door deliveries to enterprises (Arabian Business, 2020). As a result of the epidemic, the company was able to quickly develop by diversifying its client base to include other industries like as pharmaceuticals and expanding its grocery operations (Bradley, 2018). These beneficial outcomes introduced us to a whole new set of clientele, encouraging us to increase our investment.

Quiqup has expanded into non-food sectors, such as individual florists and pharmacists, and has partnered with Whole Foods of Europe to become their exclusive online shopping option through the Quiqup app (Lake, 2020). Since its inception, it has risen by 170% year to year – as meaningless as a percent figure can be — and fulfilled over 550,000 orders. Since its beginning, more than 110 employees have worked for the company, and over 2,000 self-employed carriers known as “Quiqees” are registered (Clawson, 2016). It expanded to the Emirates after its launching in Dubai in 2017. Quiqup’s operations in the United Kingdom were shut down in early 2019, and the firm’s head office was shifted to Dubai (Parsons, 2021).

Resources and competencies

Quiqup ensures that orders are delivered on time to retailers and restaurants. Businesses can use the dashboards to track and monitor all of their purchases, and purchasers can trace their orders on the mobile app (if that option has been enabled) or through a link (Primalbase, 2018). It works on a pay-on-delivery basis, with businesses paying for each delivery. It now has a fleet of over 3,000 carriers serving over 800 companies. It currently only operates in the United Arab Emirates, but it hopes to expand throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council in the future (Primalbase, 2018).

It has a strong team that has contributed significantly to its performance during the pandemic. The organization has the necessary technology and a sustainable system in place to deal with the sudden increase in demand (Clawson, 2016). The customer-centric delivery experience includes round-the-clock customer service, live tracking (for both retailers and customers) as standard, and a multi-modal fleet of over 3,000 professional couriers (Supply Chain Movement, 2019). From easy web dashboards for merchants to urban route optimization for efficiency and punctuality, everything is underpinned by the scale-industry-leading up’s technology.

Organizational weaknesses

The startup’s overarching aim was to create an app that provided a seamless experience for all stakeholders, with the key obstacle being to construct an app for Quiqees, who can receive and take new orders directly from the app (Sawy, 2019). It must provide customers with information about what to pick up, where to pick it up, and when, as well as the ability to submit a receipt for each order. It also had to keep track of all the information needed to travel to the pickup location or shop, as well as the end customer (Clawson, 2016). Quiqees needed to be able to see all of the details about their shifts and service quality. Another concern is competition from firms like Jinn in Europe, Postmates in the US, and Jobi Capital – a New York-based fund, a renowned distributor of consumer goods, and investment firms (O’Hear, 2017). Short-notice deliveries can occasionally put a strain on a company’s resources.

SWOT Analysis of Quiqup Courier

Strengths and weaknesses are within a company’s control and can be altered to improve performance, such as fleet management, intellectual property, and inept human resources, among other things (Parsons, 2021). External opportunities and risks are those that are beyond a company’s control. On the other hand, a firm can take advantage of possibilities to shield itself from hazards while not being able to change them. Competitors, customer expectations, raw material pricing, government legislations, and so on are all examples (Shewan, 2021). The following are some of Quiqup’s SWOT factors:

1. Location and expansion. The corporation has always wanted to take its activities to new heights on a global scale. With its inception in Dubai in 2017, it extended to the United Arab Emirates. In Manchester, where Quiqup began distributing in 2018, partner organizations including Salut Wines, New York Diner, Italian Express, and Hempology (Writer, 2019). In early 2019, the company ceased operations in the United Kingdom and relocated its headquarters to Dubai. It has grown by 170 percent year over year and has delivered over 550,000 orders since its inception. More than 110 people work for the company, and more than 2,000 self-employed couriers, called “Quiqees,” have signed up since its inception (Bradley, 2018).
2. Because the company’s operations are managed through an app, a dashboard has been created where customers and other businesses may log in and place orders (Clawson, 2016). The app is also used by fleet operators to check orders and their whereabouts, as well as to make timely delivery. Because they continually improve their application, technological innovation has an impact on the organization (Farrell, 2018). This is an opportunity because they are constantly upgrading it to suit both customer service and to help them to streamline their operations through automation and an easy-to-use application (Farrell, 2018).
3. When the company first launched, it wasn’t the sole logistics provider in the area; rather, it was a new company with novel techniques, such as using same-day delivery and receiving orders electronically via the app (Lake, 2020). Their app was a new technology that launched slowly and was overloaded with orders at first, but they eventually purchased a fleet and found competent fleet operators, putting them in a strategic competitive position (Paracha, 2020). Companies such as Jinn in Europe, Postmates in the United States, and Jobi Capital – a New York-based fund, a major retailer of fast-moving consumer products, and existing investors (O’Hear, 2017) – compete with them. Short-notice delivery can sometimes overburden the company.
4. It is extremely important in the logistics business. Communities, religious groups, nations, and even regional groups have been involved in wars and secession movements due to politics (Parsons, 2021). Companies that engage in global logistics have been compelled to close their operations in a number of countries or perhaps temporarily suspend their operations. The political regions have proved promising for Quiqup. The regions where they developed their enterprises were politically stable, such as Europe and the United Arab Emirates, which provided an atmosphere conducive to expanding and growing operations. (2020, Arabian Business) The company has seen significant development.
5. Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The company has a wide market base that continues to grow as it expands its operations and enters new markets. However, this does not guarantee that demand would be constant and regular (Clawson, 2016). For example, several businesses were compelled to alter their operations or shut down completely when Covid-19 began. Fortunately, Quiqup had a determined team of employees who, rather than gulping and stepping back in dread of the infection, stood up and concentrated more than ever on their consumers (Lake, 2020). As the pandemic subsided, their relationship with clients was strengthened, and their business flourished. Maintaining client trust, on the other hand, is a goal for every company, but it is not a simple task after it has been lost (Lake, 2020).
6. Regulatory and legal structures. Different economic zones have established various business measures and standards to safeguard local businesses, safeguard the economy, control the business industry, regulate importation, and protect and manage corporations (Primalbase, 2018). The Quiqup Company, like any other business, aspires to operate within a country’s laws. The Economic Substance Regulations (ESR), for example, are consistent with the UAE’s commitment to international tax cooperation and openness. The regulations require UAE onshore and free zone businesses, as well as other types of businesses, to have a sufficient economic representation in the UAE in relation to their activities (UAE, 2020).

 Product-level Assessment

Because of the growth of e-commerce and mobile shopping, as well as the behavior and expectations of millennials, quick local delivery is becoming the standard (Supply Chain Movement, 2019). Quiqup enables businesses of all sizes to deliver their products to customers when and where they want them, answering the growing need for convenience among consumers. Their services can be acquired by anyone at any time and place and thus expanding to other economic region such as UK. The company offers a completely managed solution that includes technology, delivery fleet, and customer service (O’Hear, 2017).

However, companies such as Jinn in Europe, Postmates in the United States, and Jobi Capital – a New York-based fund, a major retailer of fast-moving consumer products, and existing investors (O’Hear, 2017) – compete with them. Quiqup leverages modular tech and operational flexibility to develop fully bespoke logistics solutions in cooperation with enterprise-grade clients, while small businesses may book couriers on a pay-as-you-deliver basis using their web-app or e-commerce plugins. Quiqup works with small businesses, brick-and-mortar stores, enterprise-level merchants, and logistics companies (Bradley, 2018).

Conclusion and Recommendation

Whether you’re establishing a business or heading an established one, a SWOT analysis is a simple but efficient tool for developing your business strategy. Quiqup is a startup that has just been on the market for ten years, so there is still a lot of room for growth to reach the requisite global logistics level. The organization has resources to help it grow, including specialized fleet operators, a reasonable fleet size, technology, and partners. However, the business is nonetheless flooded with competition, and obtaining a market is no longer a certainty. Every business wants to stand out and compete in the marketplace. As a result, the company should devise tactics to broaden its market. Competition is manageable when you have a large market share.

With its unique operations, placing an order via a mobile phone or a dashboard and courier are available to deliver on time, is a strategy that places it at a competitive position. Therefore, the company should upgrade their app to be ease to use than before, with hotlines in case of emergencies. Again, the company should diversify its operations to only delivering goods and services but also move people – even incorporate an ambulance service. With diversified services, the growth of business will be guaranteed.

References

Arabian Business. (2020, November 24). Delivery Hero backs UAE tech start-up Quiqup in a $5.5m funding round. Retrieved from Arabian Business: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/technology/455095-delivery-hero-backs-uae-tech-start-up-quiqup-in-55m-funding-round

Bradley, S. (2018, May 01). London-based delivery service Quiqup expands into Manchester and Dubai. Retrieved from UKtech: https://www.uktech.news/news/london-based-delivery-service-quiqup-expands-into-manchester-and-dubai-20180501

Clawson, T. (2016, March 29). Secrets – How London Startup Quiqup Uses Analytics To Power Its Delivery Business. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevorclawson/2016/03/29/back-office-secrets-how-london-startup-quiqup-uses-analytics-to-power-its-delivery-business/?sh=6a75fbdce375

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Primalbase. (2018, April 20). Tenant Talks — Quiqup. Retrieved from Primalbase: https://medium.com/primalbase/tenant-talks-quiqup-f361792f0360

Sawy, N. E. (2019, February 13). UK’s Quiqup to raise £10m for Middle East expansion. Retrieved from Th eNational: https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/technology/uk-s-quiqup-to-raise-10m-for-middle-east-expansion-1.825310

Sawy, N. E. (2019, February 13). UK’s Quiqup to raise £10m for Middle East expansion. Retrieved from The National: https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/technology/uk-s-quiqup-to-raise-10m-for-middle-east-expansion-1.825310

Shewan, D. (2021, March 16). How to Do a SWOT Analysis for Your Small Business (with Examples). Retrieved from WordStream: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/12/20/swot-analysis

Supply Chain Movement. (2019, October 11). Supply chain scale-up in the spotlight: Quiqup. Retrieved from Supply Chain Movement: https://www.supplychainmovement.com/supply-chain-scale-up-in-the-spotlight-quiqup/

UAE. (2020, December 20). Business regulations, UAE. Retrieved from UAE: https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/business/business-regulations

Writer, S. (2019, February 14). Quiqup gets US $12.9m to expand same-day delivery in UAE and wider GCC. Retrieved from ITP Digital Media: https://www.logisticsmiddleeast.com/tags/quiqup