Competitors of Uber Company in Australia - Book Report/Review Example

Uber Competitor Situation The primary competitors of Uber Company in Australia are 13CABS, goCatch and Lyft. Size The estimated global taxi industry is believed to be around 100 billion dollars. The Uber Company might have 10% of the total market share. In 2011, the Uber Company has raised around 49 million dollars in venture funds. This provides vivid explanation about the continued growth of the company. By the end of the year 2015, the estimated revenue generated by Uber Company is believed to be 10 billion dollars. The innovation and convenience of Uber is considered to expand the taxi market share. In 2015, the Lyft Company is expected to raise 1 billion dollars from Floodgate, Mayfield Fund, Fortress, Coatue Management, Alibaba, Rakuten, Carl Icahn, etc. the startup of the company in Australia is believed to have more than 200,000 possible customers. 13CABS is considered to have around 2600 cabs in greater part of Melbourne, Australia. This Australian cab service provider consists of several organizations such as Yellow cabs, Yarra Valley Taxis, Maxi Taxis, Embassy taxis, Arrow taxis and 13CABS Warrnamool. The CEO of goCatch stated that the company is making their progress in taxi service provider sector by 10% per month (Mohr, 2010). Goals The goal of 13CABS is to help fleet Operators, Taxi operators and taxi Owners to run their business efficiently and effectively in Australia. The goal of Lyft is to enhance their business share by providing passengers quality cab service in Australia. The prime objective of the company is to make Uber cabs so inexpensive that it becomes easier and cheaper than having a car. Furthermore, the company is trying to make cities in Australia more accessible and opening more opportunities for taxi drivers. The company tries to create effective taxi service that connects drivers within matter of few minutes. Furthermore, the purpose of Uber is to create taxi ride easier and cheaper than that of other competitors. The prime goal of goCatch taxi application is to use innovative technology for providing quality service to passengers. Market share Lyft Company is believed to be launched in Australia. The survey provides vivid explanation that market share of this company would be good. 13CABS is main taxi service provider that serves entire Melbourne area. This company is trying to expand their business operations internationally. But there has been minimal rate of augmentation on global sectors (Keegan, 2002). The Uber Company is headquarters in California that is available on 300 cities globally and 58 countries. Moreover, the company tries to operate, market and develops the application of Uber mobile. This allows passengers to submit and share their request on a particular trip location. This is eventually shared to the economy drivers. The company is trying to take traditional transportation and market share of other taxis. Moreover, it is believed that the company is trying their utmost best to amplify their 46% of the total paid taxi riders in United States. The goCatch Company used to boast more than 310,000 passengers and more than 30,000 taxi drivers on their specific systems. This resembles that 30% of the taxi industry in Australia is occupied by the company (Fyall and Garrod, 2005). Product quality The goCatch company has banner more than 1000 cab drivers for violating the code of conduct. This signifies the importance of quality service. The Lyft cab service company is implementing ride sharing business model to offer quality taxi service. The Uber Company tries to produce better quality of service. Furthermore, the company has started limousine service. The company is trying to provide discounted rate to passengers. The Uber opts to provide top quality of cars available (Hamilton and Webster, 2012). The Uber Company is trying to provide high-quality experience with cleanliness and safety. The commitment of 13CABS towards effective customer service is apparent towards their intuitive and user friendly interface. Strategy Since the launch of Uber business model, numerous corporations are trying to imitate business model of Uber. This trend of operating on mobile platform is regarded as Uberification. The business model incorporated by Uber is to provide passengers with quality service and cheap rates. This resembles the fact that the company cost-leadership pricing strategy. The drivers of goCatch Company use normal metered taxis. The cost is believed to be same as normal cab. The on-boarding process of GoCatch Company includes ABN check and photo ID. The Lyft Company would provide quality and efficient cab services (Havaldar, 2005). The 13CABS Company is implementing social media strategy to target their customers in Australia. 2. SWOT Analysis This SWOT analysis framework will help to determine the internal strengths, weaknesses and external opportunities, threats of Uber. Strengths First to entry into new market segment- Uber is believed to have no major competitors. The company has created a noteworthy upsurge in the areas of consumer trust, infrastructure, and branding. The operational cost for Uber is very low. The company is primarily related towards interaction between customersand drivers. Uber has verified cars, drivers and high standard of service. The implementation of dual rating system helped to boost safety and trust of the customers. The system of operation is believed to be convenient and suitable for drivers. Furthermore, it provides opportunity for drivers to work as part-time employee and work at flexible hours. Introduction on mobile platform- Uber application is being introduced on mobile platform to make ordering and dispatching of cabs in easier way. This uniquely fitted application provides opportunity for customers to become own Danny DeVito (Dibb and Simkin, 2013). The pricing strategy adopted by the company is lower than that of normal taxi operators. Weaknesses The ideas implemented by Uber Company can be imitated. It would not prevent other competitors to present and launch similar products. The liability queries and standard insurance are some primary reasons that can plague most of the start-up businesses that offers community connections and services (Blythe, 2012). There have been rise of several lawsuits which were charged on illegal car practices. These practices were believed to be started from numerous cities that also include New York City. In just history of 3 years, the company has to be drawn in to court for rise of issues associated with union laws and established deals. The Uber business model is considered to be unpredictable and impulsive. The expectancy of loyalty and connection between drivers and Uber is low. Moreover, this leads to the rise of operating vehicles costs. Opportunities The company can tend to enhance and increase their estimation. This would motivate investors to invest more money. The projected and estimated time of arrival would be reduced by rise in Uber drivers. This would enhance the brand recognition and make the company more likeable. Many customers are considered to be disappointed and displeased with traditional cabs. The prime reason is believed to long waiting time and high prices. Big and new market should be exploited by the company (Armstrong, 2002). It should select companies where the taxi services are understood to be expensive and inconvenient. The expansion in international market is vital for sustainability of any organization. Therefore, it is pivotal for Uber Company to extend their business portfolio by focusing on overseas market. The company may opt to introduce cheaper cars that would help to increase the profit margin of drivers and lessen the cost. Threats It is believed that drivers are unhappy with the low-profit restrictions. This can eventually dishearten and sadden new drivers to join Uber Company. The rise of problems with local authorities can create negative PR for the company. The rapid upsurge of competition can reduce prices. This can eventually lead to decline on revenue and loss of customers (CIA, 2011). The advent of Google Cars and other self-driving cars can remove the requirement of Uber Cabs. The emergence of new mobile-based application can create competition for Uber. ZipCar and iGo are some of the quick-rent services that can also create possible competition. Emerging Uber issues The rising issues on safety of women have been one of the prevailing drawbacks of Uber Company. The company is trying to use array of doubtful and aggressive strategies to control on demand car market. In Nairobi, the biggest obstacle faced by Uber Company is building trust of the customers. It is believed that streets in Nairobi at nights are dangerous. Furthermore, the police are considered as disreputably untrustworthy. Additionally, personal address and social networking sites are required to be added within the official sign up website and mobile platform page of the company. The passengers have to trust the Uber drivers (Devashish, 2011). This becomes problematic situation for Uber to build trust and reliability for the passengers. References Armstrong, G. (2002). Global Marketing Management. New Jersey: Pearson. Blythe, J. (2012). Strategic Marketing. London: Kogan page. CIA. (2011). The World Factbook 2011. Virginia: CIA Publications. Devashish, D. (2011). Marketing. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Dibb, S., and Simkin, L. (2013). Market Segmentation Success. London: Routledge. Fyall, A., and Garrod, B. (2005). Marketing: A Collaborative Approach. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Hamilton, L., and Webster, P. (2012). The International Business Environment. London: Oxford University Press. Havaldar, K. (2005). Industrial Marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill. Keegan, J. (2002). Global Marketing Management. New Jersey: Pearson. Mohr, J. (2010). Marketing of Products and Innovations. London: Sage. Read More