At the recent BigFive Virtual Summit, we sat down via videoconference with Kartik Taneja, Uber’s Head of B2B Solutions, EMEA, to discuss the current state of the logistics industry in the Middle East and Africa. Kartik revealed Uber has seen an explosion of growth in their “movement of things business”, allowing the company to continue growing in the face of Covid’s crippling impact on its ride-sharing operations.
The interview has just been captured on a new BIG5D.TV podcast.
The
Kartik explains how Uber has gone through a massive branding shift from a ride-hailing service pre-pandemic, to a speed and cost focused logistics provider. Uber new position is as courier for almost anything other than people; a shift which was jump started more by evolving demands rather than a premeditated strategy.
You can watch the full interview here:
Significant, yet kept under wraps, corporate partnerships have been acquired on both the Uber Eats and Uber ‘movement of things’ sides. Kartik explains several new opportunities were realized through “new use cases”. Examples of which are corporate food-incentive programs to compensate for lost in-office perks, and Uber ride credits in place of courtesy cars for auto repair businesses.
One of the last topics Kartik addressed was Uber’s announcement of an initiative to replace their entire fleet with green vehicles over the next 10-years. Uber’s goal as a company is to move people and things in the most efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly ways possible. Uber plans to allocate tens of millions of dollars towards the program.
“The goal of the company (Uber) is to move things, and people…We want to make it efficient, and cheaper for people to do that.”
“…there are challenges, yes, but with those challenges comes a huge number of opportunities….”
“At one end, we were challenged with the ride hailing business, which took a hit, but at the other hand…. the (Uber) Eats business really took off so there was this natural hedge in the business; there are very few companies who have that.”
BIG5D.TV Podcast · Episode Nine: Kartik Taneja, Head of B2B Solutions, EMEA, Uber