Johannesburg 19 November 2024
Uber Eats held its annual Merchant Awards at a swanky function at the Roof Restaurant this morning, where the top merchants were recognised for their customer service levels, their volume of orders and their delivery success metrics.
Business Tech Africa took the opportunity to chat to Uber Eats’ Western Cape regional manager Moja Kjobe about the rapid growth and expansion that the company has experienced.
Growth and Innovation Driving UBER
“it’s been exciting” he said, “we have had tremendous growth and have seen new products coming on-board and we have also developed great relationships with our merchants and with courier companies who are using our service for last mile deliveries”.
We asked Kjobe about last mile deliveries, and if this will ever get to the point when specific delivery times for deliveries could be booked or guaranteed, even if this was at a premium rate? This is currently a major headache for people waiting for hours and not knowing what time the delivery will be.
Moja replied “We are working on several new innovations and looking for solutions for these challenges”. “We have a team that specifically is developing such a plan but is a little different to our standard operation where we know that we have moving assets on the ground and can integrate this into other logistic eco-systems”.
As an example he mentions how they integrate with Pick n Pay to do deliveries within a specific area “We can easily integrate that within our available assets in the area whereas having specified delivery times is a new challenge for us that we are still finding solutions for”, he says.
Partnerships Key for Small Food Companies to Grow
Food Guru and explorer, Nick Hamman, was there to start the proceedings and spoke of how he had seen small food businesses starting in a garage at home and how they are enabled to grow via platforms such as Uber Eats: I understand how it need formal industry, how it needs people like UBER Eats who come to the party and say we want to be part of this growth as well”, He commented
He congratulated the winners and said it is commendable that they have risen to the top in a fiercely competitive environment.
Three Sided Marketplace
Nakampe Molewa, the Regional General Manager for UBER Eats described how the company runs a three sided Marketplace with the eater in the center with the courier partners as one side and the Merchants, the restaurant partners, being a super important leg in the business model.
“you are the ones that provide the magic”, he commented. Without the diversity, without the different tastes, without the brilliance and the imagination that you put into making the food, entertaining and tantalising our eaters, this would not be possible” he stated.
The Award Winners by Category:
Best Food Category
- Best Indian Gauteng (GP) – Spiced Kitchen
- Best Chicken – KFC Grayston GP, Western Province (WP) – KFC Chicken Licken Mowbray, Kwazulunatal (KZN) – Chicken Licken Berea
- Best Desert – GP – Chateau Gateau Midrand, KZN – Chateau Gateau Morningside
- Best Pizza GP – Romans Pizza Auckland Park,
- Best Seafood – GP – Fish Randburg, KZN Jack Grills & Co – Florida Road,
- Best African – GP – Calabar Kitchen Bryanston, KZN Nkonzo’s Kitchen
- Best Sushi – GP – Hokkaido Northwold,
- Best Burger – McDonalds Sandton Rock n Roll,
- Best Asian – Tommy’s Sushi Umhlanga
Grocery & Retail Category
- Best Groco – Santorini Foods Rivonia
- Best Liquor Outlet – Blue Bottle Kloofnek WP
- Best Grocery & Retail – Quality obsessed – Sasol Swartgoud
Operational Excellence Award – Thirsty Liquor
Grocery Retail Choice Sandton Liquor – CityFuel
Highest rated Merchant – Ribs & Burger – Menlynn Main
Best up & coming – GTN – Sparkys Bryanston, WC – Zuney Burgers
Top Partner Choice Award – Kentucky Fried Chicken
