Grab.in: Enabling Hyperlocal

The case on Grab.in analyzes the hyperlocal delivery business in India, and provides details on how the founders built a business around outsourced delivery of food, grocery, and e-commerce packages. Through meticulously evolved business operations, the founders of Grab have ensured sustenance of the delivery outsourcing model by alleviating business outlets of having to maintain in-house delivery personnel. With growing demand for home service, customer mindset is more open than ever to pay a convenience fee for home delivery of food or grocery from their nearby favorite outlet. Grab.in has piggybacked on this mindset, and backed by increasing penetration of smartphones and Internet, it has enabled local businesses to expand customer reach. When used as an introduction to multi-sided platforms, this case can help the student understand the hyperlocal space, the challenges that food and restaurant businesses face and how these delivery service platforms help address the same. It should help the students appreciate how a technology platform brings differentiation to the traditional food and grocery delivery space, and how a platform business model can provide significant competitive differentiation. By presenting details on Grab.in and the hyperlocal delivery platform, the case study helps illustrate the business model while bringing forth the challenges in the same.

• Logistics
• Business models
• Information systems