From its inception in 2011, Peng has employed traditional methods in the execution of its day to day business, but the rude intrusion of COVID-19, the digital revolution going on in the world today, and the enormous avenue for growth has dictated the need for a proper foray into the digital space. The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed a digital acceleration that has forced consumers and the business community to shift their routine behaviors.
Unfortunately, amid safety concerns, regulations and revenue disruptions, many businesses have had to close their doors indefinitely. Curiously enough there has been a surge in the success of fast-food businesses, according to the Financial Times, the fast food chain has experienced vast growth in comparison to the travails of the wider restaurant sector in the UK. The growth is being fueled predominantly by overseas chains which see the UK as an attractive market from which to launch an European expansion. The fertility of the UK as a hub for fast food growth has been buoyed by the significant drops in property prices as the pandemic accelerates consumers’ shift to shop, order food and entertain themselves online. According to a piece on Yahoo Finance on September 2021, ‘The average UK house price was £256,000 ($353,946) in July, which is £19,000 higher than this time last year, but down from a record high of £265,000 in June 2021’, all of these meant that businesses were able to properly situate their operations.
In order to tap into the full potential of the market, there is a need to properly digitalize the processes at Peng’s fast food business. Peng has proposed certain options that would need proper dissecting as, if we are to fixate on an effective digital transformation strategy.
The first strategy discussed is potentially joining a 3rd party platform like Just Eat. The pros to this strategy are quite tempting as the business could always make do with the reach and popularity of said platform. Also the already existing methods and processes of the 3rd party platform would mean that Peng can leverage on these existing processes and just tag along. There would also be the advantage of growing the business without the pressures of having to hire extra hands. 10% of each sale would seem like a minute price to pay when considering this. On the flipside, there is a significant breakage in the communication between Peng and his customer base, plenty of the inadequacies of the third Party platform would reflect poorly on Peng’s business.
The second strategy discussed is to build up digital presence (e.g. website or mobile app) to take orders and promote the shop to the new markets. While this strategy directly resolves the problem discussed in the last paragraph, the strategy brings with it’s own challenges and advantages. Building a website or a mobile app to increase digital presence would mean that a staff to build and maintain the app or website would be hired, ensuring that the people hired are competent enough to manage them would also be of utmost priority. Also hiring a customer service personnel who would take the orders once they are made on the app or website. The organizational structure would need to be updated. That said, this is a more financially exhausting endeavor.
The Third Strategy discussed is the Virtual Counter system, this would automate the responses to customers, and significantly reduce the human labor needed in execution. This could mean that the chain of delivery from the restaurant to the consumer is significantly shortened unlike in strategy one and two. Although the automation of certain processes might mean certain conversations with robots and might not cater to the needs of certain customers or might not be satisfactory.
I would suggest that a more effective strategy would be a hybrid of all the above strategies, as many of the weaknesses of certain strategies are directly tackled by the subsequent or prior strategy.
REFERENCES
https://www.ft.com/content/568c6a43-7e41-4ebb-8394-75661c3ebd86
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uks-july-house-prices-down-as-they-pause-for-a-breath-ons-property-market-093139664.htm
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