6 1 ERP Case Study Can Uber Be The Uber of Everything

CAN UBER BE THE UBER OF EVERYTHING?
ERP Case Study: Can Uber be the Uber of Everything?
IT-657: Enterprise Resource Planning
Southern New Hampshire University
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Table of Contents
Can Uber be the Uber of Everything?.............................................................................................3
1. Case Assessment and Uber’s Competitive advantage..........................................................3
2. Relationship between technology and Uber's business model and a look at the integration
solutions.......................................................................................................................................5
3. Uber’s Disruptive Qualities and the purpose of the framework...........................................5
4. Ethical and Social issues and a look at the strengths and weaknesses of Uber....................6
Strengths and weaknesses of Uber...........................................................................................6
Uber’s ethical dilemma.............................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9
Can Uber be the Uber of Everything?

Case Assessment and Uber's Competitive advantage
Uber has snowballed as a ride-sharing company. Its growth has been mainly fueled by its
use of technology that has made the service convenient and its business model, which has
increased its popularity. Uber's main competitive advantage, thus, has been its use of technology,
it is aggressive marketing, and convenience. The five competitive forces developed by Porter
illustrate a framework for evaluating and accessing the competitive strength and position that an
organization should possess. The theory relies on the attractiveness of the market and the
competitive forces that help a business identify its power in a situation. The five competitive
forces include supplier power, competitive rivalry, buyer power, the threat of substitution, and a
new entry threat.
In Uber's case, supplier power is strong. Using technology as its main business model has
managed to evolve quickly to meet customer demands and maintain minimum operating costs.
The software used by the taxi can predict demand during different times of the day. This aids
drivers in knowing where to park as they wait for customers, unlike other traditional taxis who
park at designated spots waiting for customers to come by. This demand control has enabled the
company to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals by depicting the level of demand and
adjusting rates to meet this demand, which offers the advantage of convenience in payment and
pick-ups for consumers. Uber's aggressive marketing has set it ahead of the pack. Its business
strategy of expanding to other markets as fast as possible has created consumer awareness while
ensuring that it lays a foundation for long-term returns.
The business model has assisted the company in creating a brand name by going global
as the premier ride-hailing business even in developing countries. Technology has lessened
Ubers costs in operations because the company relies on user reviews for drivers and the
customer ride experiences to identify problematic drivers and passengers. The same reviews are
also used to assist in setting standards of cleanliness which enhance its brand image by ensuring
that the drivers are disciplined. This feedback helps it maintain its brand reputation, which adds
up to its competitive advantage. Uber services are also convenient. Compared to other traditional
taxis, Uber rides take into account time, distance, and demand as factors that offer information to
their drivers. These factors enable the company to dictate the rates and provide location
knowledge on where to pick the customers, ideally convenient for the customer. Customers can
select the kind of service they would like Uber to provide from their apps, ranging from high-
priced town car services to ride-sharing car services with indicated costs, making it convenient,
fast, and reliable.
The company's value chain analysis strength primarily depends on its inbound logistics.
Its reliance on the technology to run operations gives it a competitive advantage that essentially
reduces its operating costs. In essence, this allows the company to operate without any form of
raw material required that calculates operational costs. Uber drivers are independent contractors,
and thus, the company does not incur expenses related to owning the taxis, financing the taxis,
and maintenance costs. It does not also have an employee's expenses resulting in car insurance,
health insurance, driver training, and commercial licensing fees. This allows the company to
operate with minimum operational costs that enable it to dictate the rates of the taxis according to
the demand, which invariably affects other taxis. Its 40% less charge on the rate of taxis gives it
room to sustain itself in a highly competitive industry.
Relationship between technology and Uber's business model and a look

at the integration solutions
Uber's business model relies on a rapid expansion that forgoes short-term profits to reach
more markets and have better long-term returns. Its technology does not require humans. It
depends on finely tuned algorithms that can work anywhere globally with the network, which
will generally perform the same functions that include tracking the driver's performance, pricing,
rating, and identifying areas that have demand which maintains efficiency. These technological
advancements allow Uber to expand exponentially, with minimal bureaucracy and budgets on the
company's part. All that is required is for the drivers to pay for their insurance, cars and fuel, and
the company can make sales from the rides by providing the app. The ease in using the
technology and the availability of the technology like an app has aided in expanding the business
model globally, which has assisted the company in competing effectively. Thus, it is clear that
Uber has clearly integrated its ERP into a successful global operation that increases its efficiency
while reducing its costs.
Uber's Disruptive Qualities and the purpose of the framework

According to Swain (2020), disruptive marketing is an experimental tactic that challenges
the status quo on how a standard business process operates. The traditional taxi industry has been
highly regulated with conventional paying methods. With the entry of Uber into the market,
convenience has been heightened with consumers simply selecting the ride-hailing service from
their mobile phones. Thus, by relying on a highly integrated ERP system to manage a global fleet
of independent drivers, Uber has thrown the traditional method of looking for parked taxis into a
spin. In addition, Uber's use of technology to rate, cost, and find taxis has increased the
simplicity of hailing a taxi, which is a far cry from the traditional forms of a taxi. Its competitive
pricing has allowed it to reach more markets all over the globe, which in turn has challenged
local taxi services in different countries to engage in price competition. This has disrupted the
markets, of which Uber gains a competitive advantage because it is not regulated. Additionally,
the company has changed the norms of working. There are concerns of creating a society with
low-paid temporary work that works part-time instead of working longer hours a day on average.
Ethical and Social issues and a look at the strengths and weaknesses of
Uber
Strengths and weaknesses of Uber
From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that Uber has had notable success at home
and abroad. Many companies have attempted to copy the Uber business model, including Bolt,
Didi, and others. At the same time, the Uber business approach has been borrowed to other
industries into what has become known as the Uberization of business. Uberization refers to the
commoditization of existing industries within the service sector by taking advantage of
computing and networking technologies to multiply the number of possible transactions (Goode,
2011; Chamorro-Premuzic, 2014). Additionally, as seen from the company's analysis, such a high
level of integration increases the opportunities for growth and success for the companies in the
ride-sharing business and companies in other industries due to reduced cost and decentralization
of management.
Despite its inherent success as a business model, Uber experiences ethical issues. The
company has been accused of denying its drivers benefits that come with an employee status
instead of classifying them as independent contractors. This has been a major bone of contention
with labor activists who insist that the company award the drivers minimum pay and pension
benefits (Sy, 2021). The company has also been accused of violating public transportation and
regulations worldwide by being unregulated like other transportation services. This creates unfair
competition, which is not an ethical practice. In addition, Uber does not contribute to public
safety because it refuses to perform medical, criminal, and financial background checks on its
drivers, which puts public safety at risk. This fact endangers the public because the company
cannot vouch for its drivers' moral, health, and financial status.
Ethical issues also arise regarding its abuse of personal information; Uber is negligent in
securing consumer data and monitoring how its employees access this personal information.
This puts consumers at risk because their personal lives are exposed, and data is not protected. Its
work culture has plagued Uber's social issues. The company's quest to expand into other markets
globally has fueled an aggressive work culture filled with unhealthy competition that pans out to
external competition, as evidenced by its testing of self-driven cars. In addition, the unrestrained
work culture illustrates that company procedures are not followed, which would account for their
CEO's Kalanicks resignation from unethical and social practices. As a backlash from these social
and ethical issues, the company has given its drivers breaks and played them instantly after they
complete a ride, leading to more fair working conditions. Furthermore, the company has also
taken other social considerations by reducing the cost of transportation and expanding
opportunities for its car drivers to improve their welfare.
Uber's ethical dilemma
Uber's business model creates an ethical dilemma. This is because it would need to meet
employee costs by paying a minimum wage plus other benefits, paying car insurance, and factor
in fuel costs to satisfy the ethical codes, which would significantly affect its economies of scale.
The company can also not afford to decrease its ride-hailing costs to make it an even playing
field for other taxis and public transport because it will result in losses making it lose its
competitive advantage. Uber is also not a viable business. Viability in the industry refers to a
situation where the company is able to survive financially and meet its commitments to its
creditors. The case study illustrates that despite Uber being a major innovative taxi-hailing global
service, it is still operating at a loss. Despite these losses, Uber is still investing heavily in self-
driving cars, which might take years to realize to lessen their labor costs, leaving the company
making losses. In addition, other startups are challenging the company globally with fixed rates
challenging Uber's business model in growth. Thus, its drivers can work part-time, as other taxi-
hailing services use the same technology, which means Uber loses part of its customers. The
drivers shift due to better pay and benefits, which will affect the business model in a few years.
References
Bruijl, G. (2018). The Relevance of Porter's Five Forces in Today's Innovative and Changing
Business Environment. Journal of Business. SSRN 3192207.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2014). The Uberisation of Talent: Can the Job Market Really Be
Optimised? https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaspremuzic/2014/03/21/the-uberisation-of-
talent-can-the-job-market-really-be-optimised/#185eb06f2e60
Goode, L. (2011). Worth It? An App to Get a Cab.
https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/06/17/worth-it-an-app-to-get-a-cab/
Swain, G. (2020). What is disruptive marketing? https://www.insightly.com/2020/09/disruptive-
marketing/
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CAN UBER BE THE UBER OF EVERYTHING?

ERP Case Study: Can Uber be the Uber of Everything?

IT-657: Enterprise Resource Planning

Southern New Hampshire University

Can Uber be the Uber of Everything?

new entry threat.

ensuring that it lays a foundation for long-term returns.

fast, and reliable.

room to sustain itself in a highly competitive industry.

Relationship between technology and Uber's business model and a look

while reducing its costs.

Uber's Disruptive Qualities and the purpose of the framework

Strengths and weaknesses of Uber

commoditization of existing industries within the service sector by taking advantage of

opportunities for its car drivers to improve their welfare.

Uber's ethical dilemma

Business Environment. Journal of Business. SSRN 3192207.

Goode, L. (2011). Worth It? An App to Get a Cab.

Swain, G. (2020). What is disruptive marketing? https://www.insightly.com/2020/09/disruptive-

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