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Johannesburg - Like many global startup companies OrderIn began with limited resources, CEO and founder of the company Dinesh Patel told Fin24.
“The company was started in garage. We went to a hardware store and used doors as desks. We looked at how successful startup companies started and were inspired. This taught us lessons on how we think and how to operate our business,” Patel said.
In the next few months, Patel said the company would be rolling out new features to its service to enhance the customer experience.
Picking up on international technology trends, the company is making use of artificial intelligence(AI) and complementing its already existing machine learning capabilities.
“Our plans are to build on the service by integrating new technologies, growing our restaurant network and customer base,” Patel told Fin24.
The South African company’s recent feat was teaming up with Estonian ride hailing app Taxify, in a move expected to compete directly with UberEATS and Mr D Food, across the country.
“We admired what Taxify is doing, coming second into market and still gaining a lot of market share. Of course our businesses work very similarly. We transport food and they transport people,” he said.
Patel said when meeting the Taxify team in South Africa it was an “instantly click”.
“When you have a meeting of minds, business tends to move much faster,” he said.
The partnership will involve Taxify cars running OrderIn ads promoting the food delivery service. Customers will receive exclusive offers, for example R50 off on their first two orders.
Drivers also benefit – they’ll receive R50 for each customer that downloads and orders through the OrderIn app. Each driver has a unique coupon code, to help with tracking downloads and allocating incentives.
The voucher displayed in the vehicle is linked to the driver’s vehicle number plate and will earn the driver passive income when their passengers make use of the voucher.
“Uber has had an impact on our company, but a positive one. The company has accelerated the growth of online mobile shopping in South Africa, while educating the market. We are grateful for what they have done, but we never think about doing something with our competitors in mind. Our primary objective is to serve customers and drive delivery fees so low that it is ridiculous,” Patel told Fin24.
Operations manager of Taxify, Sinako Cetyiwe said Taxify was continuously on the look-out for innovative ways to incentivise drivers and grow its customer base in local markets.
“The partnership with OrderIn was a logical next step for us,” he said.
Launched in 2012, OrderIn has a network of over 1 200 restaurants in all the major cities in South Africa.
Taxify, which re-launched in South Africa in 2016, already operates in 20 countries worldwide.
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