1|Page

Term Paper Project

FOOD AGGREGATORS SERVICES ANALYSIS AND

STUDY OF SERVICE GAPS IN THE FOOD
AGGREGATORS SECTOR

Section B, Group- 7
G. Venkata Vamsi – 191143
Ramisetti Jagadeesh Babu – 191221
Sunappa Uma shankar - 191181
Cheathi Vivek – 191371
Kodali Rishitha – 191159
2|Page

Table of Contents:
XS. No Topics Covered Page No

1 Introduction 3

2 Changes in Industry post COVID 4

3 Policies implemented post COVID 5

4 Core of the logistics differed post COVID  7

5 Logistics managing service quality during COVID 8

6 Customer Satisfaction  9

7 Companies managing the intangibles of service  12

8 Industry managing Customer Satisfaction  13

9 Communications reflecting the core value preposition  15

10 Servicescape 16

11 Gaps Model in Logistics Industry 17

12 SERVQUAL Analysis 19

13 Observations from Results 22

14 References  24
 3|Page

I. Introduction
Online food-delivery platforms are expanding choice and convenience, allowing
customers to order from a wide array of restaurants with a single tap of their mobile
phone.The business of delivering restaurant meals to the home is undergoing rapid
change as new online platforms race to capture markets and customers across the
Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Although these new Internet platforms are
attracting considerable investment and high valuations—already, five are valued at more
than $1 billion—little real knowledge about market dynamics, growth potential, or
customer behaviour exists.The online food-delivery market in India is pegged at around
Rs 51,000 crore. Bengaluru-based Swiggy, which is India’s fastest start up to become a
unicorn (start ups with valuation exceeding $1 billion), delivered about 33 million orders
in March. Its main rival, Gurugram-based Zomato, delivered around 38 million orders in
the month. Both companies are now focusing on geographic expansion.

About Swiggy
Swiggy is an online food ordering platform. It connects people with restaurants. People can
use Swiggy app or website to look for eateries around their area and order food from them.
Swiggy has a team of delivery executives who pick up the order from the restaurants and
deliver it to the address provided by the customer. It is Started in 2014 and secured $2 million
funding within 8 months of its launch. Using this, it expanded exponentially, and it now has
over 40,000 restaurant partners spread over more than 44 cities in the country.
Changes in industry post Covid19
4|Page

 On the account of the novel corona virus Indian government has declared lockdown in
India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21
days, limiting movement of the entire 1.3 billion population of India as a preventive
measure against the Virus. Due to which the all the business outlets across the India
were closed. Therefore, the food aggregators were out of business. Nevertheless, with
the possession of outstanding supply chain they started delivering the Essentials,
alcoholics beverages.
 Currently, unlock 1.0 the restaurants are working and food aggregators are working
and the demand for the food aggregators in been expected to be increased as the dine
in service is being restricted abundantly.

Food aggregators, restaurants focus on cloud kitchens as business

uncertainty reigns
 Many restaurants are also exploring expansion through cloud kitchens with the dine-
in business capped at 50% seating capacity and expect online orders to see a surge as
consumers remain wary of stepping out
 Food delivery aggregators Swiggy and Zomato are renewing focus on their cloud
kitchen strategies as restaurants start to open up amid the covid-19 pandemic.
 Compared to pre-covid levels, Zomato witnessed only 50% of its restaurant partners
starting to deliver food on its platform, while rival Swiggy saw around 25-40%, with
more restaurants being operational in tier-1 cities.
 These food-tech unicorns are now working with restaurants to help them resume
operations by offering their cloud kitchen facilities.
 As the economy opens up on account of Unlock 1.0 and restaurants resolve teething
issues around manpower, It expect the majority of their restaurant partners to be live
on the platform. Some of them are even looking to expand and take up more kitchens.
They are focusing on helping them resume operations and making sure that our
kitchens are fully equipped and follow all safety and hygiene protocol

Doorstep delivery may become the norm

 Swiggy and Zomato have also signed up Marico Ltd to deliver its cooking oils and
other products through their food delivery app. Britannia Industries has tied up with
Dunzo app for doorstep delivery of its range of biscuits, croissants, ghee and dairy
whitener. ITC, meanwhile, has partnered Domino’s Pizza app for its food products.
 Clearly, these companies are anticipating a big surge in consumer demand for home
delivery of products driving such collaborations and solutions.
 The Alcoholic beverages were also being supplied by Zomato in few states.

Psychological changes
5|Page

 Consumers prefer to order the food online instead of dine in. The chances of it
becoming habit increases due to the increasing number of cases and fear of dine in
may attract to the diocese. Consumers are forced to adopt to choose the Food delivery
services.

Behavioural changes:
 There will be brand new habits acquired such as awareness for personnel and public
hygiene, regular handwashing with the soap, social distancing, people are getting used
to wear masks for grocery shopping. After the covid-19 these will be adopted by the
public.

Policies Implemented post covid 19

Ministry of Tourism releases Dine out’s white paper on guidelines for restaurants post-Covid:
The whitepaper lists down restoration guidelines for the restaurant industry on staff
management, staff health and safety, restaurant space sanitisation, food safety, social
distancing, inventory management, and measures for takeaway & delivery business models.
As governments and public health agencies stress upon the importance of social distancing as
a way to ‘flatten the curve’ over time, dining out and restaurant tech platform, Dine out has
unveiled a first-of-its-kind whitepaper with guidelines and best practices for the F&B
industry restaurant industry in a post-Covid F&B industry world. The white paper was
released by Rupinder Brar, additional director general, Ministry of Tourism, Government of
India.

Recommended practices for the restaurant industry in a post Covid world

 Staff Management- Advisory For Staff: Staff should wash hands with soap every
hour. Temperature checks for staff entering the restaurant premises must be a
mandate.
 Staff Health & Safety: Let Your Unwell Staff Rest - As per Govt guidelines, staff
members who are sick should be given paid leave and advised to stay at home.
 In-Restaurant Operation: Modified Seating Plan - Space management and overall
interiors must be ‘Social distancing’ themed. Maintain at least a two-meter gap
between tables.
 Kitchen Operations: No entry for un-sanitised material and staff - Make sure every
staff and material is sanitised before entering the kitchen area.
 Delivery and pick-up orders- Enable 'No Touch' Deliveries - Encourage diners to opt
for the ‘contactless delivery’ option. Notify diners via text message or phone call
when their order is about to arrive.
 Contactless Dining- Many restaurateurs are looking at contactless dining to remove
nonessential human interaction and continue to safeguard both diners and staff
interest. There are a multitude of touchpoints with a diner that restaurateurs are
looking to modify and facilitate with the introduction of technology. These can be
6|Page

simple actions like booking a table, pre-ordering meals, takeaway, digital ordering,
digital payment, etc. Priority for diners will shift and restaurants are planning
accordingly.

Swiggy’s efforts to counter the COVID-19 threat

With the onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic, the way they continue life and cater the
consumers, delivery partners and restaurant partners has taken a drastic shift. The most
pressing concern has been to continuously ensure the safety of these entities in our ecosystem
These initiatives are geared towards maximizing the safety at each step of the order-delivery
process. A typical order-journey looks as follows:

Before the Order is Placed by the customer

 Ensuring that restaurant staff remain healthy : Restaurant partners check the
temperatures of their entire staff every day. Anyone with a temperature above 99.1 F
is advised to rest at home. Similarly, any staff member who feels ill or exhibits
symptoms associated with COVID-19 is advised to stay at home until cleared from a
doctor or after testing negative post the mandated quarantine period

 Restaurants which adhere to all of these guidelines are promoted as having ‘Best
Safety Standards’ on the app.
 7|Page

 Sensitizing the delivery partners is especially important as they usually come in close
physical proximity with different individuals, including customers, restaurants and
other delivery partners
 A Deep-learning-based algorithm was built to ensure that the delivery partners wear
masks on a regular basis. Every delivery partner is required to click a selfie and post it
on their app when they log-in to the system and start receiving orders. The algorithm
checks if the delivery partner is wearing a mask and does not allow partners without
masks to log-in. This tool helps us ensure that our delivery partners follow the required
mask-safety guideline.

 Contactless Deliveries are geared towards maximizing the distance between the
delivery partner and the customer. The delivery partner delivers food outside the
customer’s doorstep and then leaves. The customer gets a notification on the app
saying that their food has been delivered. Fewer the number of customers a delivery
partner interacted with, smaller the chance of him contracting an infection, and smaller
still the chance of him transmitting it to any other customer or restaurant executive.

II. How is the core of the logistics is differed in the post

covid-19
Business across different sectors are impacted by the covid-19 are all adjusting to the
new Covid-19 lifestyle especially the changes in everyday life that have resulted because
of the threat from the disease.
OPERATIONS: Now companies reshaping their logistics operations model. Logistics
company is taking a digital route for its shipments. The company is completely faceless,
paperless and digital and operates all its shipments virtually. So many leading companies
adopting new Technologies like smart ware housing, robots, and Artificial Intelligence To
help further elevate a logistical organization’s operational efficiency in distribution,
 8|Page

warehousing, and picking and packing. These services are based on a no-human
interaction model. There will also be a lot more automation, to stuff a truck if we do a
head-load of 30-40 kg, for stuffing a 20-tonne truck you require about 400 trips. Now
compare that with a palette which is much faster and has got less human touch. So, you
will find more automation coming into the entire logistics for handling of goods in a
multimodal network. you will also see a lot of automation into warehouses with less staff
and more of machines doing the job.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: They increased the AI enabled personal assistance in
order to support covid 19 requests and the contact centres running at work from
home and with the email complaints. Here they didn’t develop, communicate and
train at romote working places and with limited staff here they have the
performance gap in which they are not delivering the customer service standards.
In the post covid situation they movitating the employee who are struggling to
adjust . as they keeping the staff happy by giving more incentives and motivated
during this time ,this will create a positive work environment and ensuring that
they feel valued. These helps to delivery high customer service standards
HUMAN RESOURCE: Impact on hiring practices: There has been a demonstrable
impact on the hiring process. Effective use of applicant tracking systems through online
application process and virtual interviews have been some recent changes in the hiring
process adopted by organisations. Increase in remote working As organizations shift to
more remote work operations. And they expand the employee data collection to monitor
their employees through methods such as virtual clocking in and out, tracking work
computer usage, and monitoring employee emails or internal communications/chat. While
some companies track productivity, others monitor employee engagement and well-being
to better understand employee experience.
MARKETING :The covid 19 impacted on the consumer behaviour as many companies
reduced their advertisements. they revamp their marketing strategies to stay competitive in
post covid. They are mostly focusing on the digital marketing strategies.

III. Industry managing their service quality during covid

The Covid-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on supply chains, forcing freight
carriers to cancel, reduce or otherwise adjust services. Ironically, the pandemic has also
emphasised the key role of logistics and the importance of supporting people in this
critical function.
Several logistic majors have reshaped their operating models and increased efficiency and
resilience in order to maintain better service quality
However, there will be some changes in logistics due to our current crisis that will be
lasting, even when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

 Prioritising hygiene, health, and safety: In the current scenario with the highly
transmissible nature of the virus, it is imperative for business to implement top-
 9|Page

notch hygiene and precautionary measures to make sure that both the customers
and the delivery executives are safe. Companies are also installing a digital
infrared thermometer which displays the real-time body temperature of the
delivery executives in mobile apps for ensuring better safety and customer trust.

 Zero Contact pickup and delivery service : Now customers can now collect parcels
without coming in contact with delivery personnel, in this case the delivery executive
would leave the order on a clean surface outside the customer’s door. The customer
would then be notified with a phone call, ringing the doorbell and even sharing an image
of the delivery before marking the order as ‘delivered ‘and while pickup of the parcel
from the customer location here the delivery personnel call the customer and
communicate them to place at outside the house to ensure contactless pickup. These
eliminate the need for human contact, thereby, minimizing the possibility of transfer and
spread of infections. Contactless pick-up, delivery, and payment options by QR code
scanning or clicking an image and then digitally signing the image are following by the
logistics companies for the safety of delivery partners and customers.

 Adopting New Technology in Logistics: New technologies include smart ware housing,
robots, and Artificial Intelligence in logistics industry. So many leading companies
adopting new Technologies To help further elevate a logistical organization’s operational
efficiency in distribution, warehousing, and picking and packing. These services are
based on a no-human interaction model
 Build / re-build transport capacity: As transport capacities have been disrupted by
stranded trucks, drivers going home etc. across the country, there is likely to be a need for
thousands of trained drivers/trucks to move essential supplies. A quick way to build last-
mile transport capacity would be to partner with e-commerce companies and online
pharmacies/other online delivery players which have built distribution capacity and focus
this entire capacity on the distribution of essentials with permits/curfew passes etc.
enabled by mobile technology and an orchestrator to centrally manage and coordinate this
capacity.
 Improved the Customer Support: increased AI powered bots in customer service these
bots helps to handle a big part of customer queries and personal assistance as there is lot
of complaints as the demand is increasing in order to not to cause any disruption to the
customers while contacting the customer care it helps to retain their customers and
maintain better service quality.

IV. Customer satisfaction:
Customer satisfaction is more important, even in the logistics industry – in fact,
especially in the logistics industry. Why the whole process might seem as simple as
picking up a customer’s delivery and delivering it to its destination, customer satisfaction
ultimately comes down to what your business can offer them outside of that simple
process. Online services to track their shipments can work wonders, but human
interaction is just as effective. Keep your customers up to date on their shipments if you
can, or explain to them from the outset what will happen with their deliveries. Keeping a
10 | P a g e

customer satisfied will keep them a customer. Having good customer service in the
logistics industry will ultimately improve your customer satisfaction levels. 
Customer satisfaction measures how well the expectations of a customer concerning a
product or service provided by a company have been met. Customer satisfaction involves
factors such as the quality of the product, the quality of the service provided, the atmosphere
of the location where the product or service is purchased, and the price of the product or
service. Businesses often use customer satisfaction surveys to gauge customer satisfaction.
These surveys are used to gather information about customer satisfaction. Typical areas
addressed in the surveys include:

 Quality of product
 Value of product relative to price - a function of quality and price
 Time issues, such as product availability, availability of sales assistance, time waiting
at checkout, and delivery time
 Atmosphere of store, such as cleanliness, organization, and enjoyable shopping
environment.
Good customer service comes down to showing respect for your customers and their wants
and needs. Greet your customers by name for a more personalized experience, and show that
you are willing to adapt as far as you can to meet the needs of a customer. Respecting them
and their time and schedules shows that you care more about them and your business as a
whole than simply bringing in cash. Customers want convenience, especially in the fast-
paced world we live in, and customer service is one of the best ways to show that you are
catering to this want as much as you can.
Customer satisfaction provides an important indicator of consumer purchase intention and
loyalty, among the mostly collected indicator, their principal use is twofold:
1- Within the organization, analysis of the collected data sends a message about the
importance of tending to customers and ensuring that they have a positive feedback and
experience with the company goods and services.
2- Throughout market share, it can indicate how well a firm is performing, customer
satisfaction is the best indicator of how likely it is that the firm’s customers will make further
purchases in the future.
Most of researchers described the customer satisfaction as the most important indicator of
company existence and product life.

Relations between customer satisfaction and logistics management:

Logistics management is consisting of all parties (including manufacturers, marketers,
suppliers, transporters, warehouses, retailers, and even customers) directly or indirectly
involved in fulfillment of a customer’s need. The main objectives of the logistic are to
11 | P a g e

improve the overall organization performance and customer satisfaction by improving

products or service delivery to customer.
The relation between the customer satisfaction and logistics management has many
indicators; one of the most import indicators is the cost of the product. The logistics analyze
aims to reduce the cost from suppliers to final user, taking into consideration the quality and
the time, two of the major customer satisfactions indicators are the costs and the waiting time.
Both customer satisfaction indicators are implied in the logistics process which result to a
cheap product (using a cheap raw material, choose the cheapest transportation method, high
production with low labor costs, low cost storage and delivery).
They promote best global solutions aiming at ordering and streamlining goods & being
virtually identical with the warehouse, since most goods in a warehouse are in organization’s
distribution system. In distribution channels, warehouses represent storage facilities between
suppliers and manufacturer and between manufacturer and industrial customers. A logistics
Centre can be described as a place, where the operations of manufacturing with land, sea, air
transportation, storage, and port and customs operations are combined in order to get efficient
distribution of goods. Conditions of logistic center’s are determined by the agreed basic
assumptions. logistic Centre is applied to mean such an enterprise which offers the whole
palette of logistic services. The services may include contract warehousing, transport
management with consolidated spedition and distribution management.
Naturally each of the services will determine different conditions for a logistic Centre. It is
also evident that the main operations such as inbound logistics, conversion and outbound
logistics are sustained by the execution of the following five logistics activities:
1. Transportation function: It includes, inbound traffic, out-bound traffic, international traffic,
carrier selections and mode selection.
2. Facility structure function: It includes warehouses, material handling and packaging.
3. Communication/information function: It includes order processing, demand forecasts and
production scheduling.
4. Supply chain function: It includes inventory and logistics management.
5. Corporate function: It includes fleet management, strategic negotiation and strategic
sourcing.
All five logistics activities determine the direction of strategy creation.
Logistics and distribution center’s play an important role in supply chains. They build
strategies for themselves as well as for whole supply chain. Logistics center’s influence in a
positive way on small companies and on infrastructure and all kinds of resources but mainly
on intangible resources. Logistics and distribution center’s create functionality of supply
chain through maximization of knowledge and employees experience and attitudes. To sum
up it is possible to claim that knowledge and informal relationships are the basic elements of
creating strategy.
 12 | P a g e

V. Logistic activities related to intangible operations:

FORWARDING : Forwarding services are without any doubts one of the most important
parts of logistics. If a company decides not to organize the transport itself, forwarders have a
wide range of possibilities in logistics management. At present, forwarding or carrying
business the link between the supplier or customer and the carrier. It actually
organizes, manages and coordinates all transports to ensure the delivery of goods at the
right time at right place. Freight forwarder organizes the transportation of goods for
commerce and industry based on logistic principles and thus minimizes transportation
costs and risks, further advising principals on all transportation issues, helps with
transportation, providing transport and implementing effective measures to ensure that
the consignment reached the recipient properly on due time. For the forwarding the
best route and means of transport are chosen.
CUSTOMS, TRADE AND FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES:During international transport, i.e.
during export, import or transit it is necessary to perform the customs clearance of goods
which is governed by customs regulations - such services can provide a company itself or
through an external provider (specialized companies, freight forwarders, logistics centers,
etc.).
The commercial activities include the sale of freight forwarding services, rental
of storage space or spaces, and storage, then here we can include rental of pallets and
containers, rental of means of transport, etc.
Financial activities can be divided into three types. The first type will be the
financing as such, another group is financial activities that include payments to
customers and third activity are actually financial services provided to customers.
OTHER LOGISTICS ACTIVITIES: Service and consultancy services:Customer service is
one option how to gain a competitive advantage at market.
Today most markets are already so advanced that competition through price, quality
and utility value of products may be quite inadequate. Then the differences in the field
of customer service become important. Customer service is the outcome of logistics
system and through customer service performance its good or bad behavior can be
measured by.
The service can be divided into two basic components:
 service provided to internal departments (internal customers) - a service for the
production or marketing, etc., its level affects the company's ability to meet the
needs of external customers,
 service provided to external customers - has an impact on maintaining existing
customers and to attract new ones.
The level of customer service has a direct impact on the share of a company of
the market, of the overall logistics costs and thus of profitability. Here it is important
to consider the use of the external service providers and to what extent.
 13 | P a g e

VI. How Industries manage their customer expectations

Logistics is a critical success factor for retailers, as it can make or break a brand. If the
delivery or returns experience doesn’t match up to what the customers encounter on the
website or in the store, it can have a lasting negative effect on their loyalty. Consumers
expect to have the ability to buy whatever and whenever and wherever they want. There are
options such as click and collect, ship from store, buy online and return to store are
becoming standard features of the service product delivery experience, In order to meet
consumer expectations retailers must offer faster and cheaper shipping, Providing
information and flexibility. Even Consumers are accustomed to shopping or even ordering
online through apps or websites, with maximum convenience and transparency, expecting the
same experience that they would get from the outlet itself, to match up with the consumer’s
expectations delivery services are providing increased facilities and services to the customers.
EXPECTATIONS OF CUSTOMERS.

1. Real-time access to information

 Retailers need to focus on the availability and quality of the information they provide
to their customers throughout the whole delivery or returns process. Customers expect
to be able to keep track of the progress of their order, through clear and accurate real-
time status updates, for their own peace of mind and to identify any potential delivery
failures.
2. Disclosing the correct way of the procedure and responding with a solution
 The logistics industry can manage customer service expectations by disclosing their
problem if there is any issue at their end.
 By listing off possible solutions like if the package or delivery is late due to natural
calamities is an acceptable solution for the customer. But the solution must be honest
and efficient
 By discussing the problems, it improves the efficiency for operational management of
food aggregators or any logistics business. This will also make the customers a loyal
customer and a loyal logistics company.

3. Be efficient and honest:

 Being honest to customers is very important while managing customer expectations
and this will also make customers ability to trust the brand.
 When a damaged package is delivered to the customer, the company must be able to
bare or compensate the customer instead of moving a step backward. This also brings
a positive opinion to the customers on the company.
14 | P a g e

4. Regular follow ups on the package ordered or that is being delivered:

 In logistics industry follow up is very important whether the customer received the
package or not, if the customer is getting frequent updates about the package. Time
checks, how long did it take to deliver the package etc..
 This is where the service provider will get to know about the satisfaction level of the
customers and this will also help in improving their service if there is any.

5. A proactive approach
 Service providers should also proactively inform the customer on the progress of their
order. This approach often makes shoppers feel as though they are being personally
cared for by a brand and can thereby drive customer loyalty. Even elite online
retailers experience delivery issues from time to time but the ability to identify
delayed or partially shipped orders helps to alert their customers more quickly, thus
reducing the number of complaints and customer enquiries.

6. Flexibility and ownership

 A long side communication and information, another key element is to offer
flexibility to the end-users on the last mile touchpoint where, for instance, they have
the possibility to reroute their package to an alternate home address or drop-off point,
or choose a preferred delivery date (or timeslot) for their convenience.

7. Choosing the right delivery service

 Understanding what customers are expecting from the service providers is the major
aspect of any business. A logistics company’s marketing materials, reputation and
relationships with other customers are the key factors that influence potential
customers’ first impressions.

8. Managing expectations
 Setting realistic expectations for your customers can limit frustrations. Avoid
promising more than you can realistically deliver as this can affect customers’
confidence in making future online purchases and make them feel valued.
Keeping customers informed at all times and proactively managing their expectations
during the delivery process is a defining factor for the success of ecommerce
companies who retain their clientele. This is especially true for pure players as the
delivery experience is one of the most important customer touchpoints and one of the
few ways they can differentiate themselves from their competition.

9. Improving the customer satisfaction

 The customer experience includes the interactions between the customer and the
logistics company. All of these interactions gives an opportunity for the company to
influence the customer’s perception about the quality and value of care he or she is
receiving.
 15 | P a g e

10. Managing the perceptions and expectations in detatil

Logistics companies can improve their performance and meet the customer satisfaction
by:
 Minimizing wait time to deliver the package to the customers
 Making tracking easy and user friendly
 Updating tracking details through messages or emails frequently.
 Responding to customer queries in efficient way.

VII. What do customers expect from service providers ?

Customers want everything happen with ease, They expect to browse through what menu
items you have in your restaurant app, place order that drives the appetite and payments
that delivered at the right time. If customers like the service offered by a delivery service
then The word of mouth can do wonders.  Customers can then share the goodness of food,
not in text and images but in a classy way so that it appeals. 

1. Fast Processing : Customers expect fast processing when they order their food or any
product. In order to meet the time lines, an online food ordering app that loads at a
fast pace connects at the backend system and offers information that the user wants is
preferred. The kitchen staff and the delivery boy has to do a lot of work and that too at
a good speed only then you will gain more potential customers. Identify the obstacles
you are facing, combat them, and they stay future ready.
2. Tracking the Delivery Status : A restaurant or a delivery service should realize that
customers are hungry, A tracking service must be provided . The app should be bug-
free and should never make mistakes or delay in giving real-time information. Tell
them the exact time, how long will it take to deliver food. 
3. Listen to Customers : Unsatisfied customers can be a great source of learning for the
delivery services They shouldn’t ignore the reviews and feedback they give on the
portal. Take criticism sportingly. This will enhance the customer user experience to a
huge extent.  A customer deliberately needs a service to listen to their issues and solve
them. They expect services to provide best ever pssible whenever needed.

VIII. Communication reflecting core value proposition

The logistic industry is a developing and demanding sector that requires great communication
skills to succeed and it will reflect the core value proposition of entire logistic services. Some
points below describes why successful communication skills are important in logistics/food
delivery industry and how it will reflect the core values.

 To satisfy needs of the customer

 To resolve issues raised by customers
 To maintain good relationship
 To maintain loyalty
 16 | P a g e

Without proper communication between external forces, logistics can be ineffective

damaging and inefficient. Missing a delivery date or failing to order a part on time can have
numerous repercussions, beyond the immediate situation.

Benefits of having good communication skills

 Understanding customer needs and specifications

 Eventually Improved customer service
 Better understanding of rules and regulations provided
 Self confidence.

The importance of communication in the logistics industry

 Having good communication skills makes customers understand that service

providers are listening to them, valuing their feedback, and conveying clear messages.
This can lead to customer loyalty, increased business and eventually get new
customers.
 It is crucial to communicate effectively in negotiations to ensure achieve the goals.
Communication is also important within the business. Effective communication can
help to foster a good working relationship between other logistic services,
technological services to develop or extend their business , which can in turn improve
morale and efficiency.
 Also, having good communication skills help to communicate with other service
providers to expand their business according to the customer requirements by
delivering their ideas properly.

IX. Describe the service scape
 Servicescape is a model developed by Booms and Bitner to emphasize the impact of
the physical environment in which a service process takes place. The aim of the
servicescapes model is to explain behavior of people within the service environment
with a view to designing environments that does not accomplish organisational goals
in terms of achieving desired behavioural responses.
 The servicescapes model is an applied stimulus-organism-response model (SOR
model), which treats the physical environment as the stimulus and the response is the
behavior of employees and customers within the physical environment.
 The servicescape performs four important roles - packaging - presents the outward
appearance to the public; facilitator - guides the efficient flow of activities; socialiser -
conveys expected roles to both employees and customers and differentiator - serves as
a point of difference by signalling which segments of the market are served,
positioning the organisation and conveying competitive difference.
 17 | P a g e

 According to the model's developer, the servicescape acts like a "product's package" -
by communicating a total image to customers and providing information about how to
use the service.
 Services marketing typically refers to both business to consumer (B2C) and business-
to-business (B2B) services, and includes marketing of services such as
telecommunications services, financial services, all types of hospitality, tourism
leisure and entertainment services, car rental services, health care services and
professional services and trade services.

X. GAPS Model:
Today’s consumer has become increasingly demanding. They not only want high
quality products but they also expect high quality customer service. Even
manufactured products such as cars, mobile phones and computers cannot gain a
strategic competitive advantage through the physical products alone. From a
consumer’s point of view, customer service is considered very much part of the
product.
 Introduce a framework,call the gaps model of service quality.
 Demonstrate that the most critical service quality gap to close is the customer gap,the
difference between customer expectations and perceptions.
 Show that four gaps that occur in companies,which we call provider gaps,are
responsible for the customer gap.
 Identify the four factors responsible for each of the four provider gaps.
CUSTOMER GAP:

 Customer gap is difference between customer expectations and Perceptions they are
Lack of upward communication,Insufficient relationship focus,Inadequate service
quality.
 In food aggregates like Zomato Customer expectations are listen to customers, Do
things that customers interested,Fast delivery,Tracking and delivery status.

GAP1(THE LISTENING GAP):

 Listening Gap, is the difference between customer expectations of service and

company understanding of those expectations.
This gap can occur for a number of reasons:
 Food Panda had not reached upto the customers expectations where Zomato and
SWIGGY had reached. So that the reason Zomato and SWIGGY had occupied the
complete market.

GAP2(THE SERVICEDESIGN&STANDARDS GAP):

 This gap can occur for a number of reasons.

18 | P a g e

 Poor service design. Food Panda had failed to connect service design to service
positioning.
 Absence of customer-driven standards.Food Panda had absence of formal process for
setting service quality goals.
 Inappropriate physical evidence and servicescape.
 So due to the design gap Food panda had not able to design their plan properly to
provide delivery services to customers ,
So they are not present in the market like Zomato and SWIGGY.

GAP3(THE DELIVERY GAP):

 This gap can occur for a number of reasons:

 Deficiencies in human resources policies.This occurs when their was lack of
empowerment,Perceived control and responsibilities.
 Customers who do not fulfill roles.
 Problems with service intermediaries.
 Failure to match supply and demand.
 This gap will effects the brand name if the Zomato employees do any mistake
while delivering the food like late delivery etc.

GAP4(THE COMMUNICATION GAP):

 This gap can occur for a number of reasons:

 Lack of integrated services marketing communications. In food aggregators if we
compare Food Panda and Zomato. We find that Zomato had the strong internal
marketing where Food Pand is absence of strong internal marketing.
 Ineffective management of customer expectations.Here Compared to Zomato. Food
Panda is lack of adequate education for customers.
 Overpromising.In this the food aggregators will overpromise in
advertising,Personal selling and through physical evidence.
 Inadequate horizontal communications.In food aggregators Zomato had good
communication between sales and advertising compared to Food Panda.
19 | P a g e

Measuring Service quality of Food aggregators using

SERQUAL instrument.
The SERQUAL instrument has been the predominant method used to measure consumers’
perceptions of service quality. It has five generic dimensions or factors and are stated as
follows.
 Tangibles - Physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel.
 Reliability - Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.
 Responsiveness - Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.
 Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility, and security) - Knowledge and
courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.
 Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the customer)- Caring and
individualized attention that the firm provides to its customers.
We have obtained 27 responses through our questionnaire. On services of Swiggy Food
aggregators. Now we are going to measure the service quality with the help of SERQUAL
instrument.

Responsiveness

Gap
Expectations (E) Perceptions (P) Score
Employees of food aggregators will
tell customers exactly when services SWIGGY will tell exactly when
will be performed 4.70 services will be provided to customers 5.04 0.33
Employees of food aggregators will
give promotional discounts to SWIGGY will give promotional offers
customers 4.78 to the customers 4.96 0.19
Employees of food aggregators will SWIGGY will always provide the
always be willing to help customers 4.81 customer service 5.04 0.22
Employees of food aggregators will
never be too busy to respond to SWIGGY services are never too busy
customers’ requests. 4.63 to respond to your request 4.89 0.26

Average Responsiveness
SERQUAL Score: 0.25

Assurance
Gap
Expectations (E) Perceptions (P) Score
The behaviour of employees in Food The behavior of employees in
aggregators instils confidence in you 5.04 SWIGGY will instill confidence in 4.88 -0.15
20 | P a g e

customers
You feel safe in your transactions with Customers of SWIGGY will feel safe
Food aggregators 5.41 in transactions 5.04 -0.37
Employees of SWIGGY will be
Employees in Food aggregators area consistently courteous with
consistently courteous with you 5.33 customers 5.00 -0.33
Employees can answer questions Employees of SWIGGY have the
completely 5.04 knowledge to answer your questions 5.07 0.04

Average Assurance
SERQUAL Score: -0.20

Reliability
Gap
Expectations (E) Perceptions (P) Score
When the Food aggregators promise When SWIGGY promises to do
to do something by a certain time, something by a certain time, it does
they so. 4.81 so 4.96 0.15
When customers have problems,
Food aggregators should be When you have problems, SWIGGY
sympathetic and reassuring 5.22 is sympathetic and reassuring 4.85 -0.37
Food aggregators performs the SWIGYY performs the services right
services right the first time 5.00 the first time 4.67 -0.33
Food aggregators should provide
their services at time they promise to SWIGGY provides its services at the
do so 5.30 time it promises to do so 4.67 -0.63
Food aggregators will insist on error
free records 5.11 SWIGGY keeps its records accurately 5.15 0.04

Average Reliability
SERQUAL Score: -0.32

Empathy
Gap
Expectations (E) Perceptions (P) Score
Food aggregator services will give SWIGGY gives you individual
customers individual attention 4.96 attention 5.04 0.07
Food aggregators will have operating
hours convenient to all their SWIGGY has operating hours
customers 5.26 convenient to all its customers 5.11 -0.15
Food aggregators will have
employees who give customer SWIGGY has employees who give
personal attention 5.00 customers personal attention 4.93 -0.07
Food aggregators will have their SWIGGY has the best interest to
customers best interest at heart 5.00 serve customers at heart 5.08 0.08
The Food aggregator employees will
understand the specific needs of their The employees of the SWIGGY
customer 4.56 understand your specific needs 5.11 0.56

Average Empathy
SERQUAL Score: 0.10
21 | P a g e

Tangibles
Gap
Expectations (E) Perceptions (P) Score
Food aggregator have modern SWIGGY has modern baggage, outfit
baggage, outfit and devices for the and devices for the delivery
delivery executives 5.41 executives 5.19 -0.22
Food aggregator APP UI design, SWIGGY APP UI design, graphics
graphics and the pictures of the Food and the pictures of the Food products
products will be Clear, Attractive and are Clear, Attractive and well
well explained? 5.41 explained 5.11 -0.30
Do you think the delivery executives
and restaurants which Food Delivery executives and restaurants
aggregator they offer Foods the which SWIGGY offer follows the
highest hygiene standards and good highest hygiene standards and good
packaging? 5.07 packaging 5.22 0.15
The product that you have ordered The product that you have ordered
from the Food aggregator is shown as from the SWIGGY is shown as per
per the image meets your the image meets your expectations
expectations during the tasting 4.96 during the tasting 4.93 -0.04

Average Tangibles
SERQUAL Score: -0.10

Unweighted SERQUAL Score:

Average Tangibles SERQUAL Score -0.102

Average Reliability SERQUAL Score -0.324

Average Responsiveness SERQUAL Score 0.250

Average Assurance SERQUAL Score -0.205
Average Empathy SERQUAL Score 0.103
Total -0.278
Unweighted SERQUAL Score -0.056

SERQUAL Importance Weights:

SERVQUAL Dimension Unweighted Score X Importance weights score Weighted Score

Average Tangibles -0.102 -2.037
Average Reliability -0.324 -8.102
Average Responsiveness 0.250 5.000
Average Assurance -0.205 -4.095
Average Empathy 0.103 1.538
Total -7.696
Weighted SERVQUAL Score -1.539
22 | P a g e

Analysis
 It is evident from the above calculation that Average assurance, reliability, tangibles
came to be negatives balances. It implies that the customers expectation exceeds the
customer perceptions. It suggests that Swiggy needs to concentrate on the Assurance,
reliability, and tangibles at the present scenario to provide the superior qualitative
services. Coming to the other dimensions i.e., Empathy, Responsiveness the average
results are positive. The result will be positive when customer perceptions exceeding
their expectations. This implies that Swiggy has satisfied their customer by being
empathetic and highly responsive at the same time.
 The Reliability plays crucial role in the Food aggregator business. Here the Average
reliability tends to -0.32, i.e., far away from the customer expectations. Swiggy need
to concentrate on fulfilling their promises by being sympathetic, reassuring and error
free deliveries on the timely basis to the customers.

Conclusion

1. By implementing above mentioned initiatives, Swiggy is trying to soften the blow

dealt by coronavirus by ensuring safety, convenience and comfort. The team is
working on many other initiatives to that end. We will keep you updated about these
efforts in the future as well.

2. Is contactless dining even possible?

That restaurants will have to reinvent the way they function is a given. Most
restaurateurs believe what aggregators are pushing is misleading as it implies that all
human contact points are removed. “There are touchpoints in the workplace, in the
grocery store, etc. The white paper ignores the fact that hospitality is based not just on
great food, but also great service. Servers interact with guests, make
recommendations, chefs prepare food, bartenders mix drinks. It is not easy to remove
the human element completely from a dining out experience.
Articulation
Below are few reviews copied from the websites Mouthshut and trustpilot. Here, the
customers had mentioned their problems very clearly. This the reason the reliability on the
Swiggy among the customers is low-slung.
23 | P a g e
24 | P a g e

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-
insights/the-changing-market-for-food-delivery#:~:text=Aggregators,through%20a%20single
%20online%20portal.&text=The%20aggregators%20collect%20a%20fixed,restaurant%20handles
%20the%20actual%20delivery.https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-
telecommunications/our-insights/the-changing-market-for-food-
delivery#:~:text=Aggregators,through%20a%20single%20online%20portal.&text=The
%20aggregators%20collect%20a%20fixed,restaurant%20handles%20the%20actual%20delivery.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/food-aggregators-restaurants-focus-on-cloud-kitchens-as-
business-uncertainty-reigns-11591705342947.html
https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/ministry-of-tourism-releases-
dineouts-white-paper-on-guidelines-for-restaurants-post-covid/75552170
https://www.icoderzsolutions.com/blog/do-you-know-the-cost-features-and-benefits-of-food-delivery-
app-development-models/
https://www.theweek.in/theweek/business/2019/04/26/how-food-aggregator-apps-like-swiggy-
zomato-are-trying-innovative-business-methods.html
25 | P a g e