Bolt company

Bolt company

Bolt, which was formally known as Taxify, is a transport company that offers services such as micro-mobility, ride-hailing, and food delivery with its main headquarters in Estonia. Currently, the company operates in over 35 countries (over 150 cities) across North America, North Africa, Europe, West Asia, Australia, and Africa.  From this, it is clear that the company is an international company with approximately one million employees or drivers and over 30 million customers across the globe. The company was founded in 2013 by a 19-year-old boy Markus Villig. His parents played a bigger role in financing support and marketing the company. The parents contribute five thousand euros as capital and helped their son Markus Villig in marketing. They used their extra time after work to provide customer support. Markus Villig decided to seek help from a developer who later launched the business, then known as mTakso.

Report

From the time the business was launched, it distributed its branches to several countries. Currently, the company is aiming at gearing up the next stage of growth. The company changed the name from Taxify to Bolt as it target to provide more services apart from the original electric services only. Currently, the company engaged in several transportation options apart from private cars. The shift of the names was made to align with the purpose and the future growth of the business. The name “Bolt” basically means speed in accordance with electricity. The company embraced the use of this name as they believed that the future is electric, and it wanted the titles which relate with the future depicting how the company aims at growth, offering more than the currently provided services.

Bolt offer their services through a developed app. This app enables users to request a ride using their phones. The company made sure that their app is readily available, the reason why they decided to use or develop an app which supports easily accessible gadgets, the phone. The app can be installed on Windows, iOS, and Android phones. With this, it brings the services closer to the end-users. Customs can easily access the company’s services at their comfort places and at any preferred time using an available and very accessible gadget. From the developed application, the users were provided with a different method of payment. These methods include mobile carrier, credit cards, or cash, and this is offered before the requested service. In addition, the users, after requesting the ride, must indicate their pick up points to alert the drivers around that location. Once the closest driver accepts the request, the user can be able to check the driver’s details, including the name, the location of the car, and more other information about the car, such as the registration number, color, and type of the car. After the driver picks and completes the ride, both the rider and the driver can rate the charges to be paid by the user depending on the distance covered. This strategy has helped Bolt to reach more people at their comfort, pick up points.

Bolt also focuses on the importance of users’ safety. All the employees, such as the driver, who covers the highest percentage employees in Bolt Company, must be scrutinized. This scrutiny includes criminal background, and once this is done, drivers are further trained, including first aid training and customer services. From this, it is clear that the company focuses on the safety of the users and the company’s reputation. The company hires drivers who are 21 years and above with over three years of driving experience.

Most importantly, the company maintains zero-tolerance against drug and alcohol use.  However, the company has also developed strategies for the safety of both the drivers and the users, especially in the areas where there are issues concerning security. For instance, in Nigeria, the company installed an SOS button to be used by drivers whenever there is an emergency. Once this button is pressed, Lagos emergency response team will be alerted immediately and can swiftly respond to such alerts.  With this, the safety of both the user and the driver is maintained. This strategy makes both the users and the employees safe, which is the main aim of the company.

Bolt company uses a triadic model of business as it aims to grow the business by satisfying both the customers and the employees.  The company’s main intention is to be loyal to the main stakeholders, including the users and the drivers, to maintain their reputation. The main platforms the company has focused on are accessibility, safety, low cost, and quick services. Most importantly, this type of business model (triadic) uses the available data as their primary resource. It is clear that the company develops the values through other means such as network effect, then later analyzed following the model below.

Bolt analyzes the business using the triadic business model context below.

The strategy used by Bolt Company to sustain, capture and create the stated values to occur is through increasing the range and reach on the company’s platform to create collaboration between the primary stakeholders, including the users, employees, and the investors. The company can be able to do this because of its massive user base, which is the main resource it holds. The main partners of Bolt Company include investors, passengers who are the customers, and the supporters. All these partners play an essential rule in the running of Bolt Service Company around the globe. Drivers play a vital part in the company as they are responsible for directly offering and executing the company’s services to the customer, linking the customers and the company.  On the other hand, the investors provide financial funding to the company whenever needed.

Bolts company used for key functions, including planning, audience building, organizing, and controlling. The main activities associated with Bolt Company include providing the users with a taxi service. The customers can access the company services by using only a few minutes when booking a taxi through the app provided within all the operational cities. Also, the company can effectively use the data provided by the customer using the analytic approach to boost the efficiency of services offered to customers. The feedback from the customers plays a significant role in analyzing the company and for the future growth of the company. Also, the service provided focuses on the importance of improving the level of user engagement by concentrating on the value creation aspects of user services. As mentioned early, customer satisfaction is the major target of Bolt Company. The company has majored in getting professional and qualified drivers and other staff members because they are employees who directly interact with customers and are responsible for the delivery service. Provide services that can be gauged by the customer and associate with the company.

Most importantly, Bolt Company has used a lot of resources concerning the channel of communication to be used between the customer to employees or the company. Bolt developed a channel of communication, which makes the users and public awareness concerning the several services offered by the company, such as taxi services and delivery services. With this, Bolt achieved audience building, which is one of the four key functions of the business. This aspect is one of the biggest goals which the company focuses more. With this, Bolt Company has developed a market place with a lot of connections and can be turned to benefit the company.

Bolt Company used different ways of planning and organizing skills to be able to control the market, unlike other competitors.  To other orderly drivers and customers, Bolt might be having similar services like other ride-hailing applications such as Uber. On the contrary, the two companies hold much difference between them, especially when it comes to growing services and launching. Uber targets and focuses on the global domination strategy, and over several years, the company (Uber) has spent a lot on aggressive launching in order to gain the first-mover benefit in the market. However, Bolt uses a different strategy. According to the founder of Bolt Company (Villig), he considers that late entrance can provide a better platform for the company to grow. To Villig, late entry is an advantage and a blessing to the company because the company will use less in educating the market and pick up drivers and new customers for the ride-hailing service. The strategy has worked for Bolt Company. It enables the company to understand the market well and come up with a plan which can help them outdo its competitors in the market.

Most importantly, the company wants to use less in marketing, and this can be achieved by entering the market late and coming up with better services and plans to be able to control the market. In addition, late entry will help the company understand the risks of the market place before entry by analyzing the competitor’s actions in the market and come up with solutions for such risks.  With this, the company will reduce the risks of getting shut down in the future. Such organizing skills have made Bolt achieve its goals of growth.

Integration of the main resources of the business (investors, customers, and the drivers) has helped Bolt company improve its customer services and control the market, which is one of the four key functions targeted by the business. However, the less costly business model used by Bolt Company is the main factors that are associated with the success of the business around the globe. The company accomplished its objectives successfully by employing well trained and professional drivers who are the face of the company and offers direct services to the customer. Customer satisfaction boosts the success and growth of the business. Also, the low price provided by the company has propelled the growth of the business in several markets by gaining more new customers than their competitors.  Most importantly, the company stresses the importance of complying with the rules and policies provided by the country it operates. With this, it gets more support within the country.

Conclusion

Generally, the main target of Bolt Company is customer satisfaction, to be able to control the market and achieve its target. This was achieved by making sure that there is effective collaboration between the key stakeholders of the company, including drivers, investors, and the customer. Also, the company uses a different strategy to meet its annual target by reducing expenses. According to Villig, late entry minimizes the cost of marketing, helping the company use less in marketing. In addition, the model of business used by Bolt Company is tactically planned, and it can help the company gain customers loyalty and gain a lot of benefits from it. However, the company can consider improving the data analytics efficiency to be able to differentiate the customers accurately. This process must be improved in order to develop customer services by identifying the needs and demands of the customers.