Ola Corporate Level Strategy

Analysis of Business level strategy and corporate level strategy?

Ola started with a vision to give a great experience. They stick to this vision till date. In order to achieve this Ola’s higher management have tried to Indianise ideas which were present in developed markets but were absent in Indian market. It became the first company to introduce GPS enabled cab booking services. It introduced this idea when people were still reluctant to book cabs through phone. Although the idea was new and risky but it became a hit and within 2 years Ola became one of the most valued startups in India. Ola is also one of the first startup which diversified into many businesses. Table 1 below shows the different services Ola offers.

INDUSTRIES SERVICE

Though it has been able to successfully launch its operation in many Indian cities but because of bad reviews and no strategy in place to retain customers, Ola has lost market to other players. Also it has not been able to take advantage of being the first mover in many cities after Uber entered these cities.

e) Quality Strategy

Bhavish Aggarwal started Ola with the vision to give quality cab experience to Indians. In the beginning it did stick to this vision but of late many customers with whom I have interacted said that the Quality of Ola is below par. They say the drivers are misbehaved and they often indulge in quarrel. Many of the drivers too complained of bad experiences with customers. Many complained that company has removed many benefits which it earlier offered. They also complain of reducing incentives. They are complaining of less bookings.

2 CORPORATE STRATEGY

Ola’s corporate strategy is a classic example of vertical Integration. All its acquisitions or new businesses are directed towards helping its core business.

Some of the new businesses started by Ola mentioned in table 1 are either forward integrated or backward

They are easy payment options.

GeoTagg was acquired by Ola. It is the only unrelated business which Ola has. Ola money and ZipCash can be used for trip planning.

Thus Ola has diversified in order to gain market power. It also helped Ola to have a competitive advantage.

Analysis of the Corporate Strategy

Stars Question Marks Cash Cows

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix

The above matrix shows that till date Ola cabs is the only cash cow of Ola. It is the main revenue generating entity. The strategy of diversifying into Ola café (food delivery) and Ola Store (Grocery Store) has not paid well for Ola. Ola has recently closed the operations of these two services.

[Question Marks] Ola money is a service which operates in an industry of high growth but of relatively small market share. This industry is dominated by Free charge and Paytm.

[Stars] Ola Shuttle and Ola Corporate have relatively big market share and they have high potential to being