
Uber Trials Fast Food Delivery Service UberFresh - mck-
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2014/08/26/uber-trials-fast-food-delivery-service-uberfresh/
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2pasc
It's incredible how fast Uber executes: they launched in the same month:
1/moving in Atlanta 2/convenience store in DC 3/lunch in LA 4/ride-sharing in
SF

The one thing I am not sure is how they could branch out of pure "people
logistics" (and into commerce). When I am hungry, would I open the Uber app,
toggle 10 things and see the menu or just open Sprig/Spoonrocket? People
always mention Amazon, but Amazon is search driven so I can find anything,
that's ok. As for Uber, it's a totally new mental model they have to create. I
guess for them, it is about the "Now". That being said, they have millions of
users and CC on file, so it would be easy for them to create other apps for
these different experiences.

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kalleboo
Don't forget they also just launched an API. The goal of that may be that
restaurants can put "get this delivered via Uber" buttons in their apps.

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2pasc
That is for sure. But it is also assuming that stores know how to generate
demand for their restaurant. The way they have out-executed Postmates is
really crazy.

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discardorama
There are enough players in this area: Sprig, Munchery, Grubhub, Seamless,
Caviar, etc. etc. What is Uber bringing to the table?

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pyronite
1.) The ability to deliver from any restaurant, not just those participating
or offering their own delivery service. 2.) Drivers in a large number of
locations, likely closer to the intended restaurant than any "pick it up for
you and deliver" service could ever be.

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Instacartlove
This is basically Postmates.

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eli
I agree, but I guess the argument is they are more efficient because unlike
Postmates their drivers can work as both taxis and delivery vehicles so will
have less down time.

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2pasc
There is a big difference between - delivering food you have in your trunk in
under 10 minutes, and what Postmates or Caviar does. It seems UberFresh is
closer to a Sprig/Spoonrocket model than a Postmates model.

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r00fus
How useful is this for customers if it's just a small period of time (and
likely vendors not to mention limited area)?

I know it's a big jump to add a whole new competency (delivery vs. cabs), but
I'm not sure I'd even try it out given other options (DoorDash) exist and
don't operate on a trial basis.

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crazypyro
I think someone in Uber has some dream of creating a system where drivers are
constantly kept busy and completing jobs (small deliveries, driving people,
food deliveries) in an efficient, algorithmic flow that keeps downtime at a
minimum, while drivers earn money and Uber earns even more money.

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edgyswingset
Sounds like it'll only ever be a dream. Assuming they can keep sabotaging
their way towards market dominance, eventually they'll reach a point where
they have to deal with humans directly - and with humans you get problems you
can't solve technically.

They will either have to dedicate people to strictly or mostly food delivery,
or offer an annoying service where your driver has to make a detour so he or
she can pick up a hamburger for someone else.

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crazypyro
You call it an annoying service, they call it UberEconomy!

(In all seriousness, I think there could be a market for almost all of their
ideas. The problem is the need for seamless integration and management of
human assets that have little allegiance, combined with small, test markets,
makes it hard to predict what services will take off and what will flounder)

