Complete SWOT Analysis of Grab – A Southeast Asian Technology Company

Updated on: Mar 21, 2023

We have previously written an article on the SWOT analysis of HelloFresh – a publicly-traded German meal-kit company. This time we are back with another blog on the SWOT analysis of Grab.

The top food delivery platform in Malaysia – Grab Holdings Inc or Grab, is a Southeast Asian technology company headquartered in Singapore and Indonesia. Aside from transportation, the company provides food delivery and digital payment services through a mobile app.

Grab marketing efforts have greatly aided them. Marketing aids in the fulfilment of the desires and preferences of the target audience. Because every other company now uses digital marketing, it has become a very important and necessary skill to learn. Give a shot to our Free Masterclass on Digital Marketing especially prepared and brought to the table for beginners by our CEO Karan Shah.

This blog has been written to gain a thorough understanding of Grab company, its products, its popularity, net revenue, and to give an authentic picture of the SWOT analysis of Grab.

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About Grab 

SWOT Analysis of Grab - Grab Food Delivery

Grab was founded in 2012 by two Malaysians as the MyTeksi app in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it expanded the following year as GrabTaxi. Following the “super app” model, it has since expanded into other services. It relocated its headquarters to Singapore in 2014 and rebranded as “Grab.”

Grab started as a taxi-hailing app in 2012, but has since expanded its product platform to include private car services named GrabCar & GrabShare, motorcycle taxis – GrabBike, social carpooling – GrabHitch, last-mile delivery – GrabExpress & GrabFood, bus & shuttle services – GrabCoach & GrabShuttle, cycling services – GrabCycle.

However, the company would not be where it is today if it did not provide a successful platform that allows passengers to book a ride with a few taps on their smartphones. Booking a ride with the Grab app is as simple as pinning your current location and the location where you want to be dropped off. 

The app’s GPS feature also allows drivers to transport passengers much faster by allowing them to use the GPS to find routes with fewer traffic jams and road obstructions. The Grab driver tracking option has also greatly reduced the safety and security issues that have plagued taxis for decades. Once a booking is made, Grab tracks the vehicle’s entire journey and records both the driver’s and the passenger’s contact information.

 

Quick Stats on Grab
Founder Dominick Richter, Thomas Geisel, and Jessica Nelson
Year Founded 2012
Origin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
No. of Employees 6,000+
Company Type Public
Market Cap $20.651 Billion (2022)
Annual Revenue $772 Million (2021)
Net Income/ Profit $180 Million (2021)

 

SWOT Analysis of Grab - GrabCar a Private Car Service


Product & Service by Grab

Grab has been automotive & transportation technology, mobile app and deals with:

  • Technology
  • Transportation
  • Food delivery
  • Grocery delivery
  • Parcel delivery
  • E-commerce
  • Online payment
  • Financial services
  • Mobile app


Competitors of Grab

Grab competes on a global level the 5 competitors of Grab are:

  • Uber
  • Lyft
  • Gett
  • iCarsclub
  • Gojek


Now that we understand the company’s key business, let’s look after the SWOT Analysis of Grab.


SWOT Analysis of Grab

SWOT Analysis of Grab can show how a well-established company uses its opportunities to ensure its growth. It can show how the company takes advantage of its strengths to use the opportunities while working on its weaknesses. SWOT Analysis of Grab will also reveal its expansion plans.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of Grab, refer to the infographic below:

SWOT Analysis of Grab - SWOT Infographics of Grab

Now first let’s begin with the strengths of the company from the SWOT analysis of Grab.

Strengths of Grab

  • Biggest in its Nation: Grab is one of the biggest technology startups in the Southeast region and it currently operates in the Southeast Asian countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
  • Top Quality Selection: It provides excellent service. Only approved drivers and vehicles will be able to work for Grab. Grab’s transportation services are safe and of high quality, because the drivers who work at Grab go through rigorous verification procedures.
  • Ease of Payment: Grab accepts cash, cards, and top-ups as payment methods. Customers can also pay the driver directly using Grab’s payment method through Kudo and GrabPay.
  • Range of Services: The fleet consists of a wide range of different types of vehicles. GrabCars, GrabShare, GrabTaxi, and GrabCar+ are all available. Grab provides transportation as one of its services, but it also provides food delivery, mobile/data loading, and cargo services.
  • Strong Acquisitions: Grab merged with Uber’s Southeast Asian operations in March 2018, followed by Grab acquiring Uber’s assets and operations, including UberEats, which led to Grab’s expansion of food delivery services.
  • Recent Developments: Recently in 2021, Grab expanded its operations by opening a new headquarters in one-north of Singapore. Grab is always ahead of its competitors because it focuses on developing its business frequently.
  • Fundings: Grab gets huge funding from the nation’s top automobile companies and other ride-hailing firms such as Japan’s Softbank Group and MUFG, Booking Holdings, Toyota and Microsoft. Such funding in turn helps Grab to explore new ventures.
  • Number of Users: Grab holds more than 214 million app downloads and 3.5 million daily rides. As of December 2020, Grab had 5 million registered driver-partners. 
  • Diverse products: Transport is just one of Grab’s services, the company also offers food delivery, mobile loading, and cargo services.


Weaknesses of Grab

  • Labour-Intensive Industry: Grab is dependent on people and is, therefore, a labour-intensive business. This dependence on people makes it exhausting for the company to manage regular training of delivery partners and performance-based appraisals. 
  • Less Visibility in the Global Market: Grab is lesser-known as compared to the global players. Grab needs to work on its brand visibility to compete against other delivery giants in the international markets.
  • Huge Operational Costs: Operating a business in the delivery industry requires big amounts of operational costs from time to time to keep the business process going.
  • Changes in Technology: The system does experience glitches from time to time which requires frequent changes in technology as new and better technology comes up now and then. It gets both difficult to train people and an expensive affair to bring in changes in the technology used frequently.
  • Customers Privacy Issues: There are privacy concerns because Grab tracks where customers get their taxis and where they go with them.
  • Low Incentives: The unprofessional and unseemly behaviour of the drivers resulted in negative publicity. The reason behind this is the incentives offered by Grab to drivers are minimal due to which the chances of drivers staying with Grab are very low.
  • Drivers Reliance on Tips: Drivers rely heavily on tips. The company has no control over its drivers’ actions. Customers may feel uneasy if drivers constantly ask for tips or display a rude attitude.


Opportunities for Grab

  • Explore New Markets: Grab can reach out to growing markets in suburban areas where taxi services are unavailable.
  • Electric Vehicles: Grab should start enrolling electric and rechargeable vehicles because the vehicles result in pollution reduction. This move by Grab can help Grab to get support from the government and open the doors for additional subsidies.
  • Growing Safety Concerns: Grab should promote the safety benefits of its services because customers frequently switch to Grab due to concerns about the legality and safety of motorcycle hailing.
  • Current Nation’s Scenarios: Poor public transportation, a lack of parking spaces for public vehicles, and rising consumer incomes may boost Grab’s profits.
  • Nation’s Development: As a result of the development of New City Clark, Grab may be able to operate in a key strategic location, as Manila remains congested with work-related crowds.
  • Acquisition Synergies: Acquisitions are a good way of expanding an ongoing business with the help of another one by utilizing its resources.


Threats to Grab

  • Constant Forcement: Customers who are constantly asked for tips may become repulsed and stop using the service.
  • Increase in Fuel Rates: Increasing fuel rates globally lead to a rise in operational costs.
  • Country-specific Regulations: Each country has a different set of rules and regulations regarding the transportation of goods. Some goods have very strict restrictions in some countries making it difficult to transport them.
  • Rising Incidents: Females in the nation frequently get assaulted by GrabCar drivers and such incidents are increasing day on day. Incidents like these question the safety which is guaranteed by Grab.
  • Increase in Competition: Apps for such services are emerging every day, thus companies in this industry have to keep up with the latest trends and provide better customer services.


This ends our complete SWOT analysis of Grab. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

Grab is the world’s leading player in the transportation industry in Southeast Asia. Grab is a company that provides food delivery, express courier service, finance, club subscriptions, and other services. According to Grab’s SWOT analysis, the company faces challenges in the following industries: delivery, finance, transportation, and so on.

The company is equipped with advanced technology in its daily operations. It needs to grow and maintain its brand visibility and focus on expanding to the rural markets to become a logistics leader in India. Marketing has constantly been evolving with time and in today’s world, digital marketing is the new trend that allows companies to keep up with their consumers. 

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We hope this blog on the SWOT analysis of Grab has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

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Author's Note:

My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

Practical assignments, case studies & simulations helped the students from this course present this analysis.

Building on this practical approach, we are now introducing a new dimension for our online digital marketing course learners - the Campus Immersion Experience.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

1 Comment

  1. sania tazeem

    Out of complete SWOT analysis of Grab it also offers to find routes through GPS, isn’t great!

    Reply

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