Abstract

This case discusses the various initiatives taken by Swiggy to maintain business continuity amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in India, Swiggy’s business suffered with restaurants being shut and customers showing reluctance to order from restaurants fearing the spread of the virus through food. In March 2020, food orders on Swiggy dropped by 60%. To cope with the pandemic, Swiggy introduced a slew of measures including reinventing its order journey to maximize food safety at each step of the order-delivery process, supporting delivery and restaurant partners, and diversifying into online groceries and delivery. As part of its surviving strategy, Swiggy laid off 1,100 employees in May 2020 and also scaled down or shut down adjacent businesses. Though Swiggy bounced back to pre-COVID order volumes in October 2020 due to a surge in food orders, the food aggregator faced some challenges including growing competition, change in consumer behavior leading to a drop in the demand for online food delivery, regaining customer trust, bringing more restaurants back on to its platform, and recovering revenues. Moreover, Swiggy faced a new threat from e-commerce giant Amazon, which entered the food delivery space in India. As Swiggy prepares to return to normalcy in operations, what more should it do to stay relevant amid the market changes, retain customers, and regain momentum in the intensely competitive online food delivery sector in India? Can Swiggy ace grocery delivery? Will it achieve profitability as COVID-19 impacts the economy?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Swiggy’s business
• Understand the importance of Business Continuity
• Evaluate Swiggy’s response to the COVID-19 crisis
• Identify the challenges faced by Swiggy
• Explore Swiggy’s future strategy and the actions it can take to recover from the crisis and consolidate its position in the highly competitive online food delivery sector in India

Keywords

Business Continuity, Crisis Management; COVID-19 Pandemic; Competitive Advantage; Contactless Delivery; Core Competence; Swiggy Hunger Savior Covid Relief Fund; Response Strategy