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PROJECT REPORT
Course name: OTPR
Project Report on Zomato

Name of Students:
Abhishek Khaitan (15F203)
Ankit Garg (15F209)
Gourav Baid (15F221)
Rachita Sahu (15F238)
Sachit Modi (15F241)
Supradeep Mallimadugula (15F255)

TERM 1 2015
T A PAI MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, MANIPAL

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Table of Contents
Sl. No.

Description

Page No.

Introduction

Mission and Vision

3-4

Business Verticals of Zomato

4-5

Organization Structure

6-7

Culture

7-9

Strategy

9-11

SWOT Aanalysis

11-13

Changes in Zomato

13

References

14

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Introduction

Zomato is a global restaurant discovery service that operates in 22 countries including India,
Northern America and Australia, with more than 2000 employees linked to it across the
globe.
The company has diverse verticals of food business. Starting from scanned menus, photos
and reviews by street teams, its roots are also expanding in cashless payments, white label
apps, table reservation, online food ordering and point of scale systems.
The origins of Zomato can be traced back to 2008 when Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj
Chaddah, two office colleagues at Bain & Company realized in their canteen that a
considerable amount of time is wasted in looking at the menu. As a solution to this, they
decided to provide scanned restaurant menus for Bain employees by uploading them onto the
companys intranet. The idea gained a widespread support and eventually saw a lot of traffic
and thus the official website was launched by the name of Foodiebay.com.
The company was later renamed to Zomato in November 2010, and since then Zomato has
been growing from strength to strength and currently 19 million people are using it monthly.
Mission and Vision
Zomatos mission statement is given as:
Our mission is to ensure nobody has a bad meal
This mission statement perfectly relates to the working methodology of Zomato and its
structure. Zomato has a street team in each of its functioning city, which ensures garden-fresh
and rationalized data every time; there also exist a vast community of food lovers that
constantly share their review and photos that helps the users to make informed choice.
The company helps in building amazing experiences while dinning; it has a strong database
covering over 1 million restaurants globally and has plans to expand its operating horizon by
providing services like online ordering, table reservations and cashless payments. The
company incorporates various engagement and management tools thereby enabling
restaurants to focus on more on food and less on other things. This results in a better dinning
experience thus clearly justifying its mission statement.

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Though there hasnt been mentioned formally, but companys vision, as stated by Pankaj
Chaddah, is to take Zomato to a global platform and become the 'Google' of food. The
techniques and practices of working clearly supports its vision. With more than a million
listed restaurants in its directory, it is on the right track to fulfill what it desires to be. The
guiding philosophy of Zomato is to help people get the best eating out experience, by helping
them discover best places for the same around them.
Business Verticals of Zomato
The stepping-stone of Zomato into the business was restaurant listing as a discovery model.
In its initial years, it was concentrated on providing rich and accurate information regarding
the restaurants to its users. The company works on feet-on the-street tactic and refurbishes
its restaurant database every 3 months to ensure consumers gets material as fresh as possible.
But over the years it has stretched its prospects to include cashless payments, online ordering,
whitelable apps, table reservations and Zomato base.
Restaurant search and discovery:
Zomato began its operations in the major metropolitan cities of India, and now lists over 1
million restaurants across the globe. The customers are offered a variety of information
including elementary factors like cost and popularity of the place to miniature aspects like
Wifi access and if the place has a pet friendly environment; this helps people to narrow down
there choices. The basic filters like location, type of cuisine, dish and establishment type also
come as add-ins.
The users are urged to share their experience by giving reviews, pictures and rating the
restaurants. There are several interactive options available such as to follow foodies, to tag
friends, to mark a restaurant if visited with a check-in option and others. A feature called
City Feed showcases the user reviews and real-time snaps which helps the users to know
the trend and whats popular at that very moment.
Cashless payments:
This feature, which is available on iOS and Android devices, enables the Zomato customers
to visit a Zomato-partnered restaurant and check-in with the app, having done this the
customer has to inform a restaurant staff of this mode of payment for which he is given a

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unique Zomato id. The billing process happens automatically in the background. Taking the
present scenario, this facility is available only in Dubai. The aim is to expand it globally
starting with countries such as New Zealand and Australia.
Online Ordering:
The company has recently started the online food-ordering portal. This can be used via
Zomato order, an app available on iOS and Android devices. The regulars can order food to
their desired place with a range of options to make payments. They can choose among COD
(Cash on delivery), Zomato Cashless or e-payment options. For online payments, it has
partnered with Paytm. This gave the users flexibility to order from any number of restaurants
and select their desired payment option.
WhiteLabel apps:
Zomato is also looking forward to magnify its business using white label apps. WhiteLabel is
a plug-and-play application that will power a restaurants digital identity thus enabling them
to focus on their core business area that is food. With Zomato WhiteLabel, restaurants with
absolutely no technical knowledge will be able to promote market-ready apps in a matter of
weeks.
Table reservations:
In April 2015, Zomato acquired NexTable, a US- based online table reservation platform. It
plans to launch it in India, Australia and UAE in the second half on the next year under the
title Zomato book. Zomato wanted to own the communication layer between restaurants and
customers and Zomato book would be a tool to do the same.
Zomato Base:
Zomato acquired MaplePOS in 2015 and renamed it to Zomato Base. Base is a cloud based
POS (Point of sales) system for the restaurants. With the help of Base, restaurants can provide
their business with services like menu, inventory and recipe management, verticals like
CRM, real time analytics, electronic receipts and payment gateway integration makes Zomato
base a good utility to have.

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Organizational structure

Zomato has flat hierarchy and follows a desk less culture which shows that all people are at
the same level and are equally approachable.
Zomato has now diversified into several divisions and each division has a separate
functioning process. But the structure remains for each remains almost the same.

Flat hierarchical structure of Zomato

At the top position is the Country Sales Head followed by City Sales Head, Sales Manager,
Area Sales Manager and the Sales Team.
The roles and responsibilities covered under various heads are as follows:
Sales Team

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The sales team performs the functions of pitching to the clients, building networks,
contracting and payment collection. It also focuses on working in teams and meeting the
targets allocated. This team reports to the Area Sales Manager.
Area Sales Manager
The Area Sales Manager is responsible for maintaining the overall financial health of the
area. It allocates targets and incentives for the sales team and manages teams to handle client
relationships. He is also involved in pitching, negotiating and billing critical clients,
troubleshooting problems related to complex clients, formulating area reports, etc.

City Sales Head

He has the revenue responsibility of a city. He has to create and monitor operating plans for
the city by coordinating with the Business Head / Country Head. He also ensures complete
Product and Sales training of new recruits. His other responsibilities includes networking in
the merchants community and representing the company at various B2B events.
Sales Manager
Sales manager is the brand ambassador of Zomato. He sells advertising space on Zomato to
restaurants. He searches for prospective clients and generate sales lead. His other functions
includes distribution of Zomato merchandizes for display at restaurants and designing
marketing campaigns to amplify impact. He is also engaged in formulating the result reports
of advertising campaigns and interpreting them to clients. He also works with the Graphics
team in order to contribute to the campaigns and maintain client relationships.
Country Sales Head
He is at the top most position of the divisional structure. His responsibility is to develop
strategies to enter new cities. He has the task to supervise the City Sales Heads as well as the
Sales Managers. He is also responsible for maintaining the financial levels of performance
and records.
Culture

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Culture - This is the most hyped word in todays corporate scenario, and it is rightly so.
Today whenever we talk about an organization, we dont ask how the management is or what
the pay scale is, instead the first question that arises is about the culture of the organization.
Culture is not something, which could be articulated. It a feeling which is mutually shared by
the existing members of any organization and the new members are expected to follow the
suit. An organization cant become big if there is no culture and the employees are not happy
with their work culture. Culture is the way to think, feel and behave in an organization.
Culture at Zomato
Zomato has always been boasting of its culture. With a presence in 22 countries around the
world, it becomes even more important for this organization to define its culture in a way that
it gets accepted worldwide. There are several aspects of the Zomato Culture which makes it
different from others. Some of them are discussed here:
1) Desk less Office
The most famous thing about Zomato is that they have offices with no desk and no cabins.
No desk depicts that the employees are not expected to be domain specific. Any employee
is free to do any work as long as it helps Zomato to move ahead. Zomato considers itself to
be an open organization with flexibility in the roles of the employees. Also this Desk less
Office is symbolic of a flat hierarchy and an organic culture in the organization. The
employees work on the same floor and same room as the founder or director is working on.
Anyone can freely reach out to them.
2) Hiring Owners, not employees
The CEO at Zomato, Mr. Deepinder Goyal keeps saying, We dont want employees at
Zomato. We want owners. Zomato believes in instilling a high level of ownership in all its
employees. The employees takes responsibility of what they do. Everyone at Zomato is
considered as the brand ambassador of the organization and works towards achieving a
common goal. In return, the organization looks after their growth prospects.
3) 1% done
One thing that drives the employees at Zomato is their zeal to achieve more. Zomato still
considers itself to be a startup. It always aims at achieving more tomorrow than it did today.
They may have been valued in million, but they always believe that they have done just 1%

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of what they could do. And this desire to achieve the remaining 99% is what takes them

4) Think Ahead
Zomato believes in working for the future and expects the same from its employees. They are
expected to come up with new ideas that could change the way people look at restaurants.
And even if the idea is not implemented, they are appreciated publicly and are encouraged to
come up with more innovative ones. Zomato Wallet and Zomato Delivery are the outcomes
of these ideas.
5) Team Zoman
Zoman is the identity, which every employee at Zomato is proud of. These Zomans live by
the quote, There are no strangers here, and only friends you havent met. There is sense of
mutual understanding and care among them, which helps them to bind like a family and
whatever they do at Zomato is a way of life for them.
Linking Structure and Culture
No organization can have only one kind of culture; rather they have a mix of multiple
cultures. Zomato also follows the same principle. But the Adaptability Culture defines a
major part of Zomato. This organization believes in changing according to the change in the
external environment. But these changes are not made abruptly. Much of a thought is given
and changes are such, which would not just meet the customer needs, but would make their
lives easier. Here employees are expected to be innovative, creative and flexible. And they
are valued for being so.
Strategy
Porters five forces

Intensity of Existing Rivalry- Low-Moderate

1. Only a few competitors are playing the same game, so chances of utilizing the same
customers and resources are less; food panda and burrp are the major ones.

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increase the profits for the others.

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2. Exit barriers are few, weak firms are more likely to leave the market quickly, and this will
3. The customer base is less for other competitors compared to Zomato, so it has a lower risk
of losing out on the significant market share.
4. Online portals that cater to the restaurant business is growing revenue quickly, and so is
Zomato, there is a decent chance of attracting the new customer base created.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers- Low

1. There are a large number of suppliers (restaurants) who can be substituted, so they have
less bargaining power. This is due to competition amongst them as everyone wants to partner
with it and healthy competition is good for Zomato.
2. The more diverse the distribution, the less is the bargaining power that a single distributor
will have.
3. The critical inputs are almost same, there is no uniqueness amongst the products, and so it
reduces the supplier power of bargaining.
4. The supplier switching costs are low so it is easier to switch for Zomato, the less
bargaining power they have is minimal and bound to listen to major stakeholder in the
relationship.

Bargaining Power of Customers- Low

1. When there are large numbers of customers, no one customer tends to have bargaining
leverage. Limited bargaining leverage helps Zomato.
2. When customers require special customizations, they are less likely to switch to producers
who have difficulty meeting their demands. Buyer customization is asset for Zomato.
3. High Brand image, that has been created due to differentiation and uniqueness, that helps
its customers focus only on it and ensure not to deviate from Zomato.

Threat of Substitutes Moderate

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A limited number of substitutes mean that customers cannot find producers who offer
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products or services that fulfill their needs. In the present scenario there are few sites, which
can be potential substitutes, which can offer the same set of services as Zomato offers.

Threat of New Competitors Moderate-High

1. Among strong brands it is critical to compete, then new competitors will have to improve
their brand value in order to effectively compete. The strong brand image is good for Zomato
and it needs to maintain that.
2. Geographic Presence is an asset, which an experienced company has and it can leverage
upon. Zomato being present in 22 countries is way ahead of its competitors. So new
competitors will have a competitive disadvantage.
3. Learning curve, which requires more initial groundwork, is seen here and new competitors
must spend time and money studying and understanding the market before they can
effectively compete. This positively affects profits for Zomato and older competitors.
SWOT analysis
STRENGHT
Innovative culture:
An innovative culture helps Zomato to produce unique products and services that meet
customers needs. Innovative Culture has a significant impact and a long-term positive impact
on the growth, which adds to its value.
Superior technology:
Superior technology allows Zomato to meet the needs of their customers in ways that the
competitors cant imitate.
Financial strength:
High financial leverage is due to its business model. Financial leverage allows Zomato to use
their balance sheet to expand their business and increase their profits.

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Global presence:

Zomato covers over a million listed restaurants across 10,000+ cities in 22 countries.
Interface:
Simple & user friendly interface

WEAKNESS
Uncontrollable Growth:
Drastic growth means susceptible to bad content. The content may lack quality if proper care
in not taken.
Bad Acquisitions:
Bad acquisition can hurt Zomato by increasing their costs and reducing the value of their
combined businesses. Acquisitions may also distract from the core businesses and merge
cultures that dont complement each other
OPPORTUNITIES
International Expansion:
Zomato has still got a chance a chance to expand to small countries where it could be the first
of its kind app based restaurant discovery portal.
Rapid technological development and Introduction of new Services:
With the advent of new technologies and continuously growing market, Zomato has a chance
to introduce new and innovative services so as to stay ahead of its competitors and to
diversify their portfolio of products and services.
Internet leverage:

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Increasing Internet penetration & the rising number of smartphone users offers Zomato the
lower expense.

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ability to expand their business. Zomato can now reach to a much wider audience at relatively

THREATS
High Competition:
Competition from search engines & other similar apps means limited growth. International
competitors are numerous and difficult to combat. Foodpanda & Burrp are emerging as major
competitors and are offering newer and better services.
Government Policies:
Lack of clear rules and regulations so changes in government policy can easily affect the
business model.
Replicable model:
Other players can easily imitate business model, so availability of substitute products
hurts Zomatos ability to raise prices, because customers can easily switch to another product
or service.
Changes in Zomato
In November 2010, Foodiebay was renamed to Zomato. The brand name was changed due to
a possible move outside of the food sector and also to avoid possible confusion with eBay, as
the earlier brand name Foodiebay contained "ebay" in it. If you are wondering what the name
Zomato means, it's just a word that rhymes with tomato!!

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Urbanspoon was one of the most recognized consumer Internet brands in the United States,
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Canada, and Australia. When zomato acquired Urbanspoon, it changed its logo to include the
Spoon of Urbanspoon. It was important for Zomato that they dont lose a lot of
Urbanspoon users, and thus they tried to build a vote of trust among them by giving them a
new name, a new logo, and a new product.

References: