And then there were two
Another week, another announcement about vaccination. However, this time it is not from the CDC or a national health official. It is from Uber. Now you can book a vaccination appointment through its app.
Some might ask, “isn’t Uber a ride-hailing company?” Actually, it’s much more than that. The company is very much aligning its business with its vision statement - “We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion.” In doing so, it is maturing along the way towards a profitable future. It’s growing up while losing dead weight of underperforming or non-core business operations, while boosting its immune system against competition.
Last year, Uber got rid of its self driving unit, selling it to Aurora. (Uber's competitor Lyft did the same thing when it sold its self driving division to Toyota.) Also, Uber withdrew from foreign markets where either the local competition was too much or the government didn't like Uber. Although these were retreats for the business, Uber did make money on these deals.
What's Uber good at, then? Building a platform which connects people who need to go somewhere with the means to get there. However, it is not just the drivers who can take people to places. Uber is partnering with rental car services across the country, including Avis, Budget, and Hertz, to offer its customers the ability to rent a car through its app. Similarity with AirBnB and Expedia is not accidental.
Yes, its business suffered in 2020 due to mobility restrictions. About 93 million people used Uber in 2020, below its peak of 111 million active users in 2019. At the same time, Uber drivers completed 4.98 billion trips in 2020. That was a 27 percent decrease from 6.9 billion trips in 2019. Some of the decline was offset by the food delivery division. But the numbers will get back, more than ever.
What's next for Uber? It will keep building its platform, integrating any means of transportation into its network. Some (Smart) cities will realize the opportunity and will work with Uber to make the public system part of the network where they don't compete, but augment each other. Other business will integrate Uber into their own offerings.
If you want to go anywhere for any reason, you will be able to use the Uber app for that.
What if you don’t want to move? In that case, there is Amazon. You’ve got Amazon Prime, which will deliver pretty much anything to you. And of course, there’s the Amazon Videos - so, while you’re not moving anywhere and stuff is coming to your home or place of business, you can entertain yourself without going anywhere.
Uber will connect you to other places, services or companies. If you’re staying in place, there’s Amazon.
What's the Recurrent Pattern here? Companies with a long-term vision and relentless focus on delivering customer value will succeed beyond almost anyone’s expectations.