Industry NewsMotoring
Do you still remember that first online order you placed?
Do you remember the anticipation as you awaited your courier? Did you order pizza or was it something much more valued?
With the reintroduction of stricter lockdown rules in certain areas of the country and the second wave of Covid-19 staring us in the face, we are once more being reminded that 2020 has certainly dictated new ways of doing things.
E-commerce is not such a strange thing to do anymore – in fact, the conventional way of doing things, nowadays gets a frowned look.
Why don’t you just order it online they ask?
CEO and co-founder of Lulaway, Jake Willis, says this new way has not taken anything away from the fact that everyone still demands super fast service and companies like Mr Delivery, Uber Eats and Checkers 60Sixty find this a challenge because of a serious shortage of licensed motorcycle and scooter drivers.
People want their orders to be delivered within an hour – no quibble – no excuses.
“Scooter drivers – which require only a learners’ license to legally ride for 2 years – are very few. With such low requirements, you would expect thousands of young people to be vying for these well-paying jobs,” he says.
“The demand has exploded but cannot be satisfied due to a combination of social and logistical challenges which lies at the root of this phenomenon.
Secondly, there is a whole supply chain of equipment and skills needed: including learning the theory for the license test, practical scooter practice, helmets, scooters, delivery bags, smartphones to operate the app, as well as knowledge of how to operate the given platform.”
The industry needs to create jobs directly related to current demand and supply requirements. E-commerce is about to expand more rapidly over the next months and those who consider them “change makers”, need to be proactive in order to satisfy, on a practical level, the demands of the market.
Willis anticipates that the industry would require between 30 000 to 40 000 scooter drivers over the medium term.
“Job creation is about being agile and meeting the economy where it needs skills most,” Willis concludes.
“Job creation is about being agile and meeting the economy where it needs skills most,” Willis concludes.
