Detailed Analysis of Curbside's Business Model and Strategy

This report deconstructs the business model of Curbside, a delivery service established in 2013, using the Business Canvas Model. It examines the key partners, activities, value proposition, customer relationships, segments, resources, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams. The report analyzes the relationships between the nine building blocks, highlighting critical success factors like customer base expansion, timely delivery, and supplier-customer connections. Potential downside risks, such as delivery executive strikes or free delivery by stores, are also discussed. The report concludes with recommendations, including charging nominal subscription fees to customers and expanding partnerships, and emphasizes the importance of market research and understanding consumer expectations. This analysis provides a comprehensive overview of Curbside's operations and potential for improvement.

Running head : THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary
The given report elaborates upon the delivery business Curbside which forms a link between the
buyers and the sellers. Established in 2013, the business has grown up considerably and raised
large sums. The report follows a systematic format whereby a brief introduction has been
provided which is then followed by the Business Canvas Model of the firm. The key relationship
between the nine building blocks has been defined involving several examples. Certain critical
success factors have been pointed out along with possible downside risks. Recommendations
have been provided to improve the business model.

2THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Business Canvas Model of Curbside...............................................................................................4
Relationship between the 9 building blocks of the model...............................................................5
SWOT of the business model..........................................................................................................6
Critical Success Factors of Curbside...............................................................................................7
Causes relating to Downside risk....................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Recommendations............................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

3THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Introduction
The primary objective of the given report is to deconstruct a business model of a new
innovative business model. The chosen company for deconstruction is Curbside. Curbside is a
business established in the year 2013. The company was established by a group of ex- Apple
engineers who wanted to enhance the journey of the customer (Armstrong et al., 2015). Working
alongside retailers, they have developed a mechanism, with the help of which customers can
connect themselves to the retailers and get their products picked up on the go. The concept of
the startup is extremely simple. The person has to go through the various retailers present on the
application and demand the delivery service (Business Insider, 2018). Recently the company has
able to gather $25 million from 15 major areas.
The company provides hassle fee shopping experience to the various customers by
picking their product from the store or the restaurant and then waiting at a curbside counter to
deliver the goods at home. Very often people are not able to take out time from their busy
schedule and end up feeling trapped, hence this idea was harnessed by the business and the
hassle free delivery system was established.
The focus of the company lies on cities as well as outside the city areas. The company
has been offering various features which will further develop its business model. The CEO of the
company is Jaron Waldman. The given report will highlight various aspects of business
deconstruction. The business canvas model will be discussed, followed by the relationship
between the 9 building blocks (Barquet et al., 2013). Certain Critical Success Factors which are
relevant for the business model will be described along with suggestions on how to improve the
same (Bocken et al., 2014).

4THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Business Canvas Model of Curbside
Key Partners
Restaurants
Retailers :
CVS Pharmacy
Pizza Hut
Nordstrom
Yelp
H-E-B
Westfield
Chipotle
Boston Market
Key Activities
 Establishing
relationships
with stores and
restaurants
 Hiring the
delivery
executives
 Taking process
orders (DaSilva
& Trkman,
2014).
 Maintaining and
managing their
mobile
applications and
website page
 Processing of
payments
Value Proposition
 The value
offered to
the users
 Goods
which can
be
ordered
from
restaurant
s and
retail
stores
 Door step
delivery
 Value
offered to
the
partners:
 Additiona
l orders
 Reduced
delivery
expenses
(Cochra
ne,
2014).
Customer
Relationships
The customer
relationship is
managed with the
help of :
 Social
Media
 Customer
Feedback
 Customer
support
(Hong, &
Fauvel,
2013).
Customer
Segments
The people who
want goods at
the convenience
of their homes
Busy
individuals who
do not get time
shop offline
Housewife’s,
students, office
goers
Key Resources
 Technology used
for application
management
(Carayannis,
Sindakis &
Walter, 2015).
 Products of the
stores they have
partnered with
and restaurants
The delivery staff
Channels
 Android
and iOS
mobile
applicatio
ns
 Website
Cost Structure
 Office expenses
 Delivery staff expenses
 Technological website and app maintenance
(Curbside.com. ,2018).
Revenue Streams
 Commission charged from retailers and
restaurants
 Urgent delivery fees
 Subscription fees
 Advertising costs (Kiel, 2014).

5THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Relationship between the 9 building blocks of the model
The main aim of the business canvas model is to identify the various components of the
business and to understand how the business functions. A business canvas model goes a long
way in helping a researcher to identify the various resources available to him, the cost structure
of the firm, the revenue structure and the value proposition the customers are offered by the
business (Sinkovics, Sinkovics & Yamin, 2014).
The business model canvas provides details about the following aspects :
 Key Partners
 Key Resources
 Key Activities
 Value Proposition
 Customer segments (Sutton-Brady, Kamvounias & Taylor, 2015).
 Customer relationships
 Cost structure
 Revenue streams
 Channels
The business canvas model often describes the relationship that exists among the various
components of any business organization. A canvas is incomplete if each component of the 9
blocks is not related to one another. This means that a change in one of the blocks will lead to a
change in the other blocks present (Kiel, 2014). In the case of Curbside, the revenue and cost
structure of the firm is closely related. For instance, if there is any change in the cost structure of

6THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
the firm which is a result of an additional resource being employed, then this will increase the
business capacity of the firm which in turn will improve its revenue capacity.
In the same manner, the Value Proposition which is offered by the firm, is also related to
the customer segments and the resources which a firm owns (Casadesus‐Masanell & Zhu, 2013).
In this manner, the firm will be able to enhance its value proposition if he makes use of efficient
resources.
The channel which Curbside aims to use is also a major determining factor of the cost
structure of the firm. For example, as it makes use of social media channels, the cost structure for
advertisement is particularly low. In case the firm decides to opt for the more expensive
advertisement medium then the cost structure of the firm will change accordingly.
All the aspects of the business model are dependent on one another. Another example can
be used of the case whereby the Customer segments and the customer relationships are
concerned. Currently the firm has been targeting extremely busy consumers for its operations. If
in future, the company decides to expand its business and decide to incorporate new products in
the business operations, then it will have to add some additional resources. Adding these
resources would directly pinch the cost structure and expenses of the firm. However if the
customer segments served are increased, so will the revue increased (Joyce & Paquin, 2016).
Hence, from this example it can be witnessed that the blocks are interrelated to one another and
any change in one of them would bring about a change in the other blocks too.

7THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Critical Success Factors of Curbside
The critical success factors can be described as those factors which help a business
organization to stay on its goal. It helps the organization in achieving its mission and objectives.
The critical success factors for Curbside are as follows :
Expansion of Customer base
At present the business has become a very popular concept in various cities around the
globe, however, it can take some efforts and try to see to it that the customers of the organization
are satisfied by the services that the organization tends to offer. Customers are considered to be
one of the most critical aspects of any organization the satisfaction of which will be able to take
the organization to new heights (Muhtaroglu et al., 2013). That is why the increase in the
customer base is often considered to be an essential measurement of a firm`s success.
Providing on time delivery
The primary aspect of the Curbside business is to provide on time delivery to the
customers. Any delay in the delivery of the products to the customers, will cause a sense of
dissatisfaction to the given set of consumers and this may lead to the failure of the whole purpose
of the business (Schneider & Spieth, 2013). The business has been established to save the time of
the different consumers. If the business is able to provide on the time delivery then it will be able
to continue its operations for a long period of time.
Ability to connect the suppliers with the customers
The value proposition of Curbside comprises of bringing the customers and the suppliers
closer. Very often there are certain customers who are unable to connect to the suppliers as they

8THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
are unable to take out time and indulge in daily shopping. However the curbside firm wants to
provide them with an opportunity to get the desired product free of cost. Hence, if the firm has
the ability to connect a large number of suppliers to the customers then it will be successful in
the future.
Causes relating to Downside risk
Downside risk can be described as an event in the external environment of the firm which
may have an impact on the functioning of the business and may lead to a risk or huge losses for
the firm. For curbside, this downside risk may be a result of a strike conducted by the delivery
executives which could stop the business from carrying out its activities. Such a risk could result
in huge losses for the firm as it could lose out on the commissions of the business.
Another reason why a downside risk can occur is the free delivery offered by the stores. If the
stores start delivering the goods to the consumers for free then, the whole reason for
establishment of the firm might suffer a blow (Schaltegger, Hansen &Lüdeke-Freund, 2016).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis on Curbside it could be concluded that the firm has
analyzed the opportunity available in the market and harnessed it. It took advantage of the fact
that certain customers are unable to take out time for their grocery shopping and that due to this
they are missing out on good products. This gap was captured by Curbside and they formed a
link between the retailers and the customers thereby making huge revenue on commission
received.

9THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
Recommendations
Although all business houses have a unique business model, there are a certain number of
changes which can be made to different models in order to enhance them and see to it that the
company is able to carry out the different operations in a more successful and refined manner.
The following recommendations have been made for Curbside if it was my own
business :
1. Charging a nominal subscription to the customers
As the customers are provided a free delivery system, the company can at least charge
them nominal fees so that the firm is able to incur a certain amount of revenue (Massa & Tucci,
2013). By doing so, the company will be able to increase its revenue structure. At present, it
charges revenue from its partners, but charging small fees from its customers would also go a
long way in determining increased opportunities. Currently, the business model of the firm
permits that only the retailers are charged a subscription and commission fees however it is
recommended, that customers could have been charged a fees so as to ensure extra revenue for
the firm which would have bought about a change in the revenue structure of the firm.
2. Increasing the partners
At present the partners associated with Curbside are very limited. The company can
make an effort and increase the number of restaurants and retail stores associated with the firm.
Currently only certain retail stores get their goods to the customers through curbside. Had the
given business model was possible to change, I would have added more partners for the firm
thereby increasing its network

10THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
3. Conducting a market research has been recommended in order to ensure that the Curbside
is able to fund better retailers to provide the service and expand its operations by serving
a larger market of consumers. Identification of consumer expectations would also help
the firm with the expansion idea.

11THINK BIG MANAGEMENT
References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Barquet, A. P. B., de Oliveira, M. G., Amigo, C. R., Cunha, V. P., &Rozenfeld, H. (2013).
Employing the business model concept to support the adoption of product–service
systems (PSS). Industrial Marketing Management, 42(5), 693-704.
Bocken, N. M., Short, S. W., Rana, P., & Evans, S. (2014). A literature and practice review to
develop sustainable business model archetypes. Journal of cleaner production, 65, 42-56.
Business Insider (2018). Shopping app Curbside just raised $25 million to help you never wait
in line again. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from https://www.businessinsider.in/Shopping-app-
Curbside-just-raised-25-million-to-help-you-never-wait-in-line-again/articleshow/47816335.cms
Carayannis, E. G., Sindakis, S., & Walter, C. (2015). Business model innovation as lever of
organizational sustainability. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 40(1), 85-104.
Casadesus‐Masanell, R., & Zhu, F. (2013). Business model innovation and competitive
imitation: The case of sponsor‐based business models. Strategic management
journal, 34(4), 464-482.
Cochrane, T. D. (2014). Critical success factors for transforming pedagogy with mobile Web
2.0. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(1), 65-82.
Curbside.com. (2018). The new standard in e-commerce for brick and mortar stores. Retrieved
27 March 2018, from https://curbside.com/