International Marketing Report: Ola Cabs Amsterdam Market Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive environmental scan for Ola Cabs' potential expansion into the Amsterdam market. It begins with an internal overview of Ola Cabs, highlighting its unique selling proposition and current market presence. The report then delves into an external analysis using the PESTLE framework, examining political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors relevant to the Amsterdam market. This includes an assessment of the regulatory environment, economic viability, social acceptance of ride-sharing services, and the technological landscape. A Blue Ocean Strategy is also explored, identifying opportunities for Ola Cabs to differentiate itself from existing competitors. Finally, the report assesses the market, identifies barriers to entry, and conducts a SWOT analysis to determine the feasibility of Ola Cabs' entry into the Amsterdam market, considering factors like competition and market opportunities. The report concludes with recommendations for a successful market entry strategy.

Running Head: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Student’s Name
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Author’s Note

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Executive Summary
This report emphasizes on development of an environmental scan report for identification of
factors impacting organizational growth in the overseas market. The Chosen organisation in this
report is Ola Cabs. The company is intending to extend their services in the overseas market of
Netherlands, focusing on Amsterdam, mainly after they have already spread their business of
ride sharing in UK. As a group member of the marketing department of the organization, the
researcher will be producing a detailed environmental scan report identifying the feasible
environmental as well as external factors which will impact the market entry, acquisition of
market share and brand development of the organization in course of its International expansion.
The scope of operations to be conducted within a time frame of 12 months will be considered in
this project. The product for international expansion in this report is the right sharing service of
Ola Cabs and the Chosen country for investigation in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Table of Contents
Section 1: Internal (company) Overview.........................................................................................3
Section 2: External analysis.............................................................................................................4
PESTLE Analysis........................................................................................................................4
Blue Ocean Strategy.....................................................................................................................7
Section 3: Market Assessment and Identification...........................................................................8
Barriers to entry are identified...................................................................................................10
SWOT Analysis.............................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference List................................................................................................................................13

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Section 1: Internal (company) Overview
Ola Cabs is exploring new avenues for growth. They are also a part of global expansion plan of
their potential investor Didi Chuxing. In spite of the proximity of facing stiff competition from
various small ride sharing companies on a regional basis, like Taxi Electric, MyWheels, Amber
Mobility and so on, it can still be deduced that the market of Amsterdam will be still considered
as a feasible expansion opportunity for Ola. Speaking about the market feasibility, Ola CEO
Bhavish Aggarwal denoted that in spite of the large coverage of the above mentioned smaller
brands, there is still adequate scope for growth in the outskirts of the city which are really not
featured high on the growth radar of other existing cab ride sharing companies in Netherlands
(Pandya, Rungta & Iyer, 2017).
Since the ride sharing business has not yet been sanctioned by the Dutch government, it can be
easily expected that after the market entry of Ola, there would be regularized sanction for this
business in Netherlands. There are two factors that are essential for the growth of business. The
first fact is that with the entrance of big brands in to the Dutch taxi cab sharing business, the
government would start showing interest since it would be gradually converted to a high grossing
sector. Secondly, there is lack of any major market player because of which is why Ola would be
getting the competitive advantage (Olacabs.com, 2019).
Lastly, it can be justified that Ola has already mapped the market conditions through a trial
launch of the cab business Taxify, in Amsterdam which is their Estonian counterpart also backed
up by Didi. In order to set up a fully fledged business in Amsterdam, it is important to consider a
time period of 3 years. In the first place it is necessary to set up a digital application for various
mobile platforms. This stage should be completed in a year. In the second year, company will
establish contract with the drivers and the franchise owners. In the next six months, the company

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would implement the marketing channels and by the end of 3 years, Ola is supposed to be
established in the market of Amsterdam.
Section 2: External analysis
PESTLE Analysis
Political Factors
Since the ride sharing business has not yet been sanctioned by the Dutch government, it can be
easily expected that after the market entry of Ola, there would be regularized sanction for this
business in Netherlands. There are two factors that are essential for the growth of business. The
first fact is that with the entrance of big brands in to the Dutch taxi cab sharing business, the
government would start showing interest since it would be gradually converted to a high grossing
sector. Secondly, there is lack of any major market player because of which is why Ola would be
getting the competitive advantage (Olacabs.com, 2019).
Government rules and regulations individual areas of Amsterdam are adverse. In many
markets these cab sharing businesses have come into conflict with the conventional taxi cab
business agencies (Olacabs.com, 2019). Although local players as well as taxi drivers are
protesting against the spirit of this business, many new drivers are readily sign up for driving
cabs with this new organizations dealing in the capturing business of the country.
Economic Factors
There is only one that needs to be considered for business in Amsterdam. The revenue acquired
by the organization in initial days of business will not be equally profitable compared to other

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brands like Uber or Lyft. This is because Ola has a leaner fare structure. Economic viability of
customers in India is lesser compared to that in Amsterdam.
Industry statistics shows that there has been sharp annual growth in Ola’s business by an average
of 130.5% in the last 5 years from 2014 to 2019 (Tripathy & Leepsa, 2017). There are altogether
9 small and regional companies operating in this ride sharing business of Netherlands, however
the market is dominated by Uber and to some extent by Taxify (Kashyap & Bhatia, 2018). The
major growth prospects in the Amsterdam market includes increase in acceptance of this ride
sharing service which has driven high revenue growth in this industry.
Social Factors
Ola is in the seed stage of their business life cycle in Amsterdam. There has not been any
practical business implementation of Ola so far (Faghih-Imani et al. 2017). They launched their
Estonian counterpart Taxify in order to understand how they are able to sustain the market
conditions and the competition from Uber (Olacabs.com, 2019). The next stage is the stage of
startup where officially the business is launched. This stage awaits the essential feedback of the
customers so that the point of sales can be understood. As suggested by the finding of Wearing,
Lyons and Schweinsberg (2019), the extensive Industrial Research by Ola will help them to
overpower the blurriness because the upfront reactions gathered by Taxify shows that they have
a clearly indicated target customer base and an innovative business model for acquisition of the
ride sharing market of Amsterdam in the near future. The rate of market diversification is also
expected to be high because of the fact that there is very low potential brand presence in the cab
rise sharing business of the country.

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Amsterdam is a high-end bsuiness economy where people are ready to make expense for
convenience. Besides Ola Cabs, are going to follow their own business model after launching the
brand in Amsterdam. Ola have a permanently servicing base of car owners and drivers who have
an unique contract with Ola. This implies that they will be able to provide the necessary
convenience as well as trustworthiness of service needed by the customers. Because the cab
business has not yet flourished on a corporate level in Amsterdam, it is not possible for dedicated
customers to avail cabs on an everyday basis. There is no surety that any different brand would
be able to provide cabs at a definite point of time, everyday (Witt, Suzor & Wikström, 2015).
However, it is expected that if Ola Cabs follows their own business model they will be able to
establish such a strong network as to Cater to the requirements of the everyday customers of cab
sharing business. Nevertheless, this service is going to be very cost effective because they have
linked with GPS by Google, by means of which they are going to get any information related to
traffic and cab availability (Deards, 2017).
Technological Factors
The poor network and poor service quality of the cab businesses in AMssterdam allows a
business scope for Ola. Secondly, in order to develop this customer service network the
organisation need not endure a big setup cost. The customer service facilities they have
developed in their home country India will be sufficient in managing the customer’s enquiries
and grievances from Amsterdam. Even if this is not a permanent solution, with backed up
support from employees and inclusion of mostly two to three percent of new workforce, Ola
Cabs will be able to manage customer enquiries from Amsterdamn customers, for the time
period (Olacabs.com, 2019).
Legal Factors

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Government rules and regulations individual areas of Amsterdam are adverse. In many markets
these cab sharing businesses have come into conflict with the conventional taxi cab business
agencies (Olacabs.com, 2019). Although local players as well as taxi drivers are protesting
against the spirit of this business, many new drivers are readily sign up for driving cabs with this
new organizations dealing in the capturing business of the country.
Environmental Factors
The environmental factors are a crucial concern for Ola. The EU as well as respective
government of Amsterdam has specified the carbon output of the taxi cab business organization.
Nevertheless, it in this context, it can be argued that the recent decision undertaken by Ola to
launch battery cars in the European market can be worthwhile here. On top of that, there is also
the risk of the fact with electric cars, Ola would not be able to offer competitive efficiency of
service.
Blue Ocean Strategy
Ola Cabs have the potential to maintain a Blue Ocean strategy for operating in the cab
ride sharing business in Amsterdam. Ola Cabs have multiple payment modes and the fares are
reasonable along with timely service. The online application based taxi service industry has not
furnished in the country because of the fact that the service is not timely. Nevertheless the online
mobile application based cab sharing businesses which are currently flourishing in surrounding
markets like UK where Ola Cab are trying to meet this unique point of sales so that their
business becomes sustainable in the new market (Chu, 2015). Along with providing timely
pickup along with fabulous drop facilities, thereby ensuring that they take the minimum required
time to make a customer reach his or her desired destination. In the local market, there are rare

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chances of small businesses in the ride sharing business getting consolidated. This is the primary
marketing criteria, by means of which Ola Cabs should become successful in developing a base
of loyal customers, easily, within a few days of market launch in Amsterdam similar to what they
did in UK.
Because of the decentralized model of business, there are management issues in the currently
existing cab sharing companies of Amsterdam. Most of the cab business owners are sole
entrepreneurs (Martin 2016). As an impact, the difference in culture or variation in business
ideas is facing top management issues. Dependence on technology is a issue that might be a
detrimental factor, at times. Currently none of the organizations operating in Amsterdam are
using online applications like Uber, Taxify or Lyft (Mazzella et al. 2016).
Section 3: Market Assessment and Identification
• The few operators in ride sharing service industry of Netherlands had to acquire a taxi
license and then operate on a basis of connecting with rivers and passengers for providing
on demand passenger transport service. They generally operate on a goodwill basis and
such business is generally funded by a prominent individual investor. The business model
of Ola is rather different and in this context it can be conveyed that they will get market
opportunity since the people in Netherlands is aware of the brand equity of Ola cabs in
the UK market (Bashir, Yousaf & Verma, 2016). Again, it should also be kept in mind
that the taxi cab services network is quite big in the country and Ola will be successful
only if they are able to keep their prices competitive and services upright.
• However, so far as the trend of operations has been observed, the drivers who are key
stakeholders to the ride sharing business basically operate as independent contractors in
the small ride sharing market of Netherlands. Green wheels and car2go are companies

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that have personal stands at unique and popular junctions. Hence they operate by general
taxi cabs only, however with a brand name. However Ola uses an online cab booking
platform accessible from Smartphone applications (Olacabs.com, 2019). This industry is
exclusive from the taxi companies like SnapCar or TaxiElectric which provides taxi
service on an “on demand” basis (Gambiza & Pinto, 2016). There is a comparatively new
and emerging market for cab ride sharing in Netherlands and this industry has started to
flourish only since the few years. It can be observed that demand for convenient as well
as cost efficient in-city transport has also increased in the last few years. That is why;
people have become aware of the brand presence of organizations like Ola and Uber.
• Industry statistics shows that there has been sharp annual growth in Ola’s business by an
average of 130.5% in the last 5 years from 2014 to 2019 (Tripathy & Leepsa, 2017).
There are altogether 9 small and regional companies operating in this ride sharing
business of Netherlands, however the market is dominated by Uber and to some extent by
Taxify (Kashyap & Bhatia, 2018).
• The major growth prospects in the Amsterdam market includes increase in acceptance of
this ride sharing service which has driven high revenue growth in this industry. One
essential market factor that can be considered as a growth opportunity for Ola Cabs is
that the industry services in Amsterdam are heavily focused on the city level urban
customers who have high level of disposable income (Smith & McCormick, 2019). There
is a large section of customers outside the urban domain of Amsterdam also. This section
of customers is also aware of the ride sharing. In case if Ola is able to target the
customers who need to visit the city from the nearby outskirts on a daily basis and

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provide service in the initial period at a rational price, it can be assumed that they will be
able to gather a potential base of customers very soon.
• However, the brand awareness of the few currently existing market players of this
industry is reasonably low among the typically non-urban group of customers. Since the
rising urbanization will be boosting demand in the upcoming years, it can be emphasized
that the few market players will be busy serving the urban customer base in the upcoming
years (Olacabs.com, 2019). This is a major market opportunity for Ola Cabs to take over
the business in sub urban and less popular cities and gradually enter the mainstream
market with unique market offerings.
• The last opportunity aspect for Ola Cabs is that the number of active users, interacting
with ride sharing companies on a B2B basis is significantly increasing. This is a
substantial point of sales as the corporate business outlook of Ola will make if feasible
for the customers of Amsterdam who suffers from the aggressive driving and delayed
arrival of cabs.
Barriers to entry are identified
The first difference between cultural factors related to the Business expansion of Ola in
Netherlands is that in their home market India, the customers are much more tax saving and they
have greater Awareness of premium brands in any service market. Nevertheless, in India, Ola
Cabs having targeting the customers of urban section only because of which they received this
advantage. However in Amsterdam, the rate of tech savvy customers is low (Olacabs.com,
2019). Hence, Ola needs to come up with an alternative model of car booking in Amsterdam.
However, customers in Amsterdam are more willing to pay money for Greater convenience and
ease of transport (Smith & McCormick, 2019).

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In the last year the government introduced the first jurisdiction regarding this capturing
business industry where it was made compulsory for the owners to have a licence which is
equivalent to a taxi license of the respective region. This can enhance the time frame that has
been selected in the first section.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
 Amsterdam is a high-end bsuiness economy where people are ready to make expense for
convenience.
 Ola have a permanently servicing base of car owners and drivers who have an unique
contract with Ola.
Weaknesses
 Need to get separate taxi licenses for each cab and develop a new framework of cars and
drivers following their personalized business model.
Opportunities
 There is huge potential in the emerging market of cab sharing business in Amsterdam.
One of the greatest points of sales for Ola Cabs will be that the competitive strength in
the country is not strong and they have a significant and experience network of business
that will help them to take over a significant part of market share in a very small period of
time (Bashir, Yousaf & Verma, 2016).
Threats
 Government rules and regulations individual areas of Amsterdam are adverse