Uber has developed a “private-label” version of its delivery technology to assist the UN in delivering food and water supplies to Ukraine’s war-torn territories.
The IT company is collaborating with the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP).
Large delivery trucks find it impossible to enter some sections of Ukraine due to structural damage and the possibility of assault.
The WFP may coordinate a fleet of smaller cars using Uber’s technology.
Although the WFP selects its own drivers and cars, some are former Uber drivers who operated in Ukraine before to Russia’s invasion.
Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, claimed his company has provided the WFP “their own private-label Uber.”
It’s a customized version of the Uber Direct delivery technology, which is also accessible commercially – huge names like Apple and Tesco are among the company’s clients. Businesses typically pay Uber a fee every delivery, but the WFP is not being charged.
Within a 100-kilometer radius of its warehouses, it may utilize the software to coordinate distribution and track deliveries and drivers.
The concept is being tested in Dnipro, Ukraine’s capital. It is hoped that it will be implemented in four further cities: Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Chernivtsi.
The Red Cross, the International Rescue Committee, and Save the Children are among the assistance organizations trying to offer emergency supplies to people in need.
Within a few weeks of its first interaction with the World Food Programme, Uber’s platform was up and operating.
“It’s not like you can wait a month to provide food to people; they need food right now,” WFP executive director David Beasley explained.
“You can’t go more than a few weeks without food, so with Uber’s technology, distribution networks, and dispatch systems… it’s a huge success story.”
Uber has had a tumultuous couple of years. Because people stayed at home during the epidemic, the company’s ride-sharing service was severely impacted, and the company was obliged to modify its driver policy, providing them more employment rights.
Mr Khosrowshahi claims that when he initially became CEO in 2017, Uber’s delivery arm was in its infancy, but it is now positioned to become the company’s largest service.
In 2021, restaurant food accounted up 96 percent of Uber’s delivery orders. It was also the first time the 13-year-old company turned a profit.
“In the end, I believe that delivery may have a broader reach since it is not only about food. It’s groceries, as well as giving any local business the ability to attempt to out-Amazon Amazon “Mr. Khosrowshahi stated.
“Your local merchant can deliver in the next hour or two hours if Amazon can deliver the next day… People want things delivered to their homes as soon as possible, and we can ride that wave.”