Peng’s Chinese Takeaway–Business Analysis

Blog 3 Business Analysis

In this blog, an analysis will be conducted on a fast-food restaurant by the name of Peng’s Takeaway.

Peng’s Takeaway has existed for the past 10 years and has 8 locations which are spread across England. Peng’s business is currently still operating using the original business model. Mr. Peng hasn’t embraced technology to convert his business into a more digital and efficient way of doing business. To give an example; food orders are taken face-to-face, via phone and 3rd party delivery services such as Deliveroo & UberEATS. Customers can collect their food at the counter or via curbside, ask for their food to be delivered if it’s within 2 miles and the order is greater than £12.00, or have their food delivered using one of the 3rd party delivery services.

Over the past 10 years, Peng’s business has been seeing an increase in traffic, which then allowed Mr. Peng to open several branches. Peng has enjoyed outstanding success and one can even say that his business is among the leading Chinese takeout restaurants in England. However, with the rise in demand and the shift in customer behaviour. Peng has been experiencing difficulties in keeping up with the growth of the business. The competition has embraced the use of technology to save costs and boost efficiency. Therefore, for the company to endure the coming ten years, adaptation is essential.

We will analyze the current business using SWOT analysis, which will show the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Peng’s Takeaway.

Strengths:

Growing Customer Base, Multiple Locations, Loyal Customer Base, Great Product.

Weaknesses:

No Modern Tech, Outdated Business Processes, no Online Presence, Poor Customer Experience, and Inefficiencies in Business Operations.

Opportunities:

Establish Online Presence, Digitally Transform Business by Improve Efficiencies by adopting a more modern business process and virtual counter, find a more refined and efficient way to work with 3rd party delivery services, Enhance Customer Services, and become more competitive.

Threats:

Losing Customers to Competitors, Disgruntled Customers turning away potential customers, risk of going out of business with the current business model and failing to attract a younger and changing market.

Let’s look at a Business Maturity Model which will give us a picture of why business is becoming more and more difficult for Peng.

“Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid, T., Cruz, A. (Eds.), 2017. Digital and social media marketing: a results-driven approach. Routledge: London”

In the model shown above, they are 4 phases showing from level 0 to level 4.

Level 0 – This level shows a business that is operating from an analogue standpoint. In Peng’s case. Orders are taken face-to-face or via a phone call. This order is then sent to the kitchen where it is processed and ready to be collected by the customer or delivered via a 3rd party delivery provider. This process takes up a huge amount of time since most of the process is done manually. During peak hours Peng’s customers will have to wait for a while to receive their orders.

Level 1 – This level shows a small online or social media presence. Mainly for advertising and the use of email blasts etc. Although the online presence is mostly one-way. It is a slight step forward in being more visible to the customer.

Level 2 – This level entails a bigger online presence, rather than one-way communication online via adverts and email blasts, the customer can now engage with the business.

Level 3 – A this stage the business is fully digital, heavily using technology to perform business functions to reduce time and improve efficiency. For example, being able to receive and process orders online and having a chatbot on the business website to handle queries etc. A more contactless operation.

Level 4 – At this stage not only is the business fully digital, but it is also now pushing the boundaries of what this type of business can do. Introducing new ways to perform certain tasks, revolutionizing the marketplace.

Knowing how digitally mature this organization is right now will help to decide how and where to focus on this company’s digital transformation efforts. Peng’s business is still at level 0. This means that Peng’s business is fully analogue and doesn’t use any modern technology and has zero social media/online presence.

Below is a picture of Peng’s current business process model.

For Peng’s business to survive, it must move from a Level 0 business to a Level 3 business as described previously. The changes in customer behaviour in today’s market will threaten Peng’s current business model. Society has shifted from only face-to-face to almost completely online ordering. This shift in consumer behaviour was sped up by the growth in technology and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Brick and Mortar businesses are all-embracing, an online presence to adapt to the changing environment. By transforming to a more digital business model, Peng’s business can reduce manpower and increase revenue with the use of technology, giving his business a more global reach. This will improve customer experience and may allow his business to even run 24hr if so desired.

Reference

Büyüközkan, G. and Ilıcak, Ö. (2019), “Integrated SWOT analysis with multiple preference relations: Selection of strategic factors for social media”, Kybernetes, Vol. 48 No. 3, pp. 451-470. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-12-2017-0512

Menchini, F., Russo, P.T., Slavov, T.N.B. and Souza, R.P. (2022), “Strategic capabilities for business model digitalization”, Revista de Gestão, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 2-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/REGE-10-2020-0086

Cruz, A. ed., 2020. Digital and social media marketing: a results-driven approach. Interactive Marketing, 7(3), pp.166-181.

Leigh, D., 2009. SWOT analysis. Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace: Volumes 1‐3, pp.115-140.

Sarsby, A., 2016. SWOT analysis. Lulu. com.

Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid, T., Cruz, A. (Eds.), 2017. Digital and social media marketing: a results-driven approach. Routledge: London