Question

This is a question that refers to the attached article “Orders spike for food delivery riders on Day One of Malaysia’s shutdown, but eateries struggle to cope”. Scholars are required to answer the following questions as mentioned below

Article Question

1. “A food delivery rider said they are experiencing a new headache – orders not being prepared on time for delivery”. If you were eateries (shop) owner, suggest TWO (2) ways to address this supply and demand situation.   

2. “He had yet to send his order but was already receiving another order on his mobile device”. If you were the food delivery service provider (Food Panda), suggest TWO (2) ways to address this order allocation situation.

 Read this article to answer the above questions

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Food delivery orders have increased as of the first day of the country’s movement control order, as announced by the prime minister on Monday.

Delivery riders should be delighted with this outcome, as this would mean more business for them. Except a food delivery rider said they are experiencing a new “headache” — orders not being prepared on time for delivery.

Mohd Andi, who was waiting for his order outside a restaurant in Bangsar, said while orders kept coming in, he was unable to accept as many orders as he was receiving on his mobile device.

“I think the restaurants are not used to the high traffic of takeaway and delivery orders all happening at one go.

“So, there are orders coming in for us riders, but then we can’t accept as many because food will arrive late due to the wait at the vendors,” said Mohd.

Experiencing a similar ordeal, food delivery rider Khaiful Jefri said he has only managed to do one delivery an hour.

“Usually, I can do three trips in an hour, for McDonald’s delivery. But today, everything seems to be quite chaotic.

“I could only do one delivery in the last one hour. Some customers who may not be as understanding to wait for their order, they will cancel, and then we riders would have wasted our time waiting,” he said.

He added that food delivery orders which saw a spike today during lunchtime were mainly of the fast food variety rather than hot meals such as rice or noodles.

“Maybe it’s the first day, and maybe because many had stocked up on raw ingredients over the last two days, they would likely be cooking at home.

“But fast food orders have increased for us, maybe because it’s an easy consumption food item,” he added.

A Grab Food rider picks up his order at a McDonald’s outlet in Bangsar as the movement control order kicks in on March 18, 2020. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

Khairul said, however, he had concerns of overcrowding restaurants as most may not have anticipated high traffic or takeaway and delivery orders.

“So many of us were inside one of the restaurants earlier. I got worried, and so I stepped out. I think the restaurants have to come up with a better system to accommodate takeaway and delivery order pickups,” he said.

He, however, commended some restaurants who have a member of staff checking the temperature of both takeaway customers and delivery riders before allowing them into the restaurant.

As for a McDonald’s delivery rider who wanted to remain anonymous, he said although he was worried about being at risk of contracting the Covid-19, he was thankful that orders were at a high since he started at 10.30am.

“For us, our pay depends on how many orders we take in a day. So, as much as it is hard work for me, I’m not complaining. More orders mean more money,” he said.

He, however, said he hoped that customers who place food orders through delivery services will also practice adequate hygiene steps.

“Some places we go, we can leave the food at the guardhouse. In that case we don’t have to be in direct contact with the customer,” he said referring to how Covid-19 spreads via body contact.

Food delivery riders are seen waiting outside a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur March 18, 2020. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

Another food delivery rider said he too was racing against time to deliver food orders.

The rider, who requested anonymity, said he had yet to send his order but was already receiving another order on this mobile device

“Orders have definitely picked up, but I think there needs to be a better system in place to ensure that food pickup is smooth.

“Like now, I’m late, and there is a new order coming. I hope things will improve in the next few days,” the rider said.

The restriction of movement order has prohibited the public from eating at restaurants, but instead they are allowed to order food via a takeaway option.

The order has also disallowed Malaysians from moving about their vicinity except for special purposes or essential activities such as buying food or seeking healthcare.

The government has also warned the public that in the event of disobeying the rules, they will be committing an offence that is punishable by a maximum fine of RM1,000 or a maximum of six-month jail term or both.

Answer 1

1) One way to address the excess demand for food order which can not be prepared on time is to show a fix units of every food item on the food delivery apps. It means that at the start of the day, McD will show a total stock of burgers of type A as, say 100, the maximum quantity it can produce in time with efficiency. This can be done for all items on the menu and whoever orders first will get the item. This will also help in distributing demand across firms so that there is no pressure on one food joint.

Since the food joints realize that the increase in demand is for fast food, they can change their production process to spend more time on fast food items. For instance, if in normal times McD was spending 40% of its production time on hot bowls, such a strategy will not be effective now. To address the supply issue, more time should be alloted to the products whose demand s expected to shoot up due to the pandemic.