This Is How Yebo Fresh Delivers Groceries To Those Most In Need
This Is How Yebo Fresh Delivers Groceries To Those Most In Need. When lockdown first hit in March 2020, Yebo Fresh had been operating for little over a year as a young start-up. The team consisted of six people back then and they were not prepared for the growth that hit them. However, they found themselves in the ideal position to partner with a wide range of NGOs and Community Action Networks, to get food parcels out to those most in need.
At the same time, generous sponsors identified Yebo Fresh as a simple and safe way to send orders to their staff, township families and the communities that they cared about. All of this meant that they saw their volumes grow by thirty times almost overnight. Through the height of lockdown, together with their partners the company managed to deliver over 85 000 food parcels all over the greater Cape Town area.
This growth both enabled and necessitated a move into its new 1,200 sqm warehouse. The company now employs over 38 full-time employees, recruited from the communities it serves. It built a strong business foundation in terms of systems, processes and work culture. It has a loyal customer base and has made valuable partnerships. This increase in its scale and capacity brought new business opportunities; in the past few months it has ventured into serving local spazas, street vendors, township fast food restaurants, schools, ECDs, soup kitchens and other organisations.
Yebo Fresh is a tech start-up that would not exist or be viable without mobile technology, smart backend systems, extensive data analysis and a constant drive to optimise its performance. Its orders are processed digitally and it uses a combination of off-the shelf tools and customised technology for its production management, forecasting, delivery planning, price management and other core processes because it has to keep its prices and thus its margins low, being super smart and efficient in its operations is essential. For efficiency, planning and safety reasons it applies end-to-end tracking and tracing of its orders and drivers.
