Companies innovate to stay in business in COVID-19 era

Necessity is the mother of invention” is an age-old proverb, which means the primary driving force for most new inventions is a need. Companies are making an attempt to live by this motto in these uncertain times. With the ongoing lockdown to fight Covid-19 pandemic resulting in shutting down of most businesses, some companies have come out with innovative ideas to keep their business intact.

Follow latest updates on the COVID-19 pandemic here

As consumers are not able to procure essential items, the German retail giant Metro Wholesale has launched an offer for residential welfare associations to procure essential goods.

Metro Wholesale stores are currently operational to help maintain the supply of essentials during the lockdown. It has stocked all essential categories like groceries, cleaning supplies, fruits, vegetables and other daily essentials such as dairy products, frozen food, biscuits, snacks, toothpaste, and shampoos among others. The RWAs need to register online and place their orders and Metro Wholesale will deliver them at their doors, the company said.

The facility is available across all its 27 stores in the country. The company has six wholesale stores in Bengaluru.

Ride-hailing firm Uber India has entered into a partnership with online grocery giant Bigbasket to deliver essential to customers at their doorstep during the lockdown. The facility is made available across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Noida and Chandigarh.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

The move is seen as an effort to support the government in containing the spread of Covid-19.

Uber is deploying a mix of UberGo, UberXL and UberMoto vehicles for this service.

Domino’s Pizza has tied up with packaged staple brand ITC Foods to deliver everyday grocery essentials at customer doorstep. Under the partnership, a combo pack of Aashirvaad atta and spices including chilli, coriander and turmeric powder will be available on Domino’s app. This service will be available for consumers first in Bengaluru and then in the cities of Noida, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad. The delivery infrastructure of Domino’s will be leveraged to help customers order grocery essentials, the companies said in a statement.

Bengaluru-based real estate major Brigade Enterprises has activated online booking for its properties in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mysuru. It has also launched digital signatures and enabled customers to sign sale agreements for their apartments.

Rajendra Joshi, CEO – Residential, Brigade said, “Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we want to make the life of property buyers easy by offering online home booking. Our customers can make use of video conferencing, virtual tour of the property to select their property.”

The company has enabled online payment for advance payment. It has tied up with fintech firm Razorpay for making initial payments. So far, the company has sold 15 properties through its online channel, he said adding that the company aims to generate 8-10% of its total sales through online mode in the next one year.