Sihanat Lamsam, developer of the "Robin Hood" platform, enters its 2nd year of "Robin Hood" aiming for a "Thai super app"
Sihanath Lamsam
Managing Director
Purple Ventures Company Limited
Developer of the “Robin Hood” platform
Stepping into the 2nd year of "Robin Hood"
Heading towards “Thai super app”
“Robinhood's main goal is to become a super app by 2565. Robinhood's definition of a super app may not be as large as other foreign super apps. but want to have “Thai Super Apps” emerge in the Thai economy and spread out to the regional level. We are preparing to raise funds to increase the capabilities of the platform next year as well.”
On October 26, 2563, “Robin Hood” by Purple Ventures Company Limited, a subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank. Has started the mission of the first Thai food delivery platform. In the midst of fierce competition among food delivery platforms During the government announcement of lockdown measures to stop the spread of Covid 19, restaurants, which are one of the main pillars of the economy, were heavily affected.
Robin Hood is considered a small app. Compared to other competitors It starts with coming on a mission to help little people. which are stores and food delivery riders that aside from sales will be less GP fees must also be deducted for providing services. A highlight of Robin Hood is the announcement that they will not collect GP fees. and received good response from users But with the size of the platform still small Entering the field with a price war may not have affected the big players at that time.
Until it reached a turning point that made Robin Hood grow exponentially. It was during the second round of lockdown in the middle of 2564 that Robin Hood issued special measures. “Free delivery on all orders during the lockdown” caused a trend on social media about “Order fried eggs across provinces, a distance of 40 km, price 5 baht.” From that point on, it was a springboard that made Robinhood accelerate the development of the ability to expand the system to support more items from 20,000-30,000 items per day can be over 200,000 items per day. and is an expansion of capacity 10 times within 14 days.
One of the people behind Robinhood's success is Sihanath Lamsam, Managing Director of Purple Ventures Company Limited, who believes in change and innovation. Sihanath graduated with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Power Engineering. University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce With a field of study related to mobile phones and satellites.
He began working at the country's major telecommunications company, Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited or AIS, in creating a new business model, namely MobileLife, to provide Mobile Banking services to all 8 banks via mobile phones. Including the establishment of MPay Co.,LTD, which is considered the first Mobile Payment Company in Thailand. It is under a subsidiary of AIS and has a joint venture with NTT Docomo Japan, a mobile phone network operator in Japan.
Opportunity outside of comfort zone
with belief in change
“When I started working with AIS, it was an era when there was a price war. From new players entering the market, mobile phone companies used to charge calls based on distance. Changed to thinking of the whole country instead At that time, we had to look for a new business that would break from the old one. But there is still not much we can do because there are business limitations.”
Since then, Sihanat had the opportunity to work with Kasikorn Bank. Which is involved in creating financial innovation as an Innovation Banking Service to transform customer behavior to use Digital Channels even more. It is considered to be the first bank to seriously provide Digital Banking services since 2548 and is the first era of cooperation. between banks and telecommunications
After that, Sihanath joined Siam Commercial Bank in the position of Assistant General Manager. Executive of the Payment Product Solution and Management line, besides using his experience to create Innovation Service for Siam Commercial Bank He has also used his expertise in this area to lay the foundation for the electronic payment system (National E-Payment) for Thailand, working with the Bank of Thailand (BoT) and the Ministry of Finance in issuing the National E-Payment Roadmap. of Thailand and can be further developed into Thailand's E-Payment Infrastructure such as PromptPay and QR Payment.
“The turning point that gives us new opportunities is having to dare to step out of our comfort zone. It must start with having the courage to change yourself to fit into a new environment. His courage to accept change led him to work with Siam Commercial Bank until he started building Robin Hood.”
Rebuit the image of Rider
Make users impressed
Sihanat said that Robin Hood started with the goal of helping small shops and riders. Not just helping with the lack of GP fees, but how to help small shops. Those who are in trouble because they are unable to open for eating as usual can come onto the platform easily and quickly. Which is not easy because almost half are people who are not familiar with digital matters.
Some of the old restaurants are owned by minister-level elders who order food to eat. No matter what I do, I refuse to get on the platform. Because the children and grandchildren did not take over the business. Don't know how to do technology. But Robinhood stepped in to help provide a tool for working phones to take orders. Because I really want to help shops that are in trouble. Which nowadays the shop in the first days Still on Robin Hood
Another important part of the food delivery platform ecosystem besides stores is “riders” who are very large groups but may not see their importance. For Robin Hood, Rider is the first priority. Because they are the ones who have direct contact with customers (Human Touch), customers will be impressed or not impressed not only by the food quality, freshness, and deliciousness, but also by the rider.
“Robin Hood goes in to rebuit the word new rider. Not just being a delivery driver, but being a Robin Hood delivery person. There is serious training, 90% of which is not just about watching training clips, but teaching about etiquette, personality, dressing, worshiping, speaking, and holding food. The 10% is teaching how to use the Robin Hood Rider app to actually run and not charge a G fee. P It is not required to drive for one platform. The more diligent you work, the more you will get.”
Place a big mission
Aiming to be a super app
October 26, 2564 Robin Hood has reached its one-year anniversary. From its beginnings with 1 restaurants, it has grown to more than 100,000 stores, 164,000% of which are small. The number of riders has increased from 95 to 8,000. Users have increased to 26,000 million and orders have increased from 2 to 20,000 items per day. Total food delivery distance in Robin Hood over the past 150,000 year. In the past, it was the distance that could be traveled from the Earth to the Moon 1 times.
“One year ago, Robinhood's success was possible because everyone did not give in to the obstacles that came our way from the first day we started. We fight in every field. And one of Robin Hood's successes is word of mouth Help was sent Users on Robinhood do not order based on available discounts. But I ordered because I wanted to help small shops. Really in my neighborhood.”
Sihanat revealed that for the next step of Robin Hood After completing the first mission that was intended to help like a successful CSR, it will change itself to be more semi-business oriented. They do not focus on making substantial profits. But it will create profits where profits can be made, such as in the tourism business group. It's not just about hotels, but also about airline tickets, rental cars, and tour companies. Robin Hood will be a tool for entrepreneurs. Not for profit Because it still adheres to the principle of coming to help, but it is helping in many dimensions.
Therefore, Robinhood's 2565 plan, in addition to the food delivery business, aims to increase users to 4,000,000 and have 300,000 participating stores. and preparing to expand the Robinhood platform into 3 new Non-Food businesses:
1. Robinhood Travel accommodation booking service Air tickets Travel activities, car rentals, insurance (Online Travel Agent) hopes to be another option and help SME entrepreneurs not have to bear increased costs from using agents to sell rooms through online channels. The goal is to have 45,000 hotels and related businesses join, creating 480,000 tourist trips in 2565.
2. Robinhood Mart, a premium service for ordering products from supermarkets and stores (Mart Service) to help increase sales channels and serve as a bridge for entrepreneurs to meet Robinhood customers, who are groups with purchasing power. and ready to buy quality products Aiming for 1.5 million users with 8,000-10,000 participating stores.
3. Robinhood Express on-demand pickup and delivery service (Express Service) to support the e-commerce business that is expanding exponentially. The goal is to have 5,000 businesses participating in the (B2B) format and 4,000 transactions per month.
“In 2565, Robinhood's startup food delivery business is preparing to expand its service coverage to other provinces. Preparing to pin the pilot in 3 popular tourist provinces: Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Chonburi, which are areas with potential and high demand for food delivery services. Along with increasing the potential and quality of stores and riders, we aim to develop a better customer experience, adding more features to meet the needs of customers.”
Sihanath further said that the point where Robinhood's revenue will return is in the information that is on the Robinhood platform. that will lead to various financial services such as Loans to riders or restaurants By preparing to cooperate with companies in the SCBX group such as Auto in loans and other financial services, advertising, promotions with customers For the highest benefit of stores and customers
“Robin Hood's main goal is Becoming a super app by 2565, Robinhood's definition of a super app may not be as large as other foreign super apps. but want to have “Thai Super Apps” emerge in the Thai economy and spread out to the regional level. We are preparing to raise funds to increase the capabilities of the platform next year as well.”
Follow the People column in the Finance and Banking Journal. November 2564 Issue No. 475
In digital format: https://goo.gl/U6OnIi
Including channels for ordering banking and finance journals Both current and past editions Complete in one place:
