• aswaaq Retail is the first to adapt talabat’s Q-CAAS technology in the UAE following a six-month successful pilot
  • The innovative solution enables brands to expand into new locations strategically and cater to the growing demand for hyperlocal delivery
  • The new service is built on talabat Mart’s proven operational expertise and technology, offering reliability, time efficiency, order trackability and variety
  • talabat plans to expand its Q-CAAS offering in phase two of the launch

Dubai, UAE: talabat UAE, the leading local tech platform, officially launches its first Quick-Commerce-as-a-service (Q-CAAS) in the UAE, a delivery-only store operation management solution. This follows a six-month successful pilot in partnership with aswaaq Retail, one of the most trusted local retailers in the country with more than 20 supermarkets and community malls in the heart of Dubai and Ajman.

The innovative solution is a natural evolution for the company following talabat Mart’s rapid growth in the UAE, talabat’s own delivery-only 24/7 grocery hub. With over 30 talabat Mart stores across all seven emirates in just two years, talabat aims to extend its know-how in dark store management to benefit its partners and enhance operational efficiency and customer experience.

Commenting on the announcement, Wassim Makarem, Senior VP of Q-Commerce at talabat said: “We are proud to launch Q-CAAS in the region, which allows us to empower retail partners by utilizing our technology and expertise to cater to their communities. It is also in line with our commitment as a tech company, to continuously develop products and services that benefit the delivery ecosystem as a whole in the region.”

“Through this newly introduced service, we aim to support vendors in giving customers access to all that matters to them reliably, while allowing them to focus on what they do best through using our innovative technology and capabilities”.

Tatiana Rahal, Managing Director at talabat UAE added: “Enabling our partners through advanced tech solutions is part of our DNA. We’re pleased to have first launched QCAAS with a local household brand such as aswaaq Retail in the UAE. By extending our dark-store management know-how to partners, we can now bring these loved brands even closer to the community as they meet the surge in demand for hyperlocal delivery. Our dark store presence in seven emirates and proven track record with talabat Mart since it launched in 2020, means our partners can rely on our expertise to strategically expand their offerings to new locations while ensuring their customers receive the same levels of time efficiency, order trackability and variety.”

Franck Rouquet, CEO of aswaaq Retail said: “We are thrilled to announce the launch of our store in the UAE in collaboration with talabat. In 2015, aswaaq launched a dedicated online shopping platform, to keep up with the emerging market trends of online shopping. This strategic effort yielded favorable results and prompted us to focus, primarily, on migrating to online platforms from the traditional brick-and-mortar store concept. The dark store pilot witnessed positive response, as it catered to the need of the hour and was instrumental in serving the residents adeptly. As our trusted online delivery partner for over two years, talabat has enabled us to increase our delivery footprint and brand accessibility while continuing to provide seamless customer experience. aswaaq plans to further the project and come up with even more dark stores in the UAE. This remains aswaaq’s top priority as we adopt innovative solutions that allow us to serve a larger audience base.”

Q-CAAS offers retail partners benefits including:

  • talabat’s industry leading tech for more efficient operations

Q-CAAS allows retail partners to benefit from talabat’s in-house tech capabilities. This includes industry-leading logistics algorithms, as well as talabat reliable logistics network, and optimized store layout and inventory management systems, allowing them to run their business more efficiently, and provide an enhanced customer experience.

  • Picking orders takes under two minutes, and delivery in under 30 minutes

A team of skilled and trained employees are able to collect items efficiently from a wide assortment of items available using the Q-CAAS store layout combined with inventory management tech. Order preparation takes less than two minutes to ensure that riders have enough time to complete deliveries within defined delivery zones, delivering in less than 30 minutes on average.

  •  Improved stock accuracy resulting in almost zero modified orders

Through using advanced store and inventory management tech solutions that provide real-time stock visibility, brands are able to have near 100% stock accuracy and eliminate the need for any modifications of substitutions on orders, providing customers with a smooth online shopping experience.

Operated by Q-CAAS, aswaaq Retail’s first delivery-only grocery store is located in Al Qusais in Dubai, offering all daily needs and grocery essentials and serving areas including Oud al Muteena, Muhaisnah, Al Garhoud, Al Jaddaf, Al Qusais, Deira, and Al Muraqqabat.

talabat UAE is the first platform to launch Q-CAAS within Delivery Hero’s network, talabat’s parent company and the global leader in online food delivery and Q-Commerce with operations in over 50 countries. The local tech company revealed that it plans to further expand its Q-CAAS offering in phase two, as it offers additional Q-Commerce concepts and partners with more retail brands across the country.

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About talabat

As the region’s leading local tech organization, we’re proud to say that we have been delivering for millions of people right across MENA for the past 18 years.

Delivering real impact for communities across the region.

We create real impact on the day-to-day lives of consumers that need convenience and reliability, local entrepreneurs and established business owners who want to start, grow and expand their businesses, and lastly, helping riders to earn a stable income.

Delivering innovation and sustainability for the region.  

We were founded in Kuwait in 2004, and acquired by Delivery Hero (DHER) in 2015. This gives us a unique outlook - local knowledge with global expertise. It also allows us to innovate, create, and bring new technologies for the betterment of the MENA region, such as q-commerce, sustainable packaging, cloud kitchens, autonomous delivery vehicles, robots, and drones.

Delivering #tech4good across the region. 

As a local brand, we are privileged to use our #tech4good, creating the opportunity for customers to donate to the welfare and wellbeing of communities across the region.

In the past two years alone, we have facilitated the donation of over 4.5 million meals to those in need, through donations via the virtual charities on our platform, as well as campaigns such as #Alwaysthere #Lunch4Lebanon, #iftarforIndia and #StandforHumanity.