Pathao Tong: The Rising All in One Online Delivery Solution 

We have all felt helpless and scared when the 1st wave of the novel coronavirus (covid-19) hit all across the globe. Especially for a heavily populated country like Bangladesh, the risks were and still stand high.  During that time, our needs for necessary goods obviously did not evaporate. Pathao app stepped up there.

Pathao is a renowned on-wheels for hire company founded in March of 2015. Pathao Tong is a division re-launched during the pandemic to meet the grocery needs of their users. Pathao is a mobile application based organization.

Pathao

Pathao is listed as a Vehicle for hire company. It falls under the industry of- Transportation, food delivery, and commercial delivery. The online vehicle for hire venture business was founded by three brilliant entrepreneurs. The co-founders are- Hussain Elius, Shifat Adnan (CTO), and Fahim Saleh (CEO).

The creators had the vision to meet the needs of consumers and to bring multiple services under one mobile application. The company went with a SuperApp model, which is why they launched multiple divisions such as Pathao Food, Pathao Parcel, Pathao Courier (B2B), Pathao Tong, Pathao Pharma. And for the Nepal branch- Pathao Private Limited.

The app has set its functionality range higher and higher. Currently, they provide transportation services in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet. They have also outreached to Kathmandu, Nepal. Food delivery services are available currently within Dhaka metropolitan and Chittagong metropolitan regions.

Pathao Tong: The Rising All in One Online Delivery Solution

What is Pathao Tong?

The concept came up for re-launch when the pandemic hit hard and not only Bangladesh but also the whole world went into lockdown. The goal was to keep the partners, consumers, and communities safe from the virus. The world economy has taken a serious downturn during this perilous time.

Pathao Tong came up with the solution of providing essential delivery on instant demand. The division allows the users to select and order a variety of necessary items i.e products from the safety and comfort of their home.

Moreover, Pathao Tong has options to make the transactions digitally by introducing digital payment. The payment system includes Bkash, Credit, and Debit cards of a wide range of banks and mobile payment applications. This allows the users and delivery person to make contactless exchanges.

Where do they get the products?

Like any other delivery service the chain provides, Pathao Tong functions the same way. They collaborate with multiple supermarkets and stores, they also have their own stock of goods and appliances. They provide customers with a wide range of choices. Chains like Shwapno, Bengal Meat, etc. have been added to Pathao Tong.

How does it work?

If you have the Pathao mobile application downloaded on your phone or have seen how the application works, you already know how the other services work.

Just like any of them, and for those who do not know, Pathao has several options on the app. The options being- Bike, Car, Food, Parcel, Top-Up, Courier, Shop, Pharma, and of course, Pathao Tong. While using Pathao Tong, you will have to tap the option named Tong. Then proceed to choose from the variety of outlets offered around your location (usually a 3-kilometer radius).

For example, in the Mohammadpur area, the most available ones are- TONG Mohammadpur,  Reckitt Benckiser Official store Mohammadpur, Society Traders,  Shwapno (Shahjahan Road and Dhanmondi 27), Bengal Meat- Mohammadpur, etc.

You may choose from any of them, explore the menus, and select the items according to your need, add them to the cart. The prices are attached directly under the items and products of your choice. Within the working hours, you may order and check out and will be shown the total amount of your bill which will work as a digital receipt, including delivery charges.

The delivery person will confirm with you then in due time bring your products right to your doorsteps. you may choose to finish the transaction via cash or digital payment. And voila! You have your necessities without bumping into other customers and in the safety of your home.

Some of Pathao Tong’s collaboration with supermarket chains

Shwapno

Shwapno is one of the top supermarket chains in Bangladesh. They have been providing quality goods and services, making grocery shopping easier as well as even more convenient and efficient. Shwapno began its e-commerce journey in April of 2017. It has since been rarely used until the pandemic hit and people started noticing the benefits of online delivery services. The preference showed up more since they have more users for their online delivery services more active now more than ever before.

Shwapno.com gives access to order from home, the customers can choose and add to cart then checkout their necessary products from a nearby outlet where the user lives.  A delivery charge is added with the total amount for the delivery service.

Their reach previously was limited to Dhaka. Currently, they have expanded to Sylhet and Chattogram towns, even though in selected areas with fewer outlets.

Shwapno provides everyday staples like rice, fish, meat, oil,. Snacks, vegetables, clothing items, stationery items, toys, etc. it is a reflection of their physical outlet and counterparts. They ensure fresh and intact products in safe packages. All of it delivered right in front of the customer’s doorsteps.

Products may vary from location to location but the basic essentials are provided. Apart from that, customers can access daily essentials, household necessities, frozen goods, etc. but they do keep stock to meet any needs of the customers.

Bengal Meat

Bengal Meat is a company specializing in providing gourmet cut fresh and quality meat. They have hubs based in Pabna– state of the art meat processing plants, livestock rearing, and other facilities. Their products include raw and primal cuts by expert butchers. They also have stock of further processed meat aside from the raw ones- Marinated and ready to cook, frozen goods, etc.

They have an online delivery system and network in place. they have a wide range of customers and a quality reach that surely brings in a lot of profit as well. Bengal meat is a branch and sub-division of the Bengal Group, so it is almost like a meat section of the larger company.

So, why Bengal meat? There have been multiple animal disease outbreaks in the recent decade. These mostly happened due to the carelessness of unhygienic meat processing vendors and businesses. Bengal meat ensures the safety and hygiene of all kinds of meats. They sell high-quality beef, chicken, mutton as well as fish!

Bengal meat collaborated with Pathao Tong to help provide the customers with quality meat with a wider array of networks. The same as Pathao Tong collaborated with other chains as well.

So how did Pathao Tong team up with the supermarkets and chains? Pathao Tong expands the networks that those companies already reach.the collaboration with pathao tong has helped them reach even more customers. 

They have excelled in providing services with safety measures. Ensuring payment and transactional trust. And Pathao Tong works like a broader delivery network for all of those chains. That’s how the collaboration works.

Potential Future of Pathao Tong

Since it now has a good enough number of users around the locations they provide services in, Pathao Tong has a huge potential to expand its network. There are several other big stores they can bring under their delivery services. They have gathered a customer amount just in select few cities for now.

So one cannot help but think what the impact would be if they spread to other cities providing locally sourced quality goods. They can possibly also collaborate with other supermarket chains that pre-exist. They may also trigger other initiatives to follow in their footsteps as well as see new ventures coming up with quality product chains of all sorts.

Pathao Tong has the potential to launch their own chain. Since they already hold a wide range of all kinds of goods and services, their vision of “one app fits all” just may become true. But that decision is up to them. One can only dare to speculate so much.

We would definitely like to see the progress of how Pathao Tong proceeds into the new era of online marketing. It has provided a local angle to how the future of online shopping may look like in Bangladesh. Pathao happens to be one of the top dominant companies in their industry (vehicle for hire).

If you wish, you can check out their app and of course, Pathao Tong by downloading the app from the app stores. Since we are still not out of the woods of this modern-day epidemic, it just might be worthwhile to give Pathao and Pathao Tong a try.