Created as a way of helping out workers displaced at the height of the pandemic, CloudKart at cloudkart.ph has now become an extensive online source of grocery items and other home essentials in Metro Cebu.
CloudKart stocks the regular supermarket fare like fresh produce, meat, personal care products, cleaning goods, and even alcoholic drinks but at the same time carries such specialty items as organic baby milk and wipes.
What sets CloudKart apart as an online grocery service is it has its own 1,300-square meter facility with ready stocks sourced directly from suppliers and distributors so they’re sold at the same price or cheaper than in supermarket chains, explained Chief Finance Officer Elisa Mae Dulangon-Yuvallos during a virtual press briefing on March 26, 2021. It also features products of home-grown Cebu brands, with its fresh fruits and vegetables sourced directly from a cooperative of local farmers at fair prices.
She added that only staff can enter CloudKart’s warehouse and pick out items, which are sanitized and disinfected, before being packed for delivery.
Same day delivery
You don’t need to wait a long time for your grocery items, too, as orders made before the 4 p.m. cut-off are delivered on the same day, and the following day if beyond this time.
CloudKart covers Metro Cebu up to Talisay in the south and Liloan in the north as well as Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova in the island of Mactan.
John Jay Yuvallos, Business Development Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, said that since their launch in August last year, they already have 5,000 sign-ups and were able to complete 18,000 deliveries.
He added that customers can choose from a variety of payment options as well, from online bank transfer and over-the-counter bank deposit through BPI, BDO, Eastwest, or Metrobank, credit cards, and GCash to cash on delivery.
Expansion plans
The goal, according to Chief Operating Officer Lery Chik, is to become the best on-demand one-stop-shop and this involves accomplishing two things: expanding product offerings and widening service radius.
Since CloudKart now has a complete selection of grocery items, the next step would be to offer hardware and pharmaceutical products. Chik said the target is to provide whatever item there is in every household.
The team is currently looking at putting a warehouse in southern Cebu to cater to customers in Minglanilla, Naga, and Carcar. Part of the dream will be to expand in Visayas, Luzon, and Mindanao, Chik cited, adding that they will be opening their first convenience store in Consolacion by April in partnership with Petron.
CloudKart has very affordable delivery rates, fixed at P95 for the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, P140 for Lapu-Lapu City and Consolacion, and P200 for Liloan, Talisay, and Cordova regardless of order size and value.
