In times of sustainability, the increasing importance of mobility, and the environmental issues the use of vehicles is still the most important way to go to work. A big irritation to motorists are the traffic jams caused by the increasing use of the car. Moreover, the limited parking areas frustrates the motorist. Regardless of the distance to their final destination, the motorist’s first choice is still using their car. The use of the car and especially the traffic jams causes a lot of environmental issues. When we hate the traffic jams, are frustrated by the limited parking areas and we know using the car is harmful to the environment, why do we simply keep using such manners to go to work?

Toogether finds this gap in the market and offers a solution. Toogether is a platform that makes it very easy to get together and share a ride. How does it work? Instead of driving to work on your own, despite the remaining seats in the car, Toogether offers a possibility to travel together. This has consequences regarding the reducing of traffic jams, reduced limited parking areas and finally reduced emission of co2. Toogether provides an overview of where all of the colleagues are living (especially colleagues living nearby) and offers the possibility to make an appointment to drive together with the particular colleague. As user of the platform you have to create your own profile and Toogether provides matches based on the desired destination, the location, and the associated travel time. An additional benefit of this platform is cost sharing, since the users split the gasoline costs.

Toogether is an innovative startup which uses the concept of co-value creation. According to Prahalad & Ramaswamy (2004) co creation is a management initiative that brings different parties together in order to produce a mutually valued outcome. Furthermore, Lusch and Vargo (2006) defines co creation of value as a desired goal as it can assist firms in highlighting the customer’s or consumer’s point of view and in improving the front-end process of identifying customers’ needs and wants. Both definitions are in line with the concept of Toogether, which provides a mutually valued outcome to multiple parties and accomplish their needs. On the one hand motorists denounces the traffic jams and limiting parking areas’ which accomplish the motorist needs, and on the other hand solving the mobility problem ensures reducing environmental issues which create sustainable value to all of us (government, population and organizations).

When the users of the platform increases, there is more and more data available of each user. We can think about data regarding to travel routes and peaking hours. When all of these data could be analyzed the company could offer more specific recommendations and finally increases the customer satisfaction. More specifically, users create value for themselves and for the Toogether when they are commonly uses the platform. Like aforementioned, Toogether needs their users to accomplish such goals. This is in accordance with the theory towards co value creation which emphasized that no single firm can create anything of value without the engagement of individuals (Prahalad, C.K. & Ramaswamy, V. (2004).

References

Lusch, R. P., & Vargo, S. L. (2006). The service dominant logic of marketing: Dialog, debate and directions. Armonk, NY: M.I. Sharpe.

Prahalad, C. K., & Ramaswamy, V. (2004). The future of competition: Creating unique value with customers. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press