BUSI 4940 Business Policy Enterprise Holdings, Inc.

Individual Case Assignment

Student Shonethia M. Cooper

March 25, 2013

Enterprise Rent-a-Car Company is a privately owned, internationally recognized brand that was founded in 1957, by Jack C. Taylor. Taylor was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. After graduating high school in 1940, Taylor enrolled in Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. Between 1942-1945, Taylor began to serve in the United States Navy as a pilot of an F6F Hellcat fighter from the decks of the USS Essex (CV-9) and the USS Enterprise (CV-6). With hard work and dedication, he eventually became known as a high-ranking, distinguished lieutenant.

In 1957, Jack had an idea that would come to be known, internationally, as the leading provider in the rental car industry. Following WWII, Taylor started a small trucking business. Shortly after, he decided to seek employment at Arthur Lindberg’s Cadillac Distributorship, a local car sales lot. By 1957, Taylor was very successful at Lindberg’s, where he quickly became the sales manager. Soon after, he approached his executive officer about a vision about starting an automobile leasing company. After explaining the details to his overseer, and convincing them of the potential market that they could enter, Lindburg quickly began to aid Taylor in establishing Executive Leasing in the basement of Arthur Lindburg.

Jack Taylor began his dream with seven rental cars that, by the early 1960s, had grown to seventeen. Mr. Taylor was aware that his competition in the airports was too great, and as a result, decided to search for a niche that the larger airport rental car companies had not noticed, or chose to ignore. To help him recognize this opportunity, Taylor began to work with insurance adjusters who had customers that were victims of automobile theft. This quickly grew into a community-based market that reached out to families who were not only a victim of automobile theft, but also families whose cars were in the shop, too old, or just plain unreliable. By 1969, Taylor had renamed Executive Leasing to Enterprise, respectively, as a salute the WWII aircraft carrier that he served on – USS Enterprise.
In 1993, Enterprise went international and opened its first office outside the United States, in Windsor Ontario. Not long after, Enterprise expanded across Canada and to the U.K., Ireland, and Germany. The most recent expansion was in Puerto Rico. Today, Enterprise has more than 900 international car rental branches with more than 8,200 employees. Each of the offices operate under the same beliefs and values that the Enterprise brand has come to be known for.

Jack Taylor’s business credo, “Take care of your customers and employees first, and the profits will follow,” became the core of Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Jack’s son, Andy Taylor, who succeeded him as chairman in 2002, further defined this core belief to include “You put customers first, because if they are satisfied, they will come back. And by making sure employees are happy, well-informed, and part of a team atmosphere, they will provide the best services possible.” Needless to say, this fundamental belief has lead Enterprise to be rated as the leading provider of the 2012 Rental Car Satisfaction Index Survey, conducted by J.D. Power and Associates.

Over the years, Enterprise has made many strategic moves that have enabled it to grow at a tremendous rate. * 2003 – Enterprise expanded into Northern Ireland * 2004 – Enterprise expands into Alaska * 2006 - Enterprise offered services through a joint venture with China. This enabled eHi to provide car rental services nationwide. * 2009 - Enterprise Holdings (eHi), the parent company of Enterprise Rent-a-Car was formed, and included the acquisition of National

Car Rental, Alamo Rent a Car, Philly Carshare, and WeCar. Today, Enterprise Holdings employs over 74,000 employees and its annual revenues exceed $15.4 billion. According to J.D. Power and Associates’ Satisfaction Index Survey, Enterprise, National, and Alamo, are ranked the top three providers of customer satisfaction.

In addition to car rentals, Enterprise Holdings provide services in car sales, fleet management, commercial truck rental, and international operations. 1. Fleet management services provide transportation solutions to businesses to accommodate their total transportation needs. 2. There are two car sales locations in the DFW area that will give $1,000 to employees for purchasing their car from Enterprise, as well as, a $200 bonus to any employee who refers a buyer outside of the company. The car sales department offer cars that are two years old or newer and are sold at a discounted rate. In addition, Enterprise offers a seven day buy-back guarantee to all customers, including employees, if they are not satisfied with their purchase. Also, family members get $750 off their car if they purchase through the employee. 3. The WeCar Car Sharing Program is a membership-based car sharing program for people who are looking for an alternative method of transportation, which will lower its customers’ daily costs and hassles of dealing with everyday hassles of traditional transportation.

Enterprise Holdings has a great offering for employees. Enterprise manages to maintain its competitive advantage by recruiting more new college graduates who are eager to learn and ready to begin a lucrative, fast-growing and fast-paced career. In the Management Program, one can start as a trainee and grow as high as Regional Vice President. There are, however, other offices that one can begin their career in, for example, if an employee does not have a Bachelor’s Degree, which is required to enter into the Management Program, he/she can began in the Administrative building in a call center. Once the employee has been with the company for six months, they can begin to apply for the many internal positions that are available to them.

The atmosphere at Enterprise Holdings is one of encouragement, support, and teamwork. The managers, no matter what level, always encourage their employees to grow within the company. They are more than willing to work with your schedule if you are a student and will mentor you every step of the way. There is a team atmosphere that is noticeable just by walking into the building. Everyone that I have had the pleasure of dealing with has been more than helpful in answering any questions, no matter how big or small, to make sure that I have a thorough understanding. Lastly, they are supportive because they encourage you to better yourselves and your family by ensuring that you have as many opportunities available to you as you can imagine.

With its recent expansion in China, Spain, and France, Enterprise decided that they had yet to enter into the market that was, notably, the fastest growing markets today. In March of 2013, the Bloomberg News released an article that stated that Malaysia and Korea was two of the fastest growing markets. The belief of Mr. Jack Taylor and his son, Andy, was that they wanted to keep as much total control over their company as possible, but by not entering into this marketplace, they were not realizing their complete potential that could be reached. To solve this dilemma, Andy Taylor made the decision to start franchising. They realized that if they wanted to be competitive in the future, they would have to start licensing in order to further their global brand. In December of 2012, Enterprise signed its first franchisee, in Portugal to expand the brand’s European presence to six countries. Since then, it has added a franchisee in Italy, Locauto Rent in Greece, and have acquired local chains in France and Spain.
Revenues for eHi have rose from $78 billion in 1980 to $6.5 billion in 2002 and, finally, $15.4 billion in 2012. According to Fred Lowrance, a Nashville, Tennessee based analyst at Avondale Partners, LLC, “Enterprise is the model organization”. It is obvious that this is true because the entity is continuing to grow at a rapid pace. Andy stated that he loves to compete with companies, especially, those that are publicly owned, and this strategic move has done nothing but produce profits and revenues that are increasing year after year.

Andy et. al. is very adamant about ensuring that their firm remains private. He feels that being a private company is another competitive advantage that has it in the high position that it is currently in. When asked if Enterprise would consider going public, Andy replied, “It’s off the table”, followed by “That’s the long way of saying, absolutely not!”

References

http://magazine-archives.wustl.edu/summer03/mywashington.html www.enterprise.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKGdqTKpUqM http://www.jdpower.com/content/blog-post/RqpXRPG/enterprise-ranks-highest-in-customer-satisfaction-with-rental-car-companies.htm http://www.enterpriseholdings.com/press-room/enterprise-rent-a-car-named-top-recruiter-of-us-college-graduates.html