...The U.S. car rental industry is believed to have began back in 1916, when a Nebraska man by the name of Joe Saunders decided to lend out his Ford Model T to local and visiting businessmen. This savvy entrepreneur affixed a mileage meter to the left front wheel of the vehicle and would charge renters a total of 10 cents a mile in order to cover the wear and tear on his beloved Ford. It didn't take long for Saunders to realize he'd stumbled onto a lucrative business idea. By 1925, Saunders' independent car rental company had grow to include operations In 21 states. Saunders also began to diversify his vehicle offering at this point – old Chrysler ads from the 1920's boast that Saunders' fleet included nearly $1 million worth of Chrysler vehicles. The Battle Begins Competitors quickly caught onto Saunders' unique rent-a-car model, and it wasn't long before Walter L. Jacobs started renting out a dozen or so Model T Fords of his own. By 1923, Jacobs' business was grossing more than $1 million in annual sales, making him Saunders' main competitor. Both Saunders and Jacobs built their independent car rental businesses from humble beginnings, but only one would come out on top. In the mid 1920s, Jacobs made the acquaintance of Mr. John Hertz, owner of The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company in Chicago. Hertz eventually bought Jacobs' car rental company, giving birth to what is now one of the largest chain car rental companies in the nation. Later, General Motors would buy out the...
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...ONLINE CAR RENTAL SYSTEM SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY BSC Computer science COURSE CODE SCO 400 BY MUHAMMAD TOBOSO DAUD REG NO: J17S/11624/2011 Phone No: 0770305102 Email: modifaya@gmail.com Supervisor: Daisy M Ireri Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 The Background of the Project 5 1.2 Problem Statement 5 1.3 Objective 6 1.4 Project Scope 6 1.5 Project Significance 7 Conclusion 7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8 2.1 Introduction 8 2.2 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM 8 2.3 Facts and Findings 9 2.3.1 Domain 9 2.3.2 Existing Systems 9 2.3.3 Problems in existing system 10 2.3.4 Differences between the manual and the computerized system that is going to be developed 11 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH APPROACHES AND METHODOLOGIES 12 Research methodology 12 3.0 Introduction 12 3.1 Project Methodology 12 Waterfall Methodology 12 3.2 System Study and Investigation 12 3.2.1 Interviews 13 3.2.2 Observation 13 3.3 Summary 13 3.4 Budget 14 CHAPTER 4: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 15 4.1 REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS 15 4.1.1 User Requirement 15 4.1.2 Functional Requirement 15 4.1.3 Non-Functional Requirements...
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...Brainold B. Barbero BSIT-IV Types of Sampling Designs Non-probability Sampling Techniques Non-probability sampling is a sampling technique where the samples are gathered in a process that does not give all the individuals in the population equal chances of being selected. Reliance On Available Subjects. Relying on available subjects, such as stopping people on a street corner as they pass by, is one method of sampling, although it is extremely risky and comes with many cautions. This method, sometimes referred to as a convenience sample, does not allow the researcher to have any control over the representativeness of the sample. It is only justified if the researcher wants to study the characteristics of people passing by the street corner at a certain point in time or if other sampling methods are not possible. The researcher must also take caution to not use results from a convenience sample to generalize to a wider population. Purposive or Judgmental Sample. A purposive, or judgmental, sample is one that is selected based on the knowledge of a population and the purpose of the study. For example, if a researcher is studying the nature of school spirit as exhibited at a school pep rally, he or she might interview people who did not appear to be caught up in the emotions of the crowd or students who did not attend the rally at all. In this case, the researcher is using a purposive sample because those being interviewed fit a specific purpose or description. Snowball...
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...proprietary information systems that create entrance barriers for new competition. Bargaining Power of Buyers Zipcar provides a membership based business strategy and a fully automated reservation system. GPS location services, membership accounts, and reservation modifications can all be accessed with a member’s mobile device. Customers will find it difficult to get the same level of service form another competitor. The creation of user friendly IT systems has simplified Zipcar’s car rental experience. Zipcar has managed to limit the bargaining power of buyers by decreasing the likelihood of customers switching. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Zipcar’s has experienced a steady growth, expanding its services into new locations. Taking advantage of incentives for sustainability have helped Zipcar limit the bargaining power of it suppliers. Automation of services create less dependence people, places and services that are synonymous with the traditional suppliers of the car rental industry. By dealing directly with car manufactures they can limit their bargaining power of the supplier. Entering into purchasing agreements can help to negotiate the selling cost of the car. Industry Competitors Industry competitors of Zipcar would be the traditional car rental companies. These companies are constrained by lengthy paperwork processes and subject to typical business hours of operation. Traditional vehicle rental companies do not offer hourly rentals. Zipcar has...
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...DEGREE NAME: BSC IN COMPUTING MODULE TITLE: TITLE OF REPORT: CAR RENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STUDENT NAME: LEANO KEBOITSI BOTHO STUDENT ID: SGB11000928 TU STUDENT ID: 0412800 SUPERVISOR: SUBITHA SIVAKUMAR SECOND READER: MR SIVAKUMAR DATE OF SUBMISSION: 20 OCTOBER 2015 ABSTRACT Fenam car rental management system is being developed in order for clients to book cars from the car rental company from anywhere in the world. This particular system will obtain data from the client by means of completing an online registration form with their personal information. By registering the web site the customer will have the ability to book any car of their liking from the Fenam car rental website. The fenam car rental management system will entirely be incorporated on online systems. It computerizes the manual process by being very efficient and successful. The computerized system makes it possible for clients to provide full information on what kind of car they want to rent. It consists of the kind of car they would like to hire as well as the location. The main aim of the fenam car rental management system is to create a web site for all people so they can book cars for rent together with their individual necessities from anywhere. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to direct my deepest gratitude to my university lecturer Mrs. Iyer for presenting me with the opportunity to carry out this enlightening and interesting project, she was...
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...Car Rental Company Information System SRS Section 3 SE 530 10/21/2015 3.1 External Interface Requirements 3.1.1: Record of all data shall interface to headquarters main system server. 3.1.2: The system shall receive and send data to outstanding banking systems. 3.1.3: The system shall interface with the airport. 3.2 Functional Requirements 3.2.1: The system shall contain an online web portal for customers and employees to have access to rental car information and to perform reservations. 3.2.2: The system shall contain customer service help to customers who have trouble at any point in the system. 3.2.3: The customer service information shall be in the portal. 3.2.4: The customer service information shall contain the rental car company locations, hours of operation, available rental vehicles, and price quotes. 3.2.5: Customer service shall provide contact information such as email, phone number, and live chatting. 3.2.6: The system shall provide management of data, inventory including, make, model, vin-number, miles, color, previous owner, interior, fuel level, maintenance and work history on every vehicle. 3.2.7: The system shall allow vehicles to enter system. 3.2.8: The system shall allow vehicles to leave the system. 3.2.9: The system shall provide monitoring all data and activities throughout system, including all sales, transactions, rental agreements, vehicle data, to send to headquarters for improvements. 3.2.10: The system shall be connected...
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...Applied Research Paper: Superior Rentals Learning Team B Comm/215 July 14, 2014 Linda Camp Applied Research Paper: Superior Rentals As the business world looks to the future, they are leaning toward a more modern approach. Businesses are going "green" and using recyclable products in their industries. Being an environmentally aware company helps to promote a business, cut costs, and, most importantly, keeps our earth healthy. There are many reasons for a business to become more environmentally responsible. A healthier workplace, positive public response, reduced waste, and legal and tax advantages (Lorette, 2014) are just a few reasons Superior Rentals, Inc. should "go green.” Environmental responsibility begins with research and continues with the implementation of new methods and ideologies to promote a "green" company and a better world. The proposed methods, contained herein, are financially responsible, and relatively simple to incorporate into Superior Rentals, Inc.'s business plan. When businesses “go green,” the impact on the environment is substantial. Superior Rentals, Inc. can positively affect its local market and the world with environmentally sound practices. Alternatives and Discussion Research indicates the following alternatives for Superior Rentals, Inc., and includes discussion of the effectiveness of each alternative. Using Tablets/Going Paperless Using a tablet in place of a cash register has many benefits. Tablets...
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...Think About Cars. 1. Answer: Zipcar has created a model that would be difficult for other companies to imitate with its technology infrastructure and low over-head. I think the motivation of Zipcar is the innovation services and customer first basic purpose. The initial business plan of Zipcar was to provide the convenience of owning a car, without actually having to pay for all the expenses of actually owning a car. They wanted to target those that needed a car for only a few hours, as compared to renting a car for a whole day. Zipcar is the perfect answer for customers who wanted to rent a car for few hours in their home city. That just goes to say that Zipcar had a target niche market and fully utilized technology in their business modeling. The convenience of the car renting process to Zipcar’s customers makes it very likely that they get repeat patronage, giving them a sustainable advantage. About the scale, I would like to give it 4. 2. Answer: Yes, I think Zipcar has a good story to tell. About the question of accessing to market, the company’s target customers are educated and internet savvy urban dwelling people, so I think it’s easy for Zipcar’s employees to clearly explain what they do and what the benefits of its service which is non-car owners will have the service at their disposal whenever they require thru reserving it on the web. 3. Answer: Core Strategy: Zipcar’s business mission is envisioning a future where car-sharing members outnumber car owners in...
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...established itself as the leader in car-sharing programs. And while profitability for the business has yet to emerge, the demand is certainly there. Car ownership in many of the largest cities throughout the world has recently been flat or in decline, as major urban centers become increasingly crowded, with cities like Tokyo, New York, and London expected to see declines of car owners per capita over the next 15 years. Of New York residents, only 44 percent own cars. Analysts and researchers estimate 10 million drivers in the United States alone are open to participating in car sharing programs and car-sharing program memberships will rise to around 4.5 million in the United States and 5.5 million in Europe by 2016. The increasing business of car-sharing has already begun to encroach on the market for rental cars, and companies such as Hertz and Enterprise have developed their own car-sharing programs to supplement their rental businesses. Recently one unlikely group of organizations has taken its first steps in this segment as well—namely, automakers themselves. Automakers are hoping to reach this emerging target market in major urban areas—young, well-educated drivers, roughly age 18 to mid-30s, with good salaries, who are actively concerned about sustainability, pollution, and traffic congestion issues. Unlike past generations, they no longer view car ownership as a status symbol; they focus more on the convenience and practicality issues related to car ownership. BMW is looking to...
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...the business strategy of Zipcar and information technology. 8 As the CEO of Zipcar, what would you do to sustain a competitive advantage? 8 Is Zipcar a Success or Failure? 9 Will Zipcar Survive? 9 Should Zipcar Alter Their Strategy? 10 References 11 Case Description Zipcar is a company that was co-founded by Antje Danielson and Robin Chase in January of 2000, and was based on a car-sharing system originally utilized in Germany and Switzerland. The concept was to allow car rentals by the hour, with arranged pick-up and drop-off times located in neighborhoods allowing customers to simply walk to the vehicle without the need to wait in line. Danielson and Chase were concerned about the environment and this was their solution to vehicle overcrowding. Additionally, they feel their service helps to alleviate the headaches associated with owning a car, and gives people the option of having a second car or a bigger car, if it suits their needs, without having to buy. Zipcar is backed by a proprietary IT platform which allowed the flow of information between customers, cars and the company, and social networking technologies which allowed them to develop an online community of members. Therefore, IT plays an integral part in the company’s success by creating a buzz and encouraging community development. By focusing on automation, customer empowerment, transparency and community, Zipcar brought the Web 2.0...
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...have a fridge and sink along with a pull out couch. They also offer daily complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast and manager’s happy hour (3 free drinks each night of your stay). Place- Embassy Suites is located worldwide and uses the dual distribution system to offer their product. Embassy will sell directly to the customer through their reservations system, as well as through travel agencies and online travel companies. Price- Embassy suites prices are based on the location of their hotel. The also offer specials and free nightly internet to members of their Hilton Honors Club. I do not feel any of their marketing decisions. Embassy Suites does a great job promoting themselves especially with their free made to order breakfast and managers happy hour. 2. Cruise Lines- Carnival Product- Carnival is provider of cruises worldwide for people of all types of budgets. Promotes- Carnival promotes themselves as the fun ship by offering numerous activities for people of all ages. Some of these activities include Dinner and Dancing, Swimming, Sporting Events such as basketball and tennis. Carnival mostly promotes themselves through the internet and television commercials. Place- Carnival uses he dual distribution system. You can book online or over the phone directly through them or through a travel agent or online travel company. Price- Carnival’s prices are based off of the destination and length of trip. They also offer specials such as quick getaway pricing, and...
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...business of car rentals and also various other rentals and used auto business. The industry has been growing at a healthy rate and when we see the US car rental industry we will see that the revenues has grown from $20.08 in 2012 to around $40 billion in 2014.The United States represent have of the total revenues in this industry with Europe leading for the second position. The company Enterprise have expanded their leasing business to the buying of the new cars and using them along with the selling them to the public as used cars. They entered the daily rental business and also the truck rental businesses. Overall they have several business units which can be differentiated with the mode of doing business. They are the off-Airport market which deals with the travelers and the holiday packages. The On-Airport market deals with the business travelers through exclusive ordering facilities and express check out. The After-market deals with the selling of the used cars which they have bought from the manufacturer. This has reduced the cost of reverser logistics. The country in question for market entry will be HongKong.HongKong have been growing as the major business hubs of the world with the technology and computer software industries (Carroll & Grimes, 1995). The car rental industry is in the nascent stage with some of the companies starting operations. The auto industry is highly developed which will help Enterprise to buy the cars and then resale them. The demand of rental services...
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...Rental car industry is a multibillion industry which needs proper management for it to bear good returns. Unlike other service industries, the car rental service is highly consolidated which gives new players into the business a cost disadvantage incurred from the high input cost and low economies of scale at the same time. This industry has become more competitive and a big chunk of the competition comes from two main sources within the market chain, these are leisure and corporate segments. The major players in the market have established networks of collaboration and deals with majority of the leisure segments and corporate leaving only a smaller percentage for other smaller car rental companies. But that does not rule out the possibility of competition among the major players (Jim Suhr, 2004). Developing of a proper working culture is a step towards revival of the car rental company. The company should strive towards training of their workers on how customers should be handled in order to achieve the satisfaction they deserve. The workers should also have a culture of team work, which will help them to cover any loop holes of service delivery thus maximizing their efforts towards having excellent services to the customers (Singh, 2002). In addition the company must ensure customer satisfaction through, putting the customers first. For instance, whenever a customer calls for an assistance in case of mechanical failure, the company should have...
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...------------------------------------------------- Zipcar: Refining the Business Model MARKET ANALYSIS 1. Intuition 2.1. Guess/feel where there is a need ? * Danielson while returning from a trip to Germany where she discovered the car sharing concept, which was already very trendy in Europe * Chase believed there was a strong demand for this service in the US because it provide a new low cost and convenient alternative than to own a car that you would drive occasionally and still pay the insurance * Chase didn’t hesitate when Danielson proposed the venture, believed it was the right moment to launch this idea 1.2 . Where value proposition could be the most interesting? Car sharing was best suited: * Urban locations with a dense population * Cities with expensive and insufficient parking * Locations where the need to drive was limited because allocated with good transportation system * Boston, as most European cities, met all the key criteria 1.3. Where early adaptors could be ? People who need a car just occasionally and don’t want to have the cost of a car * College educated individuals * People who mainly use the transportation system to go to work * Housewives who just need a car for an hourly usage 1. Hard data: confirm intuition 2.1. Evidences confirming the need ? * The concept was already very successful in most European cities * Glenn Urban, the former dean of MIT, urged...
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...2014 An assignment on Customer service Contents Introduction 3 1.1 Discussion on the reasons for using customer service policy 3 1.2 The purposes of evaluating a customer service policy, indicating how this can assist future staff training and development 4 2.2 Evaluation of different communication methods and how these used to best effect 5 2.2 Analysis on customer perception is influenced by customer service provision 5 3.1 Sources of information on customer requirements and satisfaction levels 6 3.2 Carry out research on customer requirement and satisfaction levels for a selected business, suggesting potential improvements 7 4.1 Delivering customer service in a business 8 4.2 Review own performance in the delivery of customer service and recommendations for improvements 9 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction The objective of a business is to make profit and maximize its wealth and to ensure the customer satisfaction with which the business operates its activities. Customer satisfaction is a very important factor for surviving in the business world. Proper management of customer service ensures the retaining the business’s existing customers and prevent them to go its competitors. Hill, Roche & Allen (2007) indicated that customer satisfaction means the ways to fulfill the needs and demands of customers in exchange of their required goods and service. The researcher will illustrate the reasons for using customer service policy, the purposes of evaluating...
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