Hertz goes wireless By: Francisco Rose

Agenda Case summary Financial stats Major competitors Questions Conclusion

Summary The car rental industry is very competitive, but Hertz still finds unique ways to capture the market and stay on top over its competitors. Hertz have been a first mover to information technology since the 1970s, so its has naturally looked for new technologies to improve its competitive position.

Financial stats Company typeSubsidiary of Ford 2003 Sales (mil)$5,207 1 year sales growth ( ) 4.8% Net Profit margin3.0%

Competition

Question # 1 Which of these application are intra-business in nature? The capability of hertz having the technology to: Instant return for the customers A handheld device connected to a database by wireless system expedites the car return transaction; which calculate the cost of the rental and print the receipt for the customer.

Question # 2 Identify any finance- and marketing-oriented applications. Service-oriented marketing strategies Hertz wireless technology and EC capabilities make the business a very profitable company.

Question # 3 What are the benefits to Hertz of knowing exactly where each of its car is? As a renter, how would you feel about this capability? Benefits for hertz: In the event of theft tracking would be much easier and knowledge of tracking devices decreases the risk of this happening. Incase of emergency they can know exactly where the car and customer is and can assist immediately.

Question # 3 cont As a customer it can be viewed both ways as being good and bad for Hertz to know the location of where and how fast the car is going. Some customers will view that as an invasion of their privacy.

Question # 3 cont Some will say it is good for cases of emergency. Regardless of the outcome the best one would be for hertz to have the control to know where their car is, for the benefit of the company itself and for the customer’s safety. Another option could be; customer choose whether or not they want hertz to know where the car is or how fast it is being driven.

Conclusion Hertz in the 1970’s made an excellent strategic move to employ the use of technology to improve their business strategy and with constant improvement has allowed them to maintain a competitive edge. The customers Hertz gained from the implementation of these new technologies has allowed them to service and keep a greater percentage of the rental car market.

Bibliography p p es_hertz/ es_hertz/