Zip Car Case Study PDF

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ZipCar was established so that customers could rent a car for hours rather than days. This allowed them to see a map of the cars available within their area for them to choose from, rather than having to go into a car rental agency. This caused very little human interaction, all the customer had to do was reserve a car online, wave their RFID-enabled Zipcard against the card reader (mounted behind the driver’s side windshield), then once finished, the customer returns the car where they got it from and their card will then automatically be charged (card on file). This differentiates them from other car rental companies. The IT Platform for ZipCar carries so much information which allows the flow between the customers, vehicles and the company. Each car is enabled with a GPS tracking system, that doesn’t just allow the company to know where the cars are, but the customers as well so they can see what is near them. This IT platform is used to monitor car security, full-fill reservations, record hourly usage and maintain mileage information. It also tracks the battery voltage and fuel level. The amount paid by the customer covers the rental, as well as insurance, gas and reserved parking lots at specific locations. ZipCar has a dominant technology, their social networking platform which allows their users to share their experiences with one another. ZipCar has become highly successful with over 900,000 paying members within 30 major metro markets. ZipCar’s resource-based view focused primarily on gaining and maintaining strategic advantage through technology. They spent years developing this technology which is an industry leading platform. The technology in place that runs the company cannot easily be replicated. They do have agreements with other business, cities and agencies, this allows them to have parking spots that are allotted at no fee for their customers. Their IT is supported by a social media platform and they have the IT management skills needed in order to create value and sustainability. ZipCar aligned their business strategy with information technology. ZipCar primarily uses IT in order to function and operate. IT was a key part in their business strategy and success. This technology allowed Zipcar to achieve their goal. ZipCar’s IT platform also allowed others to communicate with one another based on their experience with ZipCar. This platform is one of their network effects that is part of their strategy. This adds value because it allows ZipCar to gain feedback from their users, so they know where their strengths are and what areas they need to work on to boost customer satisfaction. This platform also allows users to be more open and honest with one another, because it is personal, it isn’t just a quick survey to ask how ZipCar is doing. As the CEO of ZipCar, the most threatening competition would be more traditional car rental companies, such as Hertz or Enterprise. These traditional car rental companies have locations all around the globe. In order to sustain a competitive advantage, we need to keep making our customers happy as well as attract more. We are differentiated from the traditional car rental companies already. We now need to expand our business by opening ZipCar to more areas and reaching out to more potential customers....