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Case Article—Tactical Decisions at Vastrapur Car Rental Services

Author

Listed:
  • Balaraman Rajan

    (Department of Management, College of Business and Economics, California State University East Bay, Hayward, California 94542)

  • N. Ravichandran

    (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380015, India)

Abstract

Vastrapur Car Rental Services operating in Ahmedabad, Gujarat State, India offers five different options to its rental customers. Each option has a usage agreement (limits on mileage and duration) and rental rate and some customers exceed these limits. The central theme of the case is to compute the average profitability in the context of limited fleet size, uncertainty related to number and type of customer requests, and variability in the utilization of vehicles. In addition, the case provides an opportunity to discuss situations like negotiating wages, outsourcing vehicles on a need basis, and subscribing capacity to an integrator (an online platform linking the supply and the demand sides). The case was given to MBA students in a core probability course and a core decision sciences course. The discussion can span over one or two classes depending on the students' background and nature of the course. The case helps students apply different concepts in probability (including random variables and expected value) to analyze a real-life managerial situation. When resolved appropriately, it demonstrates the power of simple probabilistic tools in addressing managerial challenges. The case is amenable for a simulation based analysis to study the interplay between demand variability (quantity and mix) and economic consequences in multiple scenarios.

Suggested Citation

  • Balaraman Rajan & N. Ravichandran, 2017. "Case Article—Tactical Decisions at Vastrapur Car Rental Services," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 48-51, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orited:v:18:y:2017:i:1:p:48-51
    DOI: 10.1287/ited.2017.0183ca
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cochran, James J., 2005. "Can You Really Learn Basic Probability by Playing a Sports Board Game?," The American Statistician, American Statistical Association, vol. 59, pages 266-272, August.
    2. Timothy C. Y. Chan, 2013. "Deal or No Deal: A Spreadsheet Game to Introduce Decision Making Under Uncertainty," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 53-60, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Coleen Wilder & Sailu Li, 2019. "Case Article—You Can’t Take It with You," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 33-36, September.

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