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Case Study

Rapid-Lube provides fast oil changes, lubrication, and interior cleaning services for vehicles. Their locations are clean and neatly landscaped, allowing three cars to be serviced at once through separate bays. Customers are greeted by trained employees and standard services include fluid checks and filter changes performed quickly by a three-person team. Rapid-Lube aims to provide better and faster service than competitors while charging similar or lower prices.

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Laiven Ryle
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207 views

Case Study

Rapid-Lube provides fast oil changes, lubrication, and interior cleaning services for vehicles. Their locations are clean and neatly landscaped, allowing three cars to be serviced at once through separate bays. Customers are greeted by trained employees and standard services include fluid checks and filter changes performed quickly by a three-person team. Rapid-Lube aims to provide better and faster service than competitors while charging similar or lower prices.

Uploaded by

Laiven Ryle
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A huge market exists for automobile tune-ups, oil changes, and lubrication service for more than 250

million vehicles on US roads. Some of this demand is filled by full services auto dealerships, some

Walmart and Firestones, and some by other tire/service dealers. However, Rapid Lube, Mobil-Lube, Jiffy-

Lube and others have also developed strategies to accommodate this opportunity.

Rapid-Lube stations perform oil changes, lubrication, and interior cleaning in a spotless environment.

The buildings are clean, usually painted white, and often surrounded by neatly trimmed landscaping. To

facilitate fast service, cars can be driven through three abreast. At Rapid-Lube, the customer is greeted

by service representatives who are graduates of Rapid-Lube U. The Rapid-Lube school is not unlike

McDonald’s Hamburger University near Chicago or Holiday Inn’s training school in Memphis. The greeter

takes the order, which typically includes fluid checks (oil, water, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and

differential grease) and the necessary lubrication, as well as filter changes for air and oil. Service

personnel in neat uniforms then move into action. The standard three-person team has one person

checking fluid levels under the hood, another assigned interior vacuuming and window cleaning, and the

third in the garage pit, removing the oil filter, draining the oil, checking the differential and transmission,

and lubricating as necessary. Precise task assignments and good training are designed to move the car

into and out of the bay in 10 minutes. The business model is to charge no more, and hopefully less, than

gas stations, automotive repair chains, and auto dealers, while providing better and faster service.

Discussion Questions. (50 points)

1. What constitutes the mission of Rapid-Lube?

The mission articulation for Minit-Lube is to provide fast, reliable and prevalent services in a
customer friendly environment whereas guaranteeing least conceivable fares relating to the oil
changes, lubrication and insides cleaning to the vehicle owners within the USA as comparison
with gas stations, auto dealers and car repair chains.

2. How does the Rapid-Lube operations strategy provide competitive advantage? (Hint: Evaluate how

Rapid-Lube’s traditional competitors perform the 10 decisions of operations management vs. how
Rapid-Lube performs them.)

Minit-Lube operations strategy provides the organization advantage over its competitors in the
following ways:

Product Design

Minit-Lube concentrates as it were on lubricating services of automobiles as opposed to its competitors,


by providing fast service and as per convenience to the clients. The superior service component has
been outlined to do service rapidly 3 cars at a time. Service process is fast and efficient to the
satisfaction of clients as each of the three bays is taken care of by a group of three people. Because
Minit-Lube contains a limit item procedure, such as “lubricating automobiles”, it allows them to be more
focused and efficient with its service operations.

Quality Strategy

Quality exceeds ordinary guidelines as all employees are perfectly dressed and completely trained from
Minit Lube school. Because of limited task variety, high repetition of work, good work force training, and
use of convenient manuals, quality is relatively easy to maintain for Minit-Lube.

Prepare Strategy

The process methodology of Minit-Lube allows its employees to remain centered on doing their jobs
well. It is not a general-purpose garage or gas station as compared to its conventional competitors.
Efficient use of human resource empowers fast service provision as three workers at the same time
work on a car to provide oil-change services.

Location Strategy

Location premises are spotless with appealing surrounding environment and are usually conveniently
placed near residential areas.

Layout Strategy

Layout designs of service bays are arranged in such a way that all the benefit tasks are carried out
without any loss of any time. The three bays are outlined particularly for lubrication and vacuuming
tasks to minimize wasted movement on the portion of the employees and to contribute to the speedier
service.

Supply Chain Strategy


Purchasing is facilitated by negotiation of large purchases and custom packaging.

Human Resources Strategy

Well prepared staff graduated from Minit-Lube school, ensuring cost effectiveness by building good
customer relationships and giving fast and exact service. Each individual specializes in its own work
empowering the maximum level of service.

Inventory

Inventory investment is relatively low, and they should anticipate high turnover. Inventory investment
is limited. Scheduling: Scheduling of services is given in least conceivable time frame, with utilize of
efficient human resource in order to meet client schedules. Scheduling is quite straightforward at Minit-
Lube with similar times for most cars.

Maintenance

Minit-Lube gives reliable maintenance solutions because of their trained staff and superior operations
management. There's relatively little equipment to be kept up, subsequently little preventive
maintenance required. With three bays and three systems, there is backup available within the case of
failure.

To conclude, Minit-Lube differentiates itself from other service providers by providing fast, reliable and
superior services at the lowest possible cost in a customer friendly environment.

3. Is it likely that Rapid-Lube has increased productivity over its more traditional competitors? Why?

How would we measure productivity in this industry?

The main criteria of measuring efficiency of service providers such as Minit-Lube is differentiation,
flexibility and cost included in their service provisions. The Minit-Lube has recognized itself from its rival
automobile service providers by separating as a narrow service provider limited to automobile
lubricating services instead of a general servicing of automobiles. Its approach is adaptable and responds
rapidly to the needs and convenience of clients. The service provided is better, quick and cost-
competitive. Full satisfaction of customers is its Motto. Due to these approaches for the last three
decades of its existence, the productivity of Minit-Lube is expanding as compared to other traditional
competitors.

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