Key Strategies of the Express Oil Company - Report Example

Introduction

The Express oil company is an American based oil company that deals with tires and general automotive services which was founded in 1979 in Alabama, United States. Although it was sold to Golden Gate Capital, it remains to be one of the largest oil companies globally operating numerous fast lube and tire stores. The company’s vision as per the vision statement is to be the best and leading automotive industry by providing excellence, innovation, and growth, this is in line with the companies objectives; one of the aims is continuous growth.

In continuous growth, the company tends to improve its profit by ensuring that it has expanded its business to reach a great population (Tarbell, 2009). The second objective is to dominate the market, in line with the company’s vision statement express oil ensures that it dominates the market by providing it a significant market share. The third objective is to ensure that it provides quality services to its clients. The company’s vision is to be pre-eminent and for that to happen it has to make sure that it provides the best and quality services to its clients

History

After the World War II, Jim Lunceford went to work for standard oil, which at that time was the dominant supplier of oil products. Lunceford having had an old hand in the oil industry wanted to improve his life, and the life of his family thus started his own business called Jim & Jim’s services station. A year later his partner sold out, but the company did not die; Lunceford continued and kept the name as the business grew in the years that followed. Jim & Jim business flourished due growth of the iron and ore industry and also the increased automobile ownership from a being a regular gas station to a becoming a large company offering different vehicle services.

In 1970, Jim saw a business opportunity that resulted due to the busy motorists, in 1979, it did not take long before four other company locations were opened leading to the rise of the first franchisee. After two decades, the company had controlled almost all of Alabama with more than fifty sites. With this trend, it was evident that the firm had a great future and as a result, the company was bought by Watson and Brooks (Tarbell, 2009). The company continued to expand its program to the different states such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia acquiring many stores, which lead to it being the leading automotive company in that region. In June 2017, Golden Gate Capital bought the company thus changing its ownership. Over the years, Express Oil Company has grown and specialized in providing different services to its clients, among the services they provide is the oil exchange service, which is clearly discussed in this paper.

Oil exchange service

During this service, the customers’ vehicle is examined to ensure that the customer’s safety is secured when he is driving. Different parts such as the oil and filter, inspection of belts, hoses, air filter, steering, suspensions, and replacement of fluids is done at this stage (Tarbell, 2009). 10-minute oil change service is the name used to differentiate Express oil change from other companies oil change. The name developed as the company can replace all the parts mention in only 10 minutes, this gives the client an advantage as it is fast and efficient therefore being favorable to the client. For this to be archived, various key strategies have been used in accordance with the company’s objectives.

Key strategies

These are organized plans; directions or ideas made to ensure that the goals set by any company or organization are met. The first key strategy, which the oil exchange service deploys, is in management; the management is centralized and decentralized depending on the environment in which it is located. Centralization implies that all the company’s directives that come from the top management can reach the various regions, which the company provides its services. The company should also be flexible in that it has to provide its services depending on the environment that it is in, the leaders at the bottom of the administrative hierarchy are allowed to makes decisions so long as the decision is entirely in favor of the company thus making the management decentralized.

Another key strategy that has been used in the management system of the business is the company’s ability to forecast the future; the company should be in a position to know what to expect at a particular time. In this case, Express oil company has should specifically have a future forecast on its oil exchange services to ensure that its growth eminent and continuous in the future (ExpressOil, 2017). Another key strategy which the company uses is its marketing structure, for the company to be diversified it has to ensure that it can market its products in a proper manner, a manner in which all or almost all their clients get to know the goods and services which they provide.

Express Oil Company ensures that it markets its services to with the aim to maintain the customers they have and also to grow their market share. The marketing structure varies from one place to another depending on the culture, population, economy and the legal factors of the region. Different regions have different cultures and beliefs hence the company markets its services in a manner that is accepted by the people in that area (ExpressOil, 2017). With regards to the economy, a particular service in our case the oil exchange service has to vary depending on the region it's being offered the service cannot be too expensive to afford in a region where the economy is depressed thus marking marketing an essential structure by ensuring they are flexible enough to serve the majority in that region.

Population is also a major factor to be considered, and a high population means an intensified market structure and vice versa. The company also considers the legal factors in that it cannot sell its services in a manner that is illegal. The third key strategy that the firm uses is in mergers and partnership with other institutions. In most cases, in places where the oil exchange service is provided, there are facilities such as hotels, which favor the client (ExpressOil, 2017). An example is when the client takes his or her vehicle for the oil exchange service; he or she will go to the hotel and ask for a cup of tea as he waits for the services to provide. These key strategies have been a significant step in ensuring that the oil exchange service by express oil is unique from all its competitors.

SWOT analysis

Swot analysis is an assessment tool that is used by various businesses to guide an organization or institution and ensure that it is taking the right direction with the purpose to achieve its goals.

Strength

The 10-minute oil exchange service has its advantages, which add value to the company, and makes it outstanding from its competitors, and they include, customer satisfaction, time efficient and provision of quality services. 10-minute oil exchange service is a unique service that is provided by Express Oil Company. It is a service that has helped in improving Express Oil Company as a brand. The service ensures customer satisfaction by proving multiple services thus giving the client a choice to what he or she wants for the vehicle. It is time efficient since it takes only ten minutes for the work to be done as it has enough staff members to ensure that all vehicles that come in are served within the 10 minutes (ExpressOil, 2017). This is favorable to the client in that the customer will not have to wait for an extended period of time and also in instances where the client is in hurry. In as much as the service providers use only ten minutes, the services given are of high quality ensuring that the customer is safe on the roads.

Weaknesses

Some of the weaknesses that the oil exchange service experiences are operation glitch and cost. For the services to be done in ten minutes, the service providers tend to make mistakes that develop a technical glitch which affects the client negatively. The cost for the services is relatively high thus; it becomes unaffordable to the majority of people.

Opportunities

There are various opportunities, which the company can take advantage of to ensure they offer efficient and better services. The first occasion is technology will get the services via the latest market trend, with the continuous advancements in the field of technology; oil exchange service is in a position to improve its equipment’s thus improving their service delivery. Another opportunity that the company should use is ensuring that their services embrace the current market trends; this would help in the growth of the oil exchange service as their clients.

Threats

Express oil’s 10-minute oil transfer service faces a huge threat from the companies’ competitors who offer similar services. Companies offering similar services offer competition, which results to them, stealing their clients thus the company registers a loss. Competition is the only significant threat which the oil exchange service faces.

Reference

ExpressOil. (2017). Get in touch. Retrieved August 25, 2017, from https://www.expressoil.com/pages/our-history/

Tarbell, I. M. (2009). The history of the Standard Oil Company. Cosimo, Inc..