A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR PRICING: A CASE STUDY OF A CAR RENTAL COMPANY

Abstract

From the survey of the growth rate of 11.3% per year from 2004 to 2010, far exceeding the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the same period, it is expected that the economic sector outsourcing fleet continues to grow, in Brazil in the coming years. The car rental company (CRC) need to consider some factors in their business, such as: low market penetration, changing perception o f co mpanies, starting to understand more clearly and objectively, gains related to financial leasing, and mitigates operational risks in your business. Faced with threats and opportunities is paramount that a CRC is able to practice real and competitive prices, aiming at market share. So need decision support systems (DSS) able to subsidize the cost estimation (CE) procedures and pricing. The objective of this research was to devel op a prototype DSS for the CE and pricing in a CRC able to represent the tacit knowl edge of so me professionals that participate effectively in the process of revisio n of prices of t he commercial. The research was qualitative, through a kind of act ion research case study. Data were collected on a CRC fleet outsourcing specialist, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. The development process lasted six months and the results showed that the prototype is able to acquire and represent tacit knowledge of professio nals involved with t he review processes of CE and pricing, and generate price proposals approximate those made by professio nals, but with greater accuracy on pro fitability. The survey also showed that a DSS may constitute a tool to achieve the goals of supporting the process of CE and pricing in a CRC, providing more accurate information to the decision-making process.