Mobil: Retail Sales Operations

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Case Study Prompt

The sales force at Mobil is composed of college graduates, each of whom calls on about twenty stations.

The structure of the retail gasoline business is as follows:

• Mobil owns the gas stations while the station manager/owner owns the business.
• Mobil sells gasoline to the station at the wholesale price (DTW) while the station manager/owner sets the street price.
• Mobil makes a profit of about 10 cents per gallon.

They want to grow the profitability of the gas stations. What should they focus on?

Case Overview

The client in this case study is Mobil (gas stations). The company wants to grow the profitability of the gasoline business. Using the data provided, and asking for additional data you need, provide the client with a strong recommendation for how to increase profits.

Use your knowledge of the basic case interview frameworks to build a custom structure for the case. Take enough time in this section to build a solid structure, because structure determines how effective you will be in solving the case.

This case is one of our many business case examples that will prep you for a first round interview. The case has a qualitative difficulty of 2 out of 4. The case doesn’t have any diagrams.

Interview Tips: Strategy& 

What does Strategy& look for in its case interview candidates? A blend of strategic and out-of-the-box thinking.

Ask yourself: “what will help me best solve the problem in front of me?” Trust your instincts, even if that means going a non-traditional route.

Maximize your time in this case by scoring yourself in each section. Follow that up by identifying 1 or 2 areas that need improvement (i.e. mental math or structure).

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