Should Rentomojo prioritize expanding its furniture rental catalog or focus on improving delivery times for existing items?

Introduction

The trade-off question at hand is whether Rentomojo should prioritize expanding its furniture rental catalog or focus on improving delivery times for existing items. This scenario involves balancing growth through product variety against operational efficiency. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining the business context, user impact, technical feasibility, and resource allocation.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Business Context: I'm thinking Rentomojo's current growth stage might influence this decision. Could you share our current market share and how it compares to competitors?

Why it matters: Helps determine if catalog expansion or operational efficiency is more critical for competitive advantage. Expected answer: Moderate market share with room for growth. Impact on approach: If market share is low, might lean towards catalog expansion to attract more customers.

• User Impact: Based on customer feedback, I'm assuming delivery time is a pain point. What's our current average delivery time, and how does it compare to industry standards?

Why it matters: Determines the urgency of improving delivery times. Expected answer: Delivery times are slightly longer than industry average. Impact on approach: If significantly longer, would prioritize improving delivery times.

• Technical Feasibility: Considering our current logistics infrastructure, I'm curious about our capacity for faster deliveries. What's our current utilization rate of delivery resources?

Why it matters: Indicates whether we can improve delivery times without significant investment. Expected answer: Moderate utilization with some room for optimization. Impact on approach: High utilization would suggest focusing on efficiency improvements before expansion.

• Resource Allocation: Thinking about our team structure, how are our product and operations teams currently balanced?

Why it matters: Indicates our readiness to tackle catalog expansion vs. operational improvements. Expected answer: Slightly more resources in product development than operations. Impact on approach: Would influence whether we need to reallocate resources for the chosen priority.

• Timeline Pressure: Considering market dynamics, is there any urgent competitive pressure or upcoming season that might influence this decision?

Why it matters: Helps prioritize short-term vs. long-term strategies. Expected answer: Upcoming holiday season could drive demand. Impact on approach: Might lean towards catalog expansion if there's an immediate opportunity to capture market share.