‘A look’ into automotive digital transformation
Date: 27th Jul. 2020 | Version V1.0
“Digital Transformation and Technology is in our DNA” The Gateway Corp. Maria Montessorilaan 5, 2719 DB Zoetermeer, The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0) 79 3200 980 info@autofacets.com
Certainly, these are the craziest times we all are experiencing throughout the world, affecting the automotive industry, and we, as Industry members, are forced to ask the question: are we still on the road? Last month we saw a surge in car sales in a few countries in Europe. And it is quite interesting to know that, being in lockdown, the average car enthusiast has whipped out his/her web-surfing fingers to look for the car of their dreams. After all, we are living in an increasingly digital era. Though not very frequent with such situations like this pandemic, the automotive industry has been through ups and down historically. And technology has helped it to bounce back successfully. We took this opportunity to have a broad look at the current scenario in the automotive industry in terms of being Digitally Adept and what can be the road ahead from our eyes, as a technology and consulting partner to many automotive businesses.
Digitalization What does digitalization mean for the automotive industry? Smart machines, digital services, connected devices, tools and infrastructure as well as huge volumes of data and always improving human-machine-interfaces have an influence on the entire industry — on both companies and customers. Automotive Industry, historically, has always strived for excellence in all aspects. It has set the benchmarks globally for innovations and efficiencies. And the role of technology is crucial for this excellence. What makes it more interesting is the fact that contribution can be credited across the value chain of the entire industry. Automation and Customer Experience are fueling automotive digital transformation. Especially in automotive retail, importers, distributors and dealers have completely changed the car buying experience for the customers. Aftermarket and car maintenance is now driven to provide a seamless service to the owners. Moreover, traditional auto transportation services have completely revamped themselves to give rise to a modern mobility ecosystem.
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‘A look’ into automotive digital transformation
Advancements driving the automotive ecosystem If we were to analyze the key impacting technological trends shaping the automotive ecosystem across its value chain, it would be logical to think of the triangle below which captures entire automotive ecosystem, advance technologies and use cases to drive them.
Automotive Retail — No need to mention about Smart Manufacturing being widely adopted into car manufacturers’ plants, 3D printing, A&V Reality tech are taking that beyond imagination. Along with car makers, their Sales and Distribution network has been on the path of being hugely automated and digitally adept. Right from importers and distributors to dealerships, businesses are proactively looking to embrace digital ways of working and keeping the customers’ preferences at the top. Digital Dealerships nowadays are making car buying and after sales experience for their customers painless, in fact enjoyable. OEs and their downstream sales partners are working collaboratively to achieve ultimate customer experience and create a win-win situation for all. For instance, data exchange is getting normalized between these two parties. OEs hardly have any hesitation to share Telematics Data with their dealers whereas dealers are also providing insights about customers’ behaviour to OEs. This makes it a huge deal and further generates multiple possibilities for innovations and achieving customer delight.
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‘A look’ into automotive digital transformation
Independent Aftermarket
— Independent aftermarket is no exception when it comes to digitalization of business processes. Gone are the days when a technician in a garage used to call or send an email to the local part seller to order a part needed for vehicle service. Predictive Maintenance already makes it possible to have the part in stock thereby not making a customer wait longer to complete the service. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The digitalization has reached all the levels and connects all the stakeholders in the entire aftermarket ecosystem. ITGs and Parts Makers are playing a huge role in this industry-level transformation, enabling their network of maintenance shops to turn into Digital Workshops.
Mobility Ecosystem — Already in many smart cities, transit has been connected and presented at the fingertips of a customer. MaaS (Mobility as a Service) is on the verge of aggregating all forms of transportation on a single platform through a common broker. We see fleet managers of our customers operating more efficiently by insights they receive with car health and driver-related dashboards. Mobility as a Service is a product of technological advancements in the automotive industry.
OEs are not the only drivers of the shift. Carmakers are not the only ones defining the road ahead for the auto industry. It is being shaped by, right from technology giants like Google to innovative start-ups like FleetMaster. And this has allowed AutoFacets also to operate and provide thought leadership in the European market. We have been operating as a strategic technology partner to Auto players in Europe and consulting them to lay the road in future. It is quite easy to notice, even in our daily lives, that customer experience is the priority for all businesses. Bringing in transparencies, establishing seamless communication and engagement with the customer are the top motives behind the wide digital transformation happening in the industry. And to re-emphasize, innovation is being driven equally across the above mentioned three categories of automotive businesses.
COVID Impact & Measures COVID — 19 has impacted the automotive industry and has made the experts normalize new ways of operations. And, undeniably, this calls for faster digital transformation in the businesses. The New Normal needs certain changes in the existing systems and tools and digital transformation partners like AutoFacets can expedite this work for auto companies. As a small step towards this, we have launched ZeroTouch — Contactless Digital Service for Dealerships to manage customer service appointments efficiently and safely. In a nutshell, there is a need to accelerate digital transformation in the automotive industry in these crazy times and it’s going to be like that in the coming future as well. Earlier being digital used to be associated with thriving but nowadays it has become more about surviving. Companies must adopt essential digital practices and keep up with the changing customer preferences as well as newer ways of doing business.
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‘A look’ into automotive digital transformation
The Netherlands (HQ) 1st floor, Maria Montessorilaan 5, 2719 DB Zoetermeer, Netherlands, Phone: +31 79 3200 980
E-mail: info@autofacets.com
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‘A look’ into automotive digital transformation