Digitisation and the Automobile production line

The automotive industry is on the cusp of its biggest evolutionary change since the Far East started production in the 1960s. Car manufacturers are no longer just hardware producers; they are beginning to look more like software companies as they make their digital transformation journey.

In this context, the product (i.e. the motor vehicle) and the consumer’s experience with it are rapidly shifting from the physical to digital. Getting the balance of cohesion and integration right between digital and the final physical product has the power to transform traditional businesses.  Successful companies will move forward by focusing on two major strategies: digitising their customer value proposition and reshaping their operating model.

Digitisation of the value proposition is being driven by changes in the way customers are interacting with manufacturers. Traditionally the process centered entirely around engagement inside a dealer showroom, where salespeople helped customers identify their needs and then sold a vehicle to fit them. But as modern consumers are embracing a more mobile, interactive and self-service experience, the car purchasing journey has shifted online.

Car configurator platforms allow shoppers to customise and build their perfect car in the confines of their own home. Advancements in the software means these pre-built personalised products can be seen from all angles, the inside and outside scrutinised at extreme detail. Choices can be saved and then sent to a local car showroom for pick-up. But this is often where the digital experience ends and manual processes take over, something I think needn’t be the case.

As a customer, walking into my local dealer with a pre-built configuration, I’ve already sent my “buy” signal. Someone on the showroom floor will then walk me through my configuration telling me how wonderful my choices are, before searching their dealer network database for a vehicle in stock that matches my specification.  Of course, given the high-level of personalisation it is unlikely that a perfect match will be available, but the dealer will try and offer a best alternative, explaining how they can then create a finance package or other concessions to further entice the sale.  

The next stage (where an in-stock vehicle is not selected) would be to validate the economic transaction, and complete various other formalities and checks.  Then a deposit is taken, some paperwork signed, and an order placed with the factory to build my personalised product. All of this paperwork takes at least a few hours, but could be automated and completed in less than 20 minutes with the right electronic content and document management systems.

Once the sale is confirmed, the complex process of building my vehicle begins. The assembly line is a fine-tuned operation, particularly when you consider that the welding to make a single car shell involves 250 processes and 526 parts. But as more and more of the work is done by robotic devices, manufacturers should use the data these machines collect, alongside artificial intelligence, to adjust product lines and re-tool dynamically, in real-time. Doing so would enable manufacturers to refine processes; understand and respond much faster to changing market demands, such as emission standards, previously unpredictable purchasing spikes or, consumers deciding that hot pink is their new favourite colour; as well as, provide customers with more personalised engagement throughout the production cycle.