Defining the future of mobility

Challenge

The sharing economy is upending conventional notions of car ownership. Driving this disruption are consumers’ snowballing expectations, technology revolutions and new regulations. Consumers are increasingly conducting more activities online on an array of devices, and mobility services are no different as they explore new ways for people to get around. Wherever they are, whatever they do, today’s consumers expect information to be readily available, and cars are no exception.

ŠKODA AUTO recognized this changing landscape as an opportunity to become a different kind of company—one that offers consumers the kind of mobility experiences they want. The automaker needed to coordinate all aspects of their business—organizational, processes, technology and more—to accelerate innovation. To help navigate these changes and deliver new services, ŠKODA AUTO is collaborating with Accenture and Fjord, Accenture Interactive’s design agency, from initial ideas to market implementation.

Strategy and solution

The changes began with a customer-oriented strategy and service design, combining the best of Accenture’s and Fjord’s capabilities. Explorative consumer research and testing put the customer at the heart of the business. The new strategy was bolstered with innovative technology solutions that support current and future business models.

Setting up a bold, yet realistic vision

Together, we defined a digital customer and customer experience strategy that established new processes and a connected ecosystem of tools. By identifying ŠKODA AUTO’s target customers and their needs, we aimed to drive the customer experience to the highest levels while boosting ŠKODA‘s transformation.

The team created a list of innovative solutions and customer-oriented value propositions and services. Some of the solutions and services were piloted in a “Living Business” environment that is more fluid, responsive, and predictive to ever-changing consumer demands and expectations. These included innovation accelerators hosted by Fjord in Berlin and the Accenture Customer Innovation Network Center (ACIN) in Milan. At these sessions ŠKODA AUTO received hands-on recommendations on how to reinforce their strengths and overcome weaknesses with regards to customer needs.

A connected ecosystem of tools and processes

Over five years of continuous collaboration, ŠKODA AUTO has built a number of solutions—some live, piloted or in development—with Accenture.

• Artificial Intelligence assistant
  Piloted in Spain, the AI assistant supports website visitors in navigating through ŠKODA AUTO offerings and learns about their needs, which helps ŠKODA AUTO better tailor their products and services.
  
  
• Responsive websites
  New, responsive websites for importers and the end consumer are live in over 60 markets globally.
  
  
• Unified online data model
  Combines digital customer and consumer data from across the company, that provides information about ŠKODA AUTO’s market performance.
  
  
• Online car configurator
  An all-new, flexible online car configurator, piloted in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, allows customers to explore customization options online.

Innovation accelerator Berlin

Innovation is a journey, and ŠKODA AUTO teamed up with Accenture and Fjord to help reach their destination: creating strategic new service offerings. Accenture and Fjord created an innovation center in Berlin where ŠKODA AUTO could explore new businesses quickly with a fail-fast approach. Step-by-step incremental development helped to identify and evolve the best ideas.

Take car-sharing, for example. Accenture and Fjord designed an innovative approach that combines the classic car rental model and station-based car sharing. By successfully managing various ecosystem partners, we helped ŠKODA AUTO get a car sharing pilot up and running in a matter of months.

Transformation

ŠKODA AUTO is on their way to becoming a mobility company that takes customers to a world beyond their automobiles. Customers now benefit from a range of exciting new tools and services that give them what they need and get them where they want to go. Accenture continues to support ŠKODA in designing their future at the Accenture Customer Innovation Network Center (ACIN) in Milan where we inspire and co-create new customer experience value propositions.

Based on our cooperation, ŠKODA AUTO can today:

• Manage customer needs more effectively thanks to a better understanding of their preferences and data.
  
  
• Collect, analyze, and utilize 360-degree consumer data from online and offline interactions.
  
  
• Generate more high-quality leads through the digital assistant, car configurator and connected ecosystem of tools.

Engagement from dealership to driveway

For example, using a new responsive website in Poland, ŠKODA AUTO decreased their bounce rate substantially, and the number of page views significantly jumped. The automaker is also reaping productivity efficiencies from their new processes, common data model and digital tools. Simpler and smarter business operations have helped reduce costs.

Thanks to our idea-to-rollout collaboration, ŠKODA AUTO now has a strong partner to quickly spawn new ideas that transform the customer experience, from dealership to driveway.