MISSION
Simplifying the life of Volvo customers using digital tools
In 2010 Volvo came to Mobiento / Deloitte Digital with a request: Help us simplify the life of our customers using digital tools. We then embarked on a digital transformation journey that has spanned more than half a decade in order to create the best possible digital car ecosystem.
STRATEGY
Finding the new Luxury
Volvo has long been known as the world’s safest car, but also somewhat undaring. With Volvo’s move to a whole new level of extravagance and comfort, we decided to find out what is considered luxurious these days. Through third party research and Volvo driver focus groups, we discovered that the ultimate luxury for the stressed out Modern Man is ‘uncomplication’. If we can create services that uncomplicate the life of Volvo customers we will also create an incredibly strong bond between the service and its user, and thereby a never-before seen loyalty to Volvo.
CONCEPT
A simplified life
Based on the concept of uncomplication we created a smartphone application that revolves around services that make people’s lives easier.We have made it more comfortable to step into the car on a cold and dark winter morning by letting users set heater start timers. They can lock and unlock their car from the app, and are warned with push notifications if they have forgotten to lock their car. They can analyse their trip data, as well as export it for e.g. expense claims. Users can also find their car via GPS, or by honking and blinking when they lost it on the parking lot outside IKEA.
TECHNOLOGY
A complex architecture
The technology infrastructure for Volvo on Call is quite complex. We have the car itself, filled with computers and sensors, picking up everything from air pressure to gas levels and alarms, to the mobile network that stays connected with the car at all times, to the back-end platform which contains all the individual data on each car. In addition, we have the front-end apps the customers see. Add to this a bunch of third party services, like maps and weather features, and you have yourself a quite challenging and really fun technology ecosystem to work with.
TAKEAWAYS
A new business area
Volvo on Call has been the most challenging and rewarding project in Mobiento’s history. It has taught us many lessons when it comes to working with large-scale international projects, navigating internal politics in complex organisations, and driving innovation and user experience within the incredibly exciting automotive industry.For Volvo, the project has put a whole new focus on apps and the power of software, which has resulted in an immense increase in sold Volvo on Call licenses. It marks the start of a whole new business area – providing valuable customer services as an add-on to the traditional ‘hardware’ business.