From September 26 to October 5, 2020, the world's only top auto show under the epidemic-the 2020 (sixteenth) Beijing International Automobile Exhibition was held in Beijing. The auto show opened under the huge impact of the global epidemic on the auto market. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, although the national economy has begun to recover since August, the overall decline in my country's auto production and sales from January to August this year narrowed to less than 10% However, auto production and sales from January to March dropped by 45.2% and 42.4% year-on-year. It will take some time for the domestic auto industry and consumer confidence to fully recover.
Entering 2020, car companies in the Chinese market are facing difficult choices. First, the auto market has entered the post-competitive era. The Chinese auto market is changing from an incremental market to a stock market. The aftermarket has become the focus of the industry, but the stickiness of car users is not enough. Second, the epidemic has hit new car sales tremendously, even if the epidemic The recovery began later, which also forced the entire auto market to accelerate into the post-competitive era of after-car service. The so-called car aftermarket refers to all services after consumers buy cars. Expanding from product sales to revenue from innovative services based on the Internet and digital platforms, the automotive industry has accelerated into a period of digital transformation.
As the auto industry is accelerating into the post-epidemic and post-competitive era, even the most conservative vehicle manufacturers have begun to accelerate their digital transformation, and have launched the "new infrastructure" of digital transformation-digital mid-stage. As a digital middle-station software provider and service operator, Yunxun Technology has become a new force behind the scenes of this auto show, which is in response to the trend of the digital economy after the epidemic. The newly unveiled Dongfeng Group Lantu Motors, new car manufacturers Weimar Motors and Ai Chi Motors, Ford electric car BEV, SAIC passenger cars, etc., have appeared in the 2020 Cloud Migration Digital Innovation Annual Conference on September 25.
So, why can a digital middle- and Taiwanese software company become a new force behind the scenes of car building?
The collective digital "awakening" of car companies
For China's automobile industry, 2018 to the first half of 2020 is a phased turning point. In 2018, China's auto market experienced negative growth for the first time in 28 years since 1999. In 2019, China's auto sales declined further, not only down 8.2% year-on-year, but also 5.4 percentage points higher than the previous year. The year-on-year decline in car production and sales from January to March 2020 is alarming, while the market value of Tesla Motors has soared during the epidemic. This year’s newly launched Xiaopeng Motors and Ideal Motors and the listed Weilai Motors have high market value, which has brought A collective digital "awakening" of traditional car manufacturers.
Deng Tong, head of the automobile division of Yunxun Technology, said: Before 2018, China’s automobile industry was a seller’s market. The main engine manufacturers mainly focused on manufacturing, supply chain management and channel construction management. Automobile sales were mainly through various dealers and 4S. Stores, cooperative stores, etc., do not directly contact the final consumers; since 2018, the homogeneity of auto products has been severe, and the overall market has shifted from incremental to stock. Auto brands have begun to emphasize consumer-centric marketing reorganization, especially Online digital marketing focuses on digital transformation, while traditional sales channels have begun to shift to offline functions that assist consumers in experience and after-sales services.
The business operation of traditional car companies is based on the B2b2C model from host manufacturers to dealers to consumers, while the new digital operation is B2C2b that directly contacts consumers from host manufacturers and then hands the data to dealers to provide aftermarket services. mode. The 2020 global epidemic has further accelerated the transformation of car companies’ business models. Many car company CIOs have found that companies that still have good performance in the epidemic have completed digital transformation and turned to the Internet as the cornerstone for brand operations. As a result, car companies have stepped on the "throttle" of digital transformation.
In July 2020, Yunxun Technology won the "Excellence Award for Automotive Digital Transformation Solutions" at the second "International Automotive Industry Information & Digitization Shanghai Forum" hosted by Shanghai Automotive Engineering Society, and was awarded in ADMIC Automotive Digitalization & Marketing Innovation At the summit, he won the "Auto Retail Innovation Practitioner of the Year" award. As the leading digital dual platform software and operation service provider in the market, automakers such as SAIC Passenger Car, Changan Ford, GAC Toyota, Baoneng Motors, AIWAYS, Chinese Express, Lantu Motors, Weimar Motors, etc. have signed cloud contracts. Migration technology, through digitization to achieve high-speed growth in the future.
Deng Tong emphasized that marketing digitization and automation are only part of the digital transformation of auto companies. The biggest key to the digital transformation of car companies is to link external consumer data with internal car company production and operations, open up the data "wall" between systems and systems, and realize business sharing, and complete digital transformation and dataization. Operation, thereby extending the brand of car companies from products to diversified business ecology. The future of auto companies is to transform auto brands into technology companies and ecological platforms like Apple and Xiaomi, and digital mid-stations are the digital “new infrastructure” for auto companies in the future.
Digital middle station, new forces build cars
In the digital marketing and digital transformation of auto companies, AIWAYS is a pioneer. Established in 2017, AIWAYS is an international new energy smart car company, as well as a smart travel service company in which users are deeply involved. In September 2019, AIWAYS U5 was approved by the European Union and became the first Chinese brand smart electric car to enter the developed European market in a true sense. AIWAYS is committed to accelerating the evolution of the automotive industry with leading intelligent manufacturing, intelligent products and operational services, and creating a new travel lifestyle.
As the leading brand of new car-making forces, AIWAYS has achieved a global layout across Europe and Asia: In Jiangxi, it has built a digital, intelligent and flexible super smart factory with complete vehicle qualifications based on Industry 4.0 standards. It has built a battery pack factory, has an electric sports car R&D center and a European market sales company in Germany, and a methanol hydrogen production research center and manufacturing base in Denmark. In terms of new retail, AIWAYS has built the “1140” digital system. One trading platform connects its own platform and external platform for product and service trading platforms, and one informatized middle station carries channel partner information and user car purchases. Information, intelligent vehicle networking, and charging services. The four digital operation centers include URM customer operation platform, PMS marketing management platform, UPS customer service platform, AIEG smart energy, etc., and then through the user experience platform, AIWAY APP, delivery center, Experience stores/pop-up stores and service centers realize zero-distance contact with users.
For AIWAYS, there are not only traditional automobile manufacturing, supply chain management and delivery, but also digital marketing represented by new retail, and the digital middle station is able to open up the new and old automobile business operation system. Unlike traditional car companies, AIWAYS has no historical IT burden and can build a new digital mid-station in a native way from scratch. In the overall front, middle and back-office three-tier architecture of AIWAYS Auto, the focus of AIWAYS' planning for the middle office architecture is to support various existing business lines and quickly support various future new business models. Among them, AIWAYS, with the help of Yunmi Technology, has "partnered" the DMS dealer management system of traditional car companies and upgraded it to the omni-channel operation management platform PMS (Partner Management System), which grants dealers The “rivals” of energy and chemical channel competition are “partners”.
After the completion of the PMS middle station, AIWAYS has been empowered with the entire process from production to sales, achieving online and offline integration, creating a full data record of the car purchase link, and host manufacturers can combine business capabilities in series, Flexible layout to support new business needs more quickly. On the basis of PMS, Lin Mu, deputy general manager of AIWAYS Auto Sales Company, introduced at the 2020 Cloud Migration Digital Innovation Annual Conference. Next, one of AIWAYS's digitalization directions is C2M customization. AIWAYS’ C2M allows consumers’ order information data to reach the sales, logistics, and planning levels directly, and then feeds the information directly to consumers. For example, when consumers come to the store and ask when they can get the car, they can immediately get the appointment. After 45 days, you can see the current position of the ordered vehicle on the APP, including whether it is at the welding, painting or final assembly station.
In terms of digital mid-stations, AIWAYS chose to cooperate with Yunxi Technology. AIWAYS’s mid-stage strategy is to remain unchanged, that is, when facing future business adjustments and changes, it can iterate in the fastest way and change various business components and data exchanges while maintaining the overall framework. Hang Yufeng, a founding team member and technical director of AIWAYS, believes that this is the true meaning of Zhongtai. And Yunxun Technology’s "Number Ship" digital mid-station can meet the needs of AIWAYS in many aspects. In particular, the software-defined digital mid-station launched by Yunxun Technology is an innovative technology specifically launched for the future changes of enterprise business, which reflects Yunxi Technology Zhongtai adopts the view of unchanging and adapting to changes.
Methodology of Digital Middle Office for Auto Companies
Just like the choice of AIWAYS, the digital transformation of auto companies is a two-line process focusing on the support of existing business lines and the rapid support of new business models in the future. The digital transformation of auto companies is also very complicated. From R&D, supply chain, manufacturing to car sales and services, all business lines of auto manufacturing need the support of informationization and digitalization. At present, many car companies have already begun digital transformation of products such as smart cars and Internet cars. If they cannot connect to various lines of internal business operations to form a linkage effect, then this is not a true digital transformation of car companies.
Deng Tong emphasized that the construction of digital mid-stations for auto companies with the goal of digital transformation has its own "magic technique". First of all, "Tao" is the foundation of the digital transformation of car companies and the construction of digital middle stations. This is the business model and business logic transformation of car companies. The new positioning of auto companies in the future is to respond to the challenges of homogenization of products in the auto market and competition from existing customers. In the future, auto companies will no longer be traditional car manufacturers, but based on auto products, and the derivative after-car service market includes travel services. With rich business formats, auto companies will achieve future business market and consumer capabilities through rebranding.
Secondly, in terms of "techniques", the automotive industry is a long-chain operation compared to FMCG, which needs to cover more business chains. The OTD process of new car users involves orders before delivery and reservations for delivery. System, including DMS dealer management, WMS logistics transportation, warehousing, stores, etc. If "Tao" is based on the digital marketing system to open up the overall digital transformation of supply chain, manufacturing and R&D; then "technique" is based on digital marketing, which forms a full life cycle through customer-centricity Customer data operations, including private domain traffic operations, etc., re-use data capabilities to reshape various business chains, and based on middle-station capabilities to empower financial, insurance and other service businesses and realize the opening of future ecological capabilities.
In terms of "methods and tools", Yunxun Technology provides methods, technologies, products and solutions suitable for the digital transformation of car companies and the construction of digital middle stations. Deng Tong emphasized that even new brands like Ai Chi Auto also have traditional auto business and logic. The digital transformation capabilities and systems of auto companies do not need to be built from zero, but starting from the data upgrade and transformation, the future will build an integrated operation based on middle and Taiwan. The platform, based on the current business situation, sorts out the upgrade and development path based on the central platform, and carries out digital transformation and data central platform implementation through 3-5 years of IT planning.
At the 2020 Yunxue Digital Innovation Annual Conference, Yunxue Technology launched the "China-Taiwan Practice-Digital Transformation Methodology and Solutions", which is an iterative update on the basis of last year's "China-Taiwan Strategy-China-Taiwan Construction and Digital Business" The upgraded version introduced in detail introduced the practice and experience of AIWAYS and Changan Ford in building digital mid-stations. Deng Tong emphasized at the automotive sub-forum of the 2020 Cloud Migration Digital Innovation Annual Conference that many changes in the automotive industry in the future are unpredictable, and to deal with unknown changes requires a continuous correct methodology, rather than temporary correct countermeasures. The consistently correct methodology is the digital middle station.
As for why Yunyi Technology can become a new force behind the scenes, Zhang Kan, the head of digital marketing of Dongfeng Group Lantu Motors, imagined at the automotive sub-forum of the 2020 Yunyi Digital Innovation Annual Conference: If one day Didi will give drivers across the country If the target is 1 million vehicles, no matter which car manufacturer participates in the bidding, the price needs to be kept to the lowest level. The result is unimaginable. Therefore, with digital products and services, users can capture the full life cycle value of users and discard the manufacturing and parts with the lowest profit, because users must purchase service packages anyway.
Summary of the full text: In the post-epidemic era, auto companies have concentrated their efforts on digital transformation and digital marketing. In the post-epidemic and post-competitive era of the auto industry, digital middle stations are becoming the "new infrastructure" for auto companies. Based on the digital middle station, future cars will become smart terminals carrying rich digital services like mobile phones, and today's car companies need to be fully prepared for major changes in business logic. (Text/Ningchuan)