Compared to relying on data at rest, automakers can start strategizing to use data in motion to remain relevant and self-disruptive.

Customer experiences are being redefined daily, and the automotive industry is no exception. Drivers’ needs have changed dramatically over the last half century.

In the past, customers were content with simply getting from point A to point B. However, in today’s world, there is a growing appetite for unique, customized experiences when plying the roads.

In order to provide the sort of experience that modern customers now demand, automakers need to tie together many data sources together to gauge supply and demand trends. It is sometimes said that “data at rest will stay at rest, but data in motion keeps moving, sparks action and reaction.”

In an industry where customers constantly demand tailored experiences, data must be in motion. With data constantly moving, every interaction will trigger a motion across the business, allowing it to respond and make decisions in real-time. 

What drivers want

Automakers need to keep in mind that when customers purchase a new car, they demand not only a highly customized vehicle but also a service to match.

For example, when the manufacturer’s data is in motion, it can bring together the supply chain data which provides visibility on all the car parts. This data can inform the customer which options they will need to wait for, and which ones are readily available, therefore setting the customers’ delivery time expectations up front.

Conversely, a manufacturing plant does not want to have a stockpile of spare parts for the off chance that they get ordered, but rather, to run an agile business where all parts arrive just as they are needed—in a streamlined manner.

Once the car has been delivered, customers, too, demand data in motion: they want ‘live’ traffic updates and weather reports, and dynamic information on fuel efficiency. The latter data has become increasingly meaningful for consumers as fuel-efficient vehicles gain traction in South-east Asia. Regardless of the purpose, data continues to be required in a ‘live’ format.

The manufacturing feedback loop

With all this data in the manufacturers’ hands, the possibilities will be endless. They can not only inform the business on how their cars are selling, but also how they are being driven, what preventative maintenance needs to be scheduled, and even what car features are most utilized.

Another example of the importance of data in motion concerns the global semiconductor shortage. This severely affected even the large automobile makers in Japan and China. A KPMG report explained how real-time data intelligence could have helped some automakers avert the fallout from the chip shortage.

With data in motion providing ‘ears to the ground’, the intelligence information can facilitate agile, data-backed decision-making and create a full circle for an automaker’s manufacturing feedback loop.

Real-time useful data on demand

The data strategybehind benefiting from data in motion is to establish a ‘central nervous system’ that

  • Orchestrates the diverse data collected from hundreds of apps that define the operations of the business
  • Stitches together different parts of the business and its ecosystem, uniting all the applications, software layers and data stores—into a coherent network that can react and respond intelligently in real-time
  • Enables the business to provide the kinds of customer experience and intelligent operational agility that boosts competitiveness

The future of the automotive industry is headed for disruption. Many countries are setting deadlines to have all vehicles running ‘cleaner energy’ within the next 20 years.

With the introduction of electric cars and autonomous vehicles on the horizon, the global car manufacturing industry will benefit from using data in motion to maximize customer experiences and stay relevant in the digital age.