How Technology Is Helping Transform BMW’S Business Model – Bmw Case Study
BMW is transforming from a vertical organization integration into a horizontal network. This means their value chain used to be with customers, dealers, producers, and suppliers but now it’s more like coopetition relationship with competitors. Rapidly evolving digital technology enables companies in the industry to become increasingly interdependent. Data and information services are shared with many companies, even to some extent that they are competitors. But this is to ensure the most advanced and convenient service can be provided to customers. Actually, changes in industry trends have forced BMW to seek this shift and ensure that it is not at a disadvantage position in the competition. In recent years, BMW has actively promoted digital construction in various fields to continuously consolidated its leading position in high-end personal mobile travel and services. Daimler, BMW, and HERE Technologies have collaborate with each other to lay the groundwork for upcoming high automated and autonomous era with the benefits of HD Live Map on board. HERE intends to create a self-healing map to protect passengers. This enables vehicles to proactively adjust to changing road conditions – for example, switching lanes and adjusting speed ahead of time in the case of an upcoming lane closure.
Vehicle sensor data is the most crucial element for an HD map to “self-heal”. BMW and Daimler act as a source of providing rich vehicle sensor data for HERE. In addition, other companies have also participated in this map construction to prevent one company from dominating this area of location technology. This is a good phenomenon for the entire industry. After all, this collaboration will give more customers a safe and convenient service while they are driving. However, sharing data and services with its own competitors has also weakened BMW’s advantage in this technology, as other companies can also provide these services to customers, and BMW is no longer unique. However, BMW still needs to use digital strategy to seek new opportunities. The whole company is evolving into a technology company. The cars will be driving autonomously in the near future and their products will provide customers with more digital services. And BMW also develops apps that allow users to integrate their products into their smart home. The production lines and plants are becoming more and more digital, for example, they are using big data to improve production precision. BMW should remain not afraid of failure, try to accept something new.
In addition, BMW needs to make their products more personalized, which will clearly distinguish the products of BMW and other companies. BMW can use digital services to provide channels that allow them owns a large part of a direct relationship with customers. This direct relationship ensures that BMW can clearly understand the customers’ needs and provide them with the most satisfactory service.
By applying digital technology, the personal assistant will know the driver’s preferences and automatically set the appropriate interior mode for the driver, such as seat angle, temperature, radio, and frequent routes. This will create a new form of digital interactive experience for people and vehicles that will optimize BMW’s personalized driving experience. This will make the BMW’s products more distinguishable than other competitors’ products and it will be easier to gain a dominant position in the digital wave.
